Two well-known London restaurants closed temporarily this week following fires in their kitchen extraction systems – Som Saa in Spitalfields and Straker’s in Notting Hill.
Straker’s will reopen as soon as possible, initially as a cold bar, following a fire that damaged parts of both the kitchen and restaurant. No injuries were reported.
“We’re still investigating the cause of the fire and expect to have more clarity by the end of the week”, chef Thomas Straker, its high-profile founder, reported on social media.
He added: “We’re working quickly to reconfigure the restaurant space and adapt our offering. We’ll soon be launching a cold bar concept, featuring a vibrant and evolving selection of dishes.”
A similar bulletin was issued by new wave Thai specialist Som Saa: “Sad news: yesterday we had a fire in our extraction system. It got bad quickly and we had to evacuate. All the team are safe and well but we have significant damage to repair and a large clean-up to do.”