Seafood specialist Prawn on the Lawn has closed its London venue to concentrate on its Cornish operations, while highly rated Stockport outfit Cantaloupe is switching to a new concept called Bar Caput.
Prawn on the Lawn has been one of the capital’s most in-demand restaurants at two different addresses near Highbury Corner since its 2013 launch by Rick and Katie Toogood. The couple have three outlets based in Padstow, Cornwall – Prawn on the Lawn, Little Prawn and Barnaby’s.
They say: “London was our very first opening and will always be a special place for us. This feels like a celebration and a marker of everything we’ve achieved during this chapter of our lives. We want to say a huge thank you to our guests and everyone we’ve worked with along the way – it’s been incredibly touching and emotional to reflect on it all.”
Canteloupe was opened 18 months ago by chefs Joshua Reed-Cooper and Mike Thomas, who previously worked at fellow Stockport spot Where The Light Gets In. Operating with “subpar equipment” from a kitchen measuring 75 by 315cms in a tiny shopfront behind Stockport’s shopping centre, they have earned a reputation for food described in this year’s Harden’s guide as “very good, very interesting”.
The founders have announced that Canteloupe will close following a last service on Saturday 8 August, with Bar Caput opening on Wednesday 26 August; details of the new opening will follow.
They say: “Over the past 18 months we’ve sated hunger with countless different dishes, utilising all manner of fish, fowl, beast or vegetable; we’ve quenched thirsts with one of the most interesting wine lists in the region and many, many cocktails.
“We’ve had many highlights: from the off site piri piri chicken night, ‘Frango Fandango’ to the on site ‘Le Midi’. Seeing our small restaurant full of the best of Manchester’s industry, on an evening thick with humidity, was a proud moment.”
