Acclaimed Bristol restaurant to close after 25 years

It has been part of Bristol’s food and drink scene for a quarter of a decade, transforming from being a family-run pizzeria in Westbury-on-Trym to a Michelin-starred restaurant acclaimed as one of the best in the UK.

But all good things must come to an end – and if you have never dined at Casamia before you now only have until August 20 to visit before it closes.

Its closure has been blamed on the restaurant becoming “financially unviable”. In its place at The General will come a new more casual restaurant from the Sanchez-Iglesias family, who will continue to also run their neighbouring Michelin-star establishment, Paco Tapas.

Casamia changed almost beyond recognition after lockdown under head chef Zak Kitchman, with the white walls of the dining room painted black and the £180 20-course meal soundtracked by loud music with flashing lights.

Hitchman spoke to the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast in November 2021 about the restaurant’s reinvention:

Writing on Instagram on Monday, Hitchman said: “In August 2020 we ripped up Casamia’s rule book and started fresh. We created an unconventional restaurant, serving 20 courses of food like you’ve never had before, soundtracked by an eclectic mix of music played through a ridiculous soundsystem.

“We were determined to keep evolving, so we quickly became a very creative space, taking on influence more from gigs, film and theatre, than restaurants we’d been to.

“We filled Casamia with graffiti, record sleeve menus, neon lighting, strobes, and projectors showing interesting and peculiar cinematography. Most importantly we created a restaurant filled with a team enjoying themselves.

“We kept the same core team through covid, and there is no way Casamia would be the same without any one of us.

“For reasons out of my hands Casamia will be closing permanently on August 20th.

“I have very mixed feelings about this, part of me likes that it couldn’t exist for long as it fits the concept of rip it up and start again, it would obviously be great if we weren’t all out of a job though.

I don’t know that a restaurant quite like this will exist again, and we won’t be going out quietly, so come and see it before we close.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1uQeYKqdx/

In a statement published by CODE, Peter Sanchez-Iglesias blamed rising costs and tighter margins for the closure of Casamia, which he has been spending less time himself in recently while overseeing Decimo in Kings Cross.

He said: “The project has served some amazing food – imaginative, complex and fun and for me personally it’s been a breath of fresh air and really invigorating to see a restaurant operate so well in such an original way.

“In the spirit of creativity the team and I are ready for a new project. We have great plans for this site to become something new, and a little more accessible, later this year.”

Main photo: Casamia

Read more: Breakfast With Bristol24/7: Peter Sanchez-Iglesias

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: