Scottish restaurant closures as economy bites

Two upscale Scottish restaurants, Boath House in the Highlands (pictured) and Tom Kitchin’s Kora in Edinburgh, have announced their closure in January as the hospitality industry struggles in the face of difficult economic conditions.

Boath House (pictured), a Georgian mansion near Nairn, northeast of Inverness, was launched in April 2022 as a ‘bohemian retreat’ by artist/entrepreneur Jonny Gent with chef Florence Knight, reprising the formula behind their Sessions Arts Club in London’s Clerkenwell.

The closure was announced last week in an email sent to customers reading: “Hello, I am very sorry to inform you that Boath House Hotel and Restaurant has ceased trading and the business is closed with immediate effect. Your dining reservation with us is therefore cancelled. We are very sorry about this situation and the inconvenience it will cause you.”

The regional press reported that the new owners had failed to connect with the local market; the previous owners had operated successfully for 30 years.

Meanwhile, Kora in Bruntsfield – the newest of prominent chef Tom Kitchin’s three Edinburgh restaurants – will serve its last meals tonight, Friday 31 January. Opened in summer 2022, Kora is praised as a “lovely, relaxing place” serving “really delicious nature-to-plate” food in the 2025 Harden’s guide.

The closure was announced in a social media post saying: “We have made the very tough decision to wrap Kora up at the end of this month. Kora by Tom Kitchin has always been a restaurant which we felt really passionate about and we are proud of the great food, service and experiences we have provided to our guests over the past few years.

We have every intention to bring the Kora concept back to Edinburgh one day, but there is no hiding that the current economic climate contributes to this difficult decision. We have no option but to exercise our lease break clause which is now due.”

South of border, this year has already seen the closure of Gary Usher’s Burnt Truffle in the Wirral and London’s Italian heavyweight Locanda Locatelli.

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