Political favourite Roux at Parliament Square has closed for good due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After Shepherd’s closed, RAPS remained one of the few high-end restaurants close to Parliament, and regularly hosted MPs and Lords who fancied a good meal out.

Indeed, the food was often deemed “outstanding”.

The restaurant was overseen by the celebrity chef Michel Roux Jr and for ten years it performed well in our surveys. Its head chef Steve Groves was a firm favourite, steering the menu towards fine dining without unnecessary pretentiousness.

In a message on its website, the team said: “Our restaurant has regrettably suffered during this incredibly difficult year. That, combined with the ongoing uncertainty ahead, has resulted in the permanent closure of Roux at Parliament Square.

“We thank our guests for their patronage and support and extend a special thank you to Michel Roux Jr., head chef Steve Groves and every single member of the team for their endless dedication over the past decade.”

For those with long memories, this closure has echoes of the downturn in the early 1990s, which had a much more severe impact on restaurants than the 2008 downturn. In the 1990s, Westminster banqueting venues such as those within The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – in which Roux at Parliament Square is located – suffered a huge downturn and were effectively mothballed for an extensive period of time.