Industry pays tribute to restaurateur Andrew Edmunds

Restaurateur Andrew Edmunds has died aged 79, his restaurant in London’s Soho confirmed.

Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner tweeted describing the restaurant as “a true pillar of Soho”; while Marina O’Loughlin of The Sunday Times said Edmunds was “the best kind of restaurateur, in it for the love of it”.

“An ardent stickler of the traditional, the scuffed, the unfashionable, the classic, the unfussy, the great value, the seasonal & the functional”, tweeted Jesse Dunford Wood, chef-restaurateur of Parlour in Kensal Green.

Established in 1985, the restaurant describes itself as “one of the last bastions of 'old Soho'”. The 18th century town house offers a relaxed atmosphere, seasonal menu and reasonably priced wine list.

Edmunds opened the site next to his existing art dealership, creating exactly the sort of restaurant he wanted as a neighbour. More than 35 years on its daily-changing menu of classic comfort foods continued to satiate guests.

The dealership itself had been founded in 1974, selling English and French prints, drawings and cartoons from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was one of the few old print dealers left in London selling works by the likes of William Hogarth, Daumier, Mesquita and Thomas Rowlandson. Edmunds was also known for lending pieces to London’s Tate Britain and Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam museum.

The Andrew Edmunds Memorial Page has been set up and welcomes donations for the Woodland Trust, which celebrates his life-long interest in tree conservation.

The post on the Memorial Page read: “It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Andrew Edmunds who died suddenly, after a short illness on 15 September 2022. Much loved and missed by his family, many friends, staff and customers at Andrew Edmunds restaurant, print shop and the Academy Club. Donations welcomed here to a cause close to his heart.”

More to come.