Will Jason Atherton’s Sosharu restaurant reopen in a new location?

There has been a lot of speculation over Jason Atherton’s Sosharu restaurant in Clerkenwell, Central London, but he has finally announced it has closed.

• Who is Alex Carciun?

The Japanese restaurant opened its doors in 2016 with head chef Alex Craciun but just a year later it was struggling  as it failed to attract lunch crowds.

All social media accounts have been closed but  in a statement Jason says 'we believe in its longevity with the right site' and the brand will be relocating to a central location in due course with further news to follow.

He said: “When we launched Sosharu in March 2016, we hit the ground running with critical success, however, with time we have found the location of Farringdon to be an incredibly tricky spot. We look forward to relocating in London and hope our loyal customers will join us there. The Social Company is very proud of the Sosharu brand and we believe in its longevity with the right site.”

Talking about the venture when it opened and why he wanted to be involved, head chef Alex told The Staff Canteen: "It came about quite organically - I was working for Jason as senior sous chef at Pollen Street Social, having worked with him since the Maze days. After my first trip to Japan, I went back to London and sat down with Jason and his wife Irha, cooked a few dishes and techniques that I'd learnt and we decided to open a Japanese restaurant from there."