Mãos, the acclaimed experimental restaurant in Shoreditch, is to close “in its current form” at the end of April – an announcement that possibly leaves the door ajar for a next step.

Part of design and fashion entrepreneur James Brown’s Blue Mountain venture in Redchurch Street, Mãos opened four years ago under Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes (left in picture), who is about to launch Lisboeta restaurant in Fitzrovia. He left Mãos in 2020, with head chef Edoardo Pellicano (right) taking over at the stoves.

Diners pay more than £200 a head for a set menu in the tiny, informal space. Few are disappointed, with Mãos earning outstanding scores for food and service in the 2022 Harden’s guide.

In an email sent to diners, Brown said Mãos often has more than 100 names on the waiting list for a sitting. “With only 16 seats to fill, we have far outgrown our small space both creatively and functionally and feel that we have achieved all that we set out to do and more.”

He also paid tribute to Pellicano – born in London to an Italian father and Chinese-Singaporean mother – for taking “the restaurant to new heights with a level of cooking that to me is unparalleled in London, becoming one of the most brilliantly talented chefs in the culinary world today.”