Bar + Block steakhouse will close all 20 of its UK and Northern Ireland restaurants on Thursday, September 3, as parent company Whitbread proceeds with a sweeping overhaul of its hospitality business.
The closures are part of a major restructuring that will see around 200 branded restaurant sites shut down, including the entire Bar + Block chain, which Whitbread launched in 2016 to attract a younger, more modern crowd. Known for its affordable cuts, extensive cocktail list and relaxed atmosphere, the brand was popular with locals.
Affected locations
Among the sites closing are the Whiteley Shopping Centre and Portsmouth branches in Hampshire. The loss of the Whiteley site leaves a prominent vacant space in the retail hub.
Cllr Sudhakar Achwal, Liberal Democrat for Whiteley and Shedfield, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It is a shame that Bar + Block is closing; the restaurant has been in Whiteley Shopping Centre for a few years. It has been a popular place in Whiteley, and I am sorry to see it close."
Customer notification
Customers received an email this week confirming the final day of trading. The message read: "We have some important news to share about the future of our restaurants. As you may have seen, we have recently announced changes to our business, which are resulting in the closure of our Branded Restaurants. This means that on Thursday, September 3, 2026, all UK and Northern Ireland Bar + Block restaurants will be closed. From all of us at Bar + Block, thank you for being a valued customer."
Bar + Block is not the only brand being phased out as Whitbread refocuses on expanding its Premier Inn hotel network. The September 3 deadline also marks the end of Whitbread's Table Table, after an 18-year run, and Cookhouse + Pub sites across the UK.
Broader closures
All 106 remaining Beefeater restaurants will close permanently on September 10, and Brewers Fayre restaurants will shut down completely three days earlier. In total, around 200 branded restaurant sites will be closed as part of the shift, wiping out a large portion of Whitbread's traditional casual dining footprint.
The decision is part of an aggressive five-year plan to slash costs and maximise space. Earlier this year, Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul pointed to severe economic pressures facing the hospitality sector, including significant cost increases driven by rises in National Insurance and business rates, as a key driver for the change.
Under the survival plan, Whitbread will sell off 110 restaurant sites outright and convert roughly 112 underperforming sites into more than 3,500 new Premier Inn hotel rooms. While up to 3,800 job roles are at risk, Whitbread maintains it is trying to minimise compulsory redundancies. A spokesperson previously said: "As a business which recruits around 15,000 people every year, we expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible."
