Michel Roux Jr to close celebrated London restaurant Le Gavroche to focus on work-life balance
19 August 2023, 14:54 | Updated: 19 August 2023, 15:02
Chef Michel Roux Jr will close Le Gavroche, one of London's best loved restaurants, in order to spend more time with his family.
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The celebrity chef's flagship eatery in Mayfair, which opened in 1967, was London's first restaurant to earn one, two and finally three Michelin stars. It currently holds two.
Le Gavroche was established by Michel's father Michel Roux Sr and his brother Albert before being taken over by the TV cook, 61, in 1991.
Fellow world-leading chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White worked in its kitchen before setting up their own restaurants.
Read more: Michelin Guide 2023 results unveiled: See the full list of the UK's best restaurants
Explaining the shock announcement in a statement on the restaurant's website, Roux Jr said: "I have always felt that should Le Gavroche ever close, it must be on a high. Le Gavroche has, and continues to be, fully booked, week in, week out, but I have known for a while that I must make time for a better work/life balance, so I can spend more time with my family and on my other business ventures.
"The end of the current lease gave me the opportunity to assess and consider the future, and I feel that now is the time to turn the page and move forward."
The restaurant's name, which translates to "urchin" in French, comes from the character in the Victor Hugo novel Les Miserables.
Roux Jr told The Times: "I'm genuinely tired. Being in the restaurant almost every day has taken its toll and I have got to the stage where I'm not enjoying it as much as I used to."
He also claimed that Brexit is making it harder for young restaurateurs, adding: "I feel for any young independent restaurateur opening up now.
"Brexit has put a huge spanner in the works in terms of supplies, staffing and costs.”
The restaurant will remain open until January 2024.
Food critic Jay Rayner tweeted in response to the news: "Very few emails make my eyebrows genuinely raise. This one did.
"I totally understand the thinking but, boy that really is the end of something, allowing for the fact the name will live on."
