Bao group confirms closure of Xu

Shing Tat Chung, Wai Ting Chung and Erchen Chang have confirmed the permanent closure of Xu restaurant in London’s Soho.

Posting on Instagram, the group announced a ‘farewell party’ will take place at Quo Vadis nearby on 10 November with ‘Xu favourite’ canapés, sculptural baos and Champagne fountains.

Xu Teahouse & Restaurant, which launched in 2017, drew inspiration from the social dining clubs of 1930s Taipei. The site was the third restaurant from the team behind the Bao group of restaurants, and was backed by JKS Restaurants

The 72-cover restaurant was designed as a more grown-up sister site to the group's Bao brand, and named after Chang's late grandfather.

It was a hit with critics, with Giles Coren of The Times declared Xu's food "mesmerising", while Marina O'Loughlin, at the time restaurant critic for The Guardian, declared it "quite simply, gorgeous", and it won the 2018 Cateys Menu of the Year Award.