The restaurant, which opened on Bethnal Green’s Corbridge Crescent in 2021 after evolving from Waterhouse’s acclaimed supper club and pop-up concept, announced the decision in a letter to its customers.
The team said the closure coincided with the natural end of the site’s lease and marks ‘the right moment to turn the page’.
The letter reads: ‘While change can be a good thing, goodbyes aren’t easy. This one comes with a great deal of gratitude for what has been and excitement for what’s to come.
‘Looking back on the past five years here makes us incredibly proud. We’ve loved our time on Corbridge Crescent and have poured ourselves completely into this space.
‘We always hoped to create something that felt different, a space that was honest, warm, and somewhere both we and our team could truly be ourselves.
‘Restaurants are wonderfully special, rewarding places, they can be joyful, creative, generous and honest, with an enduring connection that lies not only in the food but also in how they make us feel.’
The group added that the connections built with guests and staff would define their memories of the restaurant: ‘We feel incredibly lucky and proud to have met and shared in many meaningful relationships over the years. It is these we will remember when reflecting on our time here.’
Founded by Gabriel Waterhouse and Patricia Wakaimba, The Water House Project combines fine dining techniques with a more relaxed atmosphere.
The restaurant operates around a single tasting-menu format with one seating per service, offering seasonally changing British menus built around produce from across the British Isles.
Guests can choose between a shorter ‘Discovery’ menu (typically 11 servings) and the larger ‘Signature’ menu (typically 14 servings), alongside wine pairings focused on small-scale producers or house-made non-alcoholic infusions created through fermentation, preservation and foraging.
Before closing, the team is inviting customers to come and dine for a final time ‘to celebrate and to say goodbye to Corbridge Crescent properly.’
Waterhouse began his culinary career at 23, his experience including roles under the Galvin brothers at Galvin La Chapelle and Herbert Berger at Innholders Hall, as well as stages at Lyle’s, The Clove Club, The Ritz Restaurant and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Before launching The Water House Project, he hosted twice-weekly supper clubs from his East London flat, events that ultimately became the foundation for The Water House Project.