Celebrity chef Michael Caines to close Porthleven restaurant due to soaring costs

A top restaurant in Cornwall owned by celebrity chef Michael Caines will close next month due to the soaring cost of living.

The award-winning chef opened the Harbourside Refuge two years ago in Porthleven.

But he says that rising costs and staff shortages mean the business is no longer viable and has left him with no option but to close over the winter months.

In a statement yesterday (25 October) Caines said: "My team and I found real joy and pride in running the Harbourside Refuge for the past two years, even under the most challenging conditions.

"We have had to deal with a rollercoaster of events from after-effects of Brexit to Covid and now the cost of living crisis - challenges that I know many others are facing too, both locally and nationally.

"We have tried immensely hard to deal with these challenges, but I'm sorry to say that we have not be able to fully recover from the ongoing impact in regards to both supply and staff shortages, allied now with the soaring fuel and cost increases.

"It is therefore with a heavy heart that we have chosen to close Harbourside Refuge from the 6th of November for the foreseeable future as we feel that the business is not sustainable to survive through the winter months to come."

The restaurant has been a popular spot for locals and tourists over the past two years after the chef acquired it from Rich Stein in July 2020.

"I would like to take this moment to thank our incredibly hard working team who hosted so many guests with true passion and dedicated to hospitality", he said.

Many members of the team will move to the Cove in Maenporth, another one of Caines' restaurants.

The chef said he hopes that if costs ease, the Harbourside Refuge may reopen next year.