A Nottingham restaurant has suddenly closed - leaving diners with nowhere to go for Father's Day. It's less than seven months since Tomahawk Steakhouse opened in the city centre, promising to be a meat lovers' dream, serving supersize tomahawk steaks, chateaubriand and the ultimate wagyu carnivore board.
The move hasn't gone down well with customers who have been left in the lurch. They found out about the closure when they received an email from the company yesterday - just six days before Father's Day on Sunday June 18.
One woman said: "I'm livid!!! It will be hard to confirm a reservation at anywhere decent for Father's Day now!!!!" Another diner thought it was a scam, posting on Tomahawk's Facebook page: "Just had an email to say my Father's Day booking has been cancelled. Is this a genuine communication? Seems weird to be advertising Sunday lunches yesterday, then advising you’re closing today."
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A man, whose booking had been cancelled, told Nottinghamshire Live: "It was so sudden. It's a shame as it was a really great place."
The email informed customers: "Unfortunately I am contacting you in regards to your booking at our Tomahawk Steakhouse in Nottingham. We have made the decision to close the restaurant permanently as of today, and so we will have to cancel your reservation.
"If you have a Tomahawk voucher you can redeem this at any of our other sites. I apologise on behalf of Tomahawk Steakhouse for the inconvenience caused. Please get in touch if you have any further questions."
The 105-seater restaurant, in Low Pavement, opened in November 2022 and was the chain's first venture in the Midlands. The property had previously been the short-lived British tapas experience Esculent, which became a victim of the pandemic. Opening just as Covid restrictions were lifted in 2020 it barely lasted a year. Before that it was Italian restaurant Carluccio's, which shut its doors in 2018.
Since opening Tomahawk Steakhouse has had very mixed reviews. One reviewer, who gave it five stars, commented: "100% highly recommend. I'm going back soon with other friends. It's already booked in. Absolutely fantastic steak. Cooked to perfection. I had a medium rare rump with mac and cheese and hash brown and brisket with cheese. All three were fantastic."
Aside from the £20 set menu, diners said it was expensive. "Poor service, waited far too long for food when the restaurant was virtually empty. Sauces came eventually when we had almost finished eating. Food was nice but massively over priced for what we got," said one.
A spokeswoman said the restaurant had been secured on a short-term lease and they had been planning to move to another location in the city centre - the former Oliva's Townhouse - and adding a Brazilian rodizio-style concept with gauchos carving meat at the table. But the timings didn't work out.
She said: "After securing our location in Nottingham last year on a twelve month lease we were excited to open, but knew it was for a limited time at this site in its current format. We had been in talks with other landlords in the city to move into a new site at the former Olivia’s to have a double decker steakhouse with Tomahawk on the ground floor and RIO Brazilian on the first floor.
"This would bring both our award-winning brands to the city in one location, which has proved to be hugely successful in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Unfortunately the timings haven’t worked out for us and the lease at the original Tomahawk Steakhouse on Low Pavement expires on 5th July, leaving us with no time to make the move as intended.
"We hope to bring both our Tomahawk and RIO Brazilian Steakhouses to the beautiful city of Nottingham in the near future but for now Tomahawk at Low Pavement has closed its doors."
Tomahawk has 12 other steakhouses around the country plus six RIO Steakhouses. A further four are planned in York, Sunderland and Sheffield as well at Nottingham.
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