Updated 17/8/15 with official statement
Back when it was first mooted, the success of Le Chabanais seemed like a foregone conclusion. Parisian chef Inaki Aizpitarte was hotter than hot - having proved his chops with the supremely trendy Parisian restaurant Le Chateaubriand. So the idea that he would bring his style of cooking to Mayfair (with Le Chateaubriand’s head chef, Paul Boudier heading up the London kitchen) created an insane, perhaps unsustainable, buzz.
But it was not to be. A week or so into its soft opening in May, the restaurant abruptly closed its doors citing a fault with the kitchen's extraction system. It didn't reopen again for a month, during which time several of the dishes were apparently reworked. But resulting bad reviews have now led Aizpitarte to sever his connection with Le Chabanais. The story, which broke today on Bloomberg, has Aizpitarte confirming that he and Le Chabanais were 'finished'.
Now whether that means Aizpitarte isn't connected with Le Chabanais but Paul Bodier continues as Head Chef we don't know. Having asked for clarification, all the restaurant's PR could tell us was "we can confirm that the relationship with Inaki and the partners of Le Chateaubriand has ended, but beyond that we cannot comment at this stage." In the meantime, to see at a glance exactly what the critics thought of Le Chabanais check out our review page for the restaurant.
