After eight years, one of the best restaurants in the Highbury and Islington area, Sambal Shiok, has closed the doors for good (on 27 May). The Malaysian restaurant, which opened on the Holloway Road in 2018 has been forced to close thanks to the financial pressures that are starting to hit more and more small businesses.
As founder Mandy Yin says "Sambal Shiok’s closure reflects structural cost pressures facing the UK’s independent hospitality sector rather than any single event. The numbers stopped working."
Sambal Shiok had started life as a food stall before moving onto pop-ups and eventually launching the permanent restaurant. It quickly became one of the best Malaysian restaurants in the city, with people travelling from far and wide to try the signature laksa dishes. Mandy Yin also wrote a best-selling Malaysian cookbook to accompany the restaurant. It's a big loss to the area and hopefully, we'll see Sambal Shiok back one day in one form or another. And maybe, just maybe, we'll see some more help for hospitality from the government at some point (looks hopefully at Makerfield...).
For more, follow them on Instagram @sambalshiok.
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