Il Cudega restaurant closes after failing to recover from licensing battle

Il Cudega restaurant in Hackney has announced that it has been left with "no option" but to close its doors after failing to recover from a protracted licensing battle with the London borough's council.

The restaurant, which served food and wine inspired by the Lombardy region of Italy, has said it will close for good after Sunday's service.

The restaurant, which was given four stars when reviewed by Evening Standard critic Fay Maschler, said in a statement published to social media: "We have given it our all in order to make this a viable enterprise, but unfortunately we were unable to recover from heavy losses incurred while fighting the council for our evening licence.

"Additionally, the general trading environment for the restaurant business in London has been extremely challenging in the last few months. As a consequence the cost of running a restaurant focused on quality such as Il Cudega has proven unsustainable."

The restaurant was finally granted an evening licence in June 2017, after a year and a half of trading.

In this morning's statement the Westgate Street restaurant added: "We are taking this action also in order to close in a responsible manner, giving priority to the staff who have worked so hard in the last few years.

"We would like to take the opportunity to thank our loyal customers, our staff present and past and everyone who has supported us in our journey.

"Il Cudega has always been more a philosophy of life than a mere restaurant, and we will soon update you in relation to our future projects."

Licensing Act ‘fundamentally flawed' >>

New licencing law affects businesses with staff accommodation >>

Videos from The Caterer archives

Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs