News reached us on Friday about a surprising series of closures. Noble Fine Liquor, led by Phil Bracey and Liam Kelleher, announced they have now closed all three of their sites - P Franco, Bright and Noble Fine Liquor.
The closure was announced in an Instagram post with no further details being given, saying "There are many complex ins-and-outs that have resulted in the position that we’re in, we don’t feel this is the forum or time to go through those things in detail. Our focus at this stage is to try to do right by our staff and suppliers whilst we try to navigate our way down a path we never thought we’d have to walk."
It's a sad day for the group with P Franco particularly, which opened in 2014, being one of London's most influential wine bars.
The small location which had chefs manning two induction hobs at the end of a long central table has been host to many top chefs who springboarded onto their own restaurants. It was in many ways a chef's proving ground.
Chefs who have manned the hobs include Cadet's Jamie Smart, Kiln's Meedu Saad (who will be opening his own restaurant), Planque's Seb Myers, Café Deco's Anna Tobias and more besides. When they opened their own restaurants, where the wine list is as vital a part of the restaurant as the food, you could see where P Franco's influence has been felt.
While Peg, the restaurant that initially focused on Yakitori, was less of a success, their London Fields restaurant Bright had also proved to be a big hit. One of its chefs, Giuseppe Belvedere, recently announced that he would be leading the kitchen at Leo's in Clapton.
It's all certainly one of the most notable casualties of the London dining scene of late, but hopefully we'll see more from the people behind it soon.
See our full rundown of London restaurant closures
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