Bao Fitzrovia to close after nearly seven years

Bao Fitzrovia in London is set to close at the end of the year following nearly seven years of operation.

A post on Instagram said: "It fills us with sadness to share the news that Fitz will be closing at the end of the year. We opened in 2016 and it's been an incredible nearly seven years, but all good things must come to an end.

"It feels like only yesterday we first visited the site, driven by the need to relocate our bakery from the deepest dungeons of a 3m by 2m Bao Soho basement. We were attached to Fitzrovia having spent our student years around there, studying down the road at the Slade, eating at Dinos, the YMCA or the illegal Korean basement restaurant around the corner.

"We often hear, Bao Fitz is ‘our favourite' – Bryan, Omar and their team always delivered the best experience at Fitz. But over the past two years, Fitzrovia has been a particular challenging area. It looks like our last service will be just before Christmas, so please do come say hi to Bryan, Omar and their team before we shutter the doors for good.

"We have a couple of new and exciting opportunities in the new year that we will announce in due course. But for now we can take the time to say goodbye to Fitz."

The restaurant opened in 2016 and was the Bao team's second site. Erchen Chang and siblings Shing and Wai Ting Chung opened their first permanent Bao restaurant in Soho in 2015, following the success of the original Taiwanese-influenced Bao bar in Hackney.

Bao Fitzrovia was backed by JKS Restaurants and opened on Windmill Street in what was previously Boopshi's.