Chef Pip Lacey’s flagship Hicce to close as its landlord exits site
Announcing the closure on Instagram, the pair said the King's Cross development's overall landlord Argent had activated a break clause on clothes shop Wolf & Badger, from which they sublet the site.
According to the post, Lacey and McIntyre were informed 18 months ago while presenting a planned investment to Argent.
“We were offered what turned out to be false hope that we had the possibility to remain, and potentially secure a new long-term lease. While we have tried to negotiate and secure our future either in our current home or a potential new location within Coal Drops Yard, this final hurdle has proven to be the biggest and ultimately, insurmountable.”
The pair - who launched the site in 2018 and now also run a pub under the Hicce brand in nearby Islington and Little Pizza Hicce at the Goodness Brewing Co taproom in north London’s Wood Green - said that “this certainly isn’t the end of the Hicce journey.”
The restaurant’s final service will be in December 2023 but an exact date is yet to be set.
“We will keep you posted on how we intend to celebrate our almost six years in our original home,” the post continues. “Many great hospitality businesses have been unable to survive the events of the last three years. Hicce has not only survived, it has thrived. Ours is certainly not a story of an unsuccessful, unprofitable business. Unfortunately for us, this seems to have not been enough.”
Pronounced ee-che, the restaurant serves modern dishes of fish, meat and vegetables cooked over an open wood fire, as well curing, marinating and pickling ingredients.
Prior to teaming up with long-time friend McIntyre, Lacey was head chef at Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Murano restaurant in Mayfair.
