In an Instagram Stories post, the London-based chef revealed that Straker’s, which he opened on Golborne Road in 2022, had experienced a fire in its kitchen extraction system on Saturday night (3 May), causing damage to the rear of the restaurant.
“We’re still investigating the cause of the fire and expect to have more clarity by the end of the week,” he said.
Straker added that nobody was injured in the fire and that the team has ‘rallied together as creatives do’ to find a way to continue operating.
“Our top priority is support and retain all of our full-time staff during this time.
“With that in mind, we’re working quickly to reconfigure the restaurant space and adapt our offering.”
As a result, the restaurant will soon be relaunching as a ‘cold bar concept’ featuring an evolving selection of dishes including salads, crudos and carpaccio.
“Of course, we’ll also continue serving our full, exceptional wine list curated by Callum [Mash, Straker’s head of wine], so you can still enjoy the best of what we do in a new and exciting format.”
Further details on the relaunch will be announced soon, and it is expected that Straker’s will fully reopen later in the year.
Straker’s is the second high-profile London restaurant to have temporarily closed this week following a fire.
On Monday (5 May) it was reported that Thai restaurant Som Saa in Spitalfields had been forced to shut as a result of a kitchen fire that caused ‘significant damage’ to the site.
The restaurant said at the time that it didn’t know when it would reopen, but confirmed it would remain shut for this week at least.