Thomas Straker’s restaurant hit by kitchen fire

The Staff Canteen

Thomas Straker has outlined plans to keep business ticking at his eponymous London restaurant Straker’s, which is currently closed after a kitchen fire.

The incident occurred on Saturday night (May 3), after an issue with the extraction system, which damaged part of the restaurant. Thankfully, nobody was injured.

Thomas is now in the interim looking to launch a new cold bar concept at the venue.

A statement released via Instagram read: “Dear Customers, Patrons, and Friends,

“We want to share an important update with you. On Saturday night, we experienced a fire in our kitchen extraction system. Thankfully, no one was injured and the damage was contained to the rear section of the restaurant, specifically around the kitchen’s extract fan and KP area.

“We’re still investigating the cause of the fire and expect to have more clarity by the end of the week. In the meantime, our team has rallied together - as creatives do - to find a way forward.

“Our top priority is to support and retain all of our full-time staff during this time. With that in mind, we’re working quickly to reconfigure the restaurant space and adapt our offering.

“We’re excited to announce that we’ll soon be launching a cold bar concept, featuring a vibrant and evolving selection of dishes, think beautiful salads, crudos, and carpaccios - all prepared with the same seasonal flare from our kitchen.

“Of course, we’ll also continue serving our full, exceptional wine list curated by Callum, so you can still enjoy the best of what we do in a new and exciting format.

“We’ll share more details soon, and we can’t wait to welcome you back.

“With gratitude,

“Thomas Straker and all the Straker’s team”

all things butter

Thomas has become a social media sensation, with over five million followers across Instagram and TikTok, led by viral videos of his butter creations.

Straker’s opened in 2022 and was his first restaurant, described as “serving a neighbourhood vibe with great music, cocktails and food you, and Thomas, love to eat”.

It is situated in Notting Hill’s Golborne Road and serves Modern European food.

Thomas, who trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School and has a background working at the likes of The Dorchester, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Elystan Street, also this week released a cookbook called Food You Want to Eat.

Straker’s is the second high profile London restaurant this week to hit the headlines due to a fire, with Thai restaurant Som Saa in Spitalfields also suffering significant damage due to a problem in the kitchen extraction system.

contribute the staff canteen

 

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 9th May 2025

Thomas Straker’s restaurant hit by kitchen fire