Ed Sheeran's upmarket Notting Hill restaurant, Bertie Blossoms, has become the latest casualty of Britain's pub crisis, with debts nearing £1.3 million. Accounts filed in December reveal that the company behind the venue, Dive Bar Portobello, had net current liabilities of £1.3 million as of December 2024, a significant increase from £763,000 in December 2021.
The restaurant, which opened in September 2019 on Portobello Road, has struggled to turn a profit since the Covid-19 pandemic. Sheeran, 35, refused to furlough his ten staff during the pandemic, instead paying their wages from his own pocket. The business has since reduced its workforce from ten in 2020 to five in 2024.
Bertie Blossoms, named in honour of Sheeran's wife Cherry Seaborn, has faced criticism from diners. In 2023, customers complained about £19 dishes, describing them as 'second-rate microwave meals'. One TripAdvisor reviewer said the food was 'expensive for what tasted like a second-rate microwave meal' and criticised the kitchen's cleanliness.
The restaurant's struggles mirror a wider trend across the UK, where two pubs are closing daily. Reform UK recently proposed measures to save pubs, including reducing VAT to 10 per cent for hospitality and cutting beer duty by 10 per cent. Reform MP Lee Anderson blamed the main parties for 'facilitating' the closure of thousands of pubs over the last decade.
