Neat's restaurant in Cannes closes

Neat, the Michelin-starred restaurant opened in the South of France by British chef Richard Neat in the summer of 1999, has closed as unexpectedly as its London counterpart did earlier this year.

Staff at the nearby Majestic hotel in Cannes confirmed that the restaurant closed three weeks ago, but they do not yet know why. Its closure leaves the town with just two Michelin-starred restaurants: the Majestic's one-star Villa des Lys and the two-star Palme d'Or.

Bruno Asselin, now sommelier at London's Pied à Terre restaurant and former founding director and restaurant manager for Neat in Cannes, confirmed that the restaurant had closed for good. Asselin was in Cannes a couple of weeks ago but he, too, had no further details about the closure.

Michelin France has also been informed of the restaurant's closure, but has not been told why.

Neat's self-named restaurant in London's Oxo Tower closed suddenly this February, less than eight months after opening. It went into administration, and the lease was sold to Marc Whitley and Richard Sawyer, who have reopened it as the River Walk Restaurant, Bar and Grill.

Neat, who won two Michelin stars in 1996 at the age of 26 at his former restaurant Pied à Terre, could not be reached for comment.

by Angela Frewin