Robin Gill announces closure of the Dairy and Counter Culture

Restaurateur Robin Gill has announced that two of his restaurants in London's Clapham, the Dairy and Counter Culture, will not be reopening.

In a post on Instagram, Gill said: "This has been one of the toughest decisions of our lives. The pandemic has hit us harder than we ever imagined it would.

"The Dairy has been our way of life for almost a decade, the memories created, the wonderful friendships (the bloodshots), the bees, the people and culture of our little journey will never be forgotten.

"To everyone who has supported us, you all know who you are, we can't thank you enough."

A post on the website added: "We thought we could adjust, diversify and keep our doors open. Alas, we have to listen and learn from the rest of the world and close for the foreseeable future. We are going to continue to cook for our family of incredible people that we work with for as long as we can and wait to see what the future holds. We are in awe of our team and the challenges that they have adapted to and how every obstacle was met with huge enthusiasm and love. This fills us with great hope."

The closures leave Gill's business with just one Clapham site remaining, Sorella, as well as Darby's in Vauxhall, and his restaurants at the Great Scotland Yard hotel and Birch in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.

Gill opened the Dairy in 2013 and launched the adjoining Counter Culture three years later. He was inspired by restaurants in Scandinavia for the Dairy concept, serving high-quality food in a laid-back, stripped-down environment.