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Londoners, it might be time to show your closest burger joint some love, because restaurants are closing faster than you can say ‘quarterpounder with cheese’.
In the space of just two weeks, two big hitters – MeatLiquor and Patty&Bun – both announced they’d be shuttering multiple venues.
In the latter case, closures have been the result of a major restructure, with the chain promising that ‘this isn’t goodbye to Patty&Bun. It’s just the end of this chapter’.
As for MeatLiquor, well, founder Scott Collins told the Telegraph last April that he didn’t expect the business to be ‘making any money in the next financial year, and that’s with opening a brand new site, so the coffers are empty’.
A year later, his prediction seems to have come true. Collins confirmed last month that the group had appointed BPI Asset Advisory to assess its options, and the chain has shuttered more than half of its venues.
Collins founded MeatLiquor with Yianni Papoutsis in 2011 and its no-nonsense attitude to ‘dude food’ soon put it on the map. By 2018 it operated 11 outlets, including Meat Mission in Hoxton and Meat Market in Covent Garden.
Now, MeatLiquor’s burger bars in Clapham Junction, Queensway and Islington have all closed their doors. Its Brighton outpost, which has been flipping patties and toasting buns for 13 years, is also out of commission, as is The Dartmouth Arms pub in Forest Hill, also part of the group’s estate.
Until recently, the group operated seven branches in London and one each in Brighton and Leeds. Its Leeds site closed last September after 11 years of trading, with the founders saying it was ‘cheaper to close than stay open’.
Collins said of the new closures: ‘We’re in the same position as a lot of others in the industry and I’m just getting ahead of things before we’re forced to.’
He blamed ‘war’ and ‘more tube strikes’ for creating continued uncertainty and increasing challenges for hospitality businesses.
As for the remaining sites, you can still grab one of the brand’s signature mustard-fried beef patties and signature Dead Hippie sauce in East Dulwich and Oxford Circus. Plus, sister sports bar Bloodsports, which opened in Covent Garden in February last year, is also still welcoming guests.
Which MeatLiquor restaurants have closed?
- York Place, Brighton
- Northcote Road, Clapham Junction
- The Dartmouth Arms, Forest Hill
- Upper Street, Islington
- Trinity, Leeds
- Queensway
And which ones are staying open?
- Bloodsports, Covent Garden
- Lordship Lane, East Dulwich
- Margaret Street, Oxford Circus
Did you see that one of London’s best pizzas is coming to a bar in Hackney Wick?
Plus: 9 London steak restaurants have been named in the 101 best in the world for 2026.
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