A restaurant that opened just before the pandemic has announced its last day of trading will be April 29, after a tumultuous few years of trading. Headed up by friends Holly Meyrick and Palestine-born chef Omar Jowhar, Jafra on Gloucester Road serves a range of traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, including flatbreads, musakhan and nabulsi, with a popular Sunday Roast offering.
On Instagram, Omar wrote: "For whatever reasons; too many false starts, global pandemic, faltering economy - whatever, the chips didn’t land" and that "after two and a half years, the big lights are coming up and it’s time to call curtains." But in the lengthy post, they paid tribute to their staff and customers, adding: "We set out to do something different, joining the leagues of amazing Bristol independents sticking two fingers up to the tide of mediocrity."
Since its conception, Jafra has faced turbulent times, launching in March 2020 as a festival concept that aimed to combine food, music and performance. The set-up included a vintage bus renovated into a fully functioning kitchen, a large stretch tent, and seating for 200 people.
