Sambal Shiok restaurant closes after eight years of trading

Sambal Shiok Laksa Bar in London’s Highbury has closed after eight years of trading amid “relentless cost increases”.

Chef-founder Mandy Yin, a former corporate lawyer, started Sambal Shiok as a street food business in 2013 before opening the Malaysian restaurant in north London in 2018.

While Sambal Shiok has been her “heart, pride and life’s work”, Yin stated she could no longer continue “carrying the financial risk or injecting funds” to keep the business afloat.

She wrote in a post on Instagram: “Relentless cost increases, staffing pressures and the weight of operational responsibility has taken a deep toll on my mental health and personal life.

“Since Covid, trading has become increasingly volatile and unpredictable. Our autumn/winters – match season on the Holloway Road – have still brought wonderful customers through the door. But revenue has not kept pace with the rising costs of running an independent restaurant.”

She hit out at the government for failing to recognise the value of the industry, referring to the the “UK doesn’t need any more restaurants” comment from the adviser to Rachel Reeves earlier this year.

In separate press materials, Yin attributed Sambal Shiok’s closure to “structural cost pressures facing the UK’s independent hospitality sector rather than any single event”.

She thanked her customers, staff, suppliers and the broader London hospitality community for their support over the past 13 years, and added: “It will not be the end of my story.”

She has since shifted her focus towards finding new roles for staff, including her head chef and assistant manager, who are seeking employers with unallocated sponsorship certificates.

In a 2018 review in The Guardian, food critic Grace Dent described Sambal Shiok as an “emerging national treasure”.

The restaurant also received the Ching-He Huang Best Innovation Award for its contributions to Malaysian cuisine.