Michelin-starred Hjem in Northumberland to close at the end of the year

Northumberland chef Alex Nietosvuori and his partner, Ally Thompson, are to close their Michelin-starred restaurant Hjem at the end of the year.

The pair launched Hjem in Hexham inside the 11-bedroom Hadrian hotel in 2019 after meeting during their travels abroad.

In a post on Instagram, the owners confirmed Hjem will close on 31 December this year after six years of trading.

The post read: “Having announced plans to build and open a purpose-built restaurant-with-rooms, Freyja on the Close House Estate in nearby Wylam, we have decided that the rest of 2025 will serve as a glorious celebration of everything we have accomplished at Hjem as we look forward to the next adventure.

“Reservations are now open until the end of September. We’ll be announcing some exciting events along the way also. We can’t wait to celebrate with guests old and new in what is going to be a fantastic final year at Hjem!”

Hjem takes its name from the Norwegian word for ‘home’ and offers fine dining-style dishes with a focus on Scandinavian flavours and Tyne Valley produce.

Nietosvuori previously worked at the two-Michelin-starred Daniel Berlin restaurant near Southern Skåne in Sweden, Bror in Copenhagen, Frantzén in Stockholm, Fäviken in northern Sweden and the three-Michelin-starred Maaemo in Oslo.

The Michelin Guide praised Hjem for highlighting Nietosvuori’s Swedish heritage through a ‘fika’ course, which provided a “generous and fittingly memorable end to a superlative experience” and awarded the restaurant with its first Michelin star in 2021.

At the time, Hjem was widely reported as Northumberland’s first Michelin-starred kitchen.