Wimbledon independent neighbourhood restaurant The White Onion has closed down after seven years, to be replaced by The Black Sheep, the latest addition to the Gladwin brothers’ fast-growing group Local & Wild.

The White Onion’s managing director, Beggy Ashurov, blamed the closure on the “difficult circumstances surrounding Covid-19 and Brexit that our restaurant has been through over the past few years“. Praised in the latest Harden’s guide for its “consistently high-quality European cooking”, the High Street venue served its last meals on 27 March.

Opening in May, the Black Sheep will be the sixth London restaurant from Richard, Oliver and Gregory Gladwin since they launched the Shed in Notting Hill 10 years ago, followed by Rabbit in Chelsea, Nutbourne in Battersea, Sussex in Soho and the Fat Badger, opened late last year in Richmond. The family farm and vineyard, Nutbourne in West Sussex, supplies meat and wine to the restaurants.

Richard Gladwin said: “With the momentum from our recent opening in Richmond behind us, we’re excited to expand our neighbourhood offering in Wimbledon. We have established and nurtured such fantastic relationships with farmers across the country and look forward to showcasing even more of their produce in our new restaurant. 

“It’s great to be fighting back post-pandemic and giving people an excuse to dine out again and enjoy the season’s harvest over a glass of wine.”

By a quirk of restaurant naming, one of The Black Sheep’s closest competitors in Wimbledon’s culinary market will be Black Radish, just around the corner from the High Street in the Ridgway.