Spaghetti House Closes After Seven Decades as Administration Ends Iconic Italian Chain

One of London’s most enduring Italian restaurant brands has fallen silent, as Spaghetti House — a fixture on the capital’s dining scene for 70 years — has ceased trading following the appointment of administrators.

Lavval Restaurants Limited, the family-owned company behind the Spaghetti House name, entered administration on 6 May, with insolvency specialists Asher Miller and Stephen Katz of Begbies Traynor (BTG) appointed to manage a controlled wind-down of the business. All five remaining London restaurants — located in Marble Arch, Carnaby, Oxford Street, Kensington and Soho — shut their doors immediately upon the appointment, and all employees were made redundant.

The closure draws a line under a story that began in 1955, when two Italian friends, Simone Lavarini and Lorenzo Fraquelli, opened a small pasta restaurant on Goodge Street in central London. What started as a modest venture grew into a much-loved hospitality institution, with the brand at its height operating close to a dozen London sites and its own range of retail pasta products stocked in premium outlets including Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.

Luigi Lavarini, executive chairman and chief executive of Lavval Restaurants Limited, said: “After 70 years of serving our loyal customers, it is with a heavy heart that we announce Lavval Restaurants Limited has entered administration and will cease trading. Years of increasing costs from the pandemic, Brexit, government budgets and global instability have created difficult market conditions for hospitality.

“Balancing these costs with reduced demand and spending from customers as they navigate the rising cost of living has proven too challenging. Despite best efforts and seeking professional advice, we have had to make this difficult but necessary decision to wind down our business.

“We are immensely proud of what our family and our incredible team have built over seven decades. Their dedication, resilience, and commitment have been at the heart of everything we have achieved. We would like to express our deepest thanks and gratitude to our loyal customers, partners, and team members, past and present, for their support over the years.”.

Asher Miller, partner at BTG, pointed to a deteriorating market backdrop that had placed hospitality operators under exceptional strain in recent years, citing surging employment costs, energy bills and tax burdens as key factors. He confirmed that administrators would now work to achieve the best possible outcome for creditors, support former employees with any claims arising from redundancy, and fulfil all statutory obligations.

Miller described it as a genuine loss to see a long-established restaurant business close, and noted that the decision had clearly not been reached easily by the directors.

A short message posted to the Spaghetti House website expressed gratitude to those who had supported the brand throughout its lifetime, and offered an apology to customers for the abrupt end to its trading.