A London restaurant boss has been forced to permanently close his business this week due to a “sheer indifference” from residents, leaving the place empty. Marco Claudio Valente, who owned Don Ciccio in Highgate, slammed the area’s locals for “never supporting us, not even once”.
In a fiery final post on the restaurant’s website, Mr Valente blamed the closure on people opting for takeaways instead of going out to eat. He said staff were left “humiliated” by empty tables every night, maintaining that it was not the fault of “bad food, bad reviews, or bad luck”.
The restaurant owner told the Daily Mail: “I spent six years in Highgate.
“We tried to do everything, and despite that, we are the only Italian restaurant, probably in the world, that needs to close, not for any bad reviews, prices, quality of food or the service, but just for the indifference around us.
“Of course I stand by my words. They are still there [online]. We had a lot of very nice customers, but it was very tough. We were struggling there and were somehow humiliated in this place.”
After receiving heavy backlash for his “bitter” post on his website, Mr Valente doubled down, saying “you can’t be liked by everyone”.
Don Ciccio was named Traveller’s Choice on Tripadvisor between 2023 and 2025, serving pizzas that cost up to £18 and risotto at £26.
The Italian restaurant has an impressive 4.7 rating out of five on Google, with 700 mostly glowing reviews. Despite this, Mr Valente said he was only making £40 in revenue a day.
He added: “When you are an Italian restaurant, and sometimes you do just £40 or £45 per day total revenue, it is very frustrating. It’s very humiliating. Probably we could have been supported better by the community.
“I’m not saying anything bad against Highgate or the people around us. The point is that nobody supported us, and we were probably the only Italian restaurant in the world making £40 revenue a day.
“An Italian restaurant does not need rich people instead of poor people or normal people. We only need people. It doesn’t matter how rich the wallets of these people are.”
He added: “I’ve asked myself, ‘what’s the problem?’ and we can definitely say the problem is not on us.”