Announcing the closure, Falmouth-born chef patron Finn Johnson said that he was moving from Cornwall and that he was looking at London for his next career move.
Johnson opened Hevva!, which is named after the Cornish phrase for ‘here they are’, shouted when finding a shoal of pilchards at sea, in 2023. The seafood restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide at the start of the year, and is described as a’ cosy, gently buzzing neighbourhood restaurant’.
‘The concise but well-priced wine list and the charming, infectiously enthusiastic service give you even more reasons to love the place,’ the guide adds.
Writing on social media, Johnson said: “I’d like to think I’ve achieved everything I set out to at Hevva! and, for the meantime, Cornwall seems to offer less than it did for me when I started the restaurant, so it’s time to go on further up the line.
“London is a big place, and there’s an awful lot of cutting-edge cooking going on up there. Cookery schools too. I’m 31, I left school at 16, and I’ve worked in hospo ever since (pretty much). I have no meaningful qualifications, and it’s time to change that. I’m also looking forward to working for someone else for a while - but not forever.
Yes, times are tough for restaurants, and they’re getting tougher, but this isn’t a sob story – it’s been a fairytale, one that includes the happy ending. It’s been a celebration, a restaurant as an act of joy. An act of resistance against the insincere.
“I have loved every minute and every dish and every candle and every booking and every smile and every tax bill and every mop and after-shift beer. All of it.”
The restaurant’s last service will be 27 March.