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After eight years serving bowls of fiery noodle soups, steaming curry laksa and crunchy Malaysian fried chicken, beloved London restaurant Shambal Shiok has shut up shop. Founder Mandy Yin said that she ‘cannot continue personally carrying the financial risk or injecting funds to keep the business afloat’.
Sambal Shiok began life as a humble street food stall, before Yin opened her brick-and-mortar restaurant on Holloway Road in 2018. Its flavoursome soups, salads, chicken and signature nyonya curry laksa became a firm favourite on the London food scene, and earned a five-star review from Time Out. However, like many eateries in the capital at the moment, Shambal Shiok has struggled to operate under the cost-of-living crisis and an increasingly unviable business environment.
In a statement on Instagram, Yin wrote: ‘Since 2013, Sambal Shiok has been my heart, my pride and my life’s work. I built my food business on a bootstrap – from street food, to pop-up restaurant, to bricks-and-mortar - because I believed that the flavours of Malaysia, made from scratch, deserved a place in London. But ultimately, it is my name and my family’s security on the line.
‘I cannot continue personally carrying the financial risk or injecting funds to keep the business afloat. Relentless cost increases, staffing pressures and the weight of operational responsibility have taken a deep toll on my mental health and personal life.
‘Since Covid, trading has become increasingly volatile and unpredictable. Our autumn/winters – match season on the Holloway Road – have still brought wonderful customers through the door. But revenue has not kept pace with the rising costs of running an independent restaurant.
‘“The UK doesn’t need any more restaurants”- adviser to Rachel Reeves, Feb 2026. A sobering reminder of how fragile and undervalued independent hospitality feels right now.’
The news follows a wave of high-profile restaurant closures in London, including Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Saltine and Silo.
It’s with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to this bona fide north London institution. However, Yin continues, ‘Sambal Shiok has been a huge chapter of my life. It will not be the end of my story.’ So, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for Yin’s next steps.
In some good hospitality news: the baker behind one of north London’s most hyped bakeries is planning a new café.
And, you can eat one of the best burgers in the world in London.
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