One of area's longest surviving restaurants shutting this month

One of the area's longest surviving restaurants is to close this month.

Cafe Rouge at Strand On the Green near to Kew Bridge will have its final day of trading on 17 March after being at the location since 2005.

Previously the site was occupied by the Dome restaurant and before that back to the 1870s had been the Steam Packet pub.

The Chiswick High Road branch of the cafe/bistro chain closed in 2014 and became a branch of the Byron Burger chain. This had led to speculation about its sister restaurant at Strand on the Green, but staff have now been told that closure is definitely happening.

Cafe Rouge at Strand on the Green was popular with locals and people out walking due to its riverside location.

The first Cafe Rouge opened in south-west London in 1989 and there were once 125 branches throughout the UK including Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

However the chain has also felt the impact of the challenges facing the restaurant industry.

Casual Dining Group, which owns Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia had posted a sharp increase in losses last year, with losses to May 2017 increasing by 18% to £60m, despite a 2.2% rise in like-for-like sales.

It said it had faced challenging conditions "due to consumer confidence levels and the broader impact on discretionary spending". The firm also said it had seen a "significant" rise in costs.

We have asked Casual Dining head office for comment about the closure of the Strand on the Green restaurant.

February 27, 2019