One of the capital’s most popular fish and seafood restaurant concepts of the past decade, London Shell Co, is to abandon its distinctive floating barges, switching focus to dry land.

The Grand Duchess static barge moored in Paddington Basin will run its last service tomorrow (28 September), while the Prince Regent will make its final dinner cruise on Sunday 13 October. London Shell Co’s restaurant, fishmonger and wine shop in Swain’s Lane on the edge of Hampstead Heath will continue to trade as normal.

The company was launched by siblings Harry and Leah Lobek with chef Stuart Kilpatrick in December 2015, cruising along the Regent’s Canal via Maida Vale and Regent’s Park to Camden Lock and back. The static barge followed, while the bricks and mortar site opened last year to acclaim from critics including Giles Coren and Jay Rayner.

Announcing the news via an Instagram post, the company said: “For almost nine years, we’ve floated, sailed and served. Feasting on the water. We can’t change the wind, but we can adjust the sails. We will now focus our attention on our Swain’s Lane fishmonger site and landlubber activities.

“Swain’s Lane continues to go from strength to strength and we’re looking forward to developing this concept and seeing where the next adventure takes us.

“It’s been the biggest trip of our lives, the greatest thing any of us have achieved in our still fledgling careers. We built these businesses from scratch and have been helped along the way by too many to mention. So many wonderful people have boarded our boats over the years. Thank you for celebrating your successes, your birthdays, your weddings and everything in between with us.

“If you have a little piece of the boats forever anchored in your hearts, we hope you find some time to come and visit us before we close.”

The demise of the barges will be widely mourned, with the current Harden’s guide describing their dinner cruises as “a fabulous part of the London restaurant scene“.