Brighton Marina Cafe Rouge closes

Cafe Rouge closed its doors at the marina for the last time yesterday as part of a national string of closures by food conglomerate Big Table Group.

The restaurant has been on the Marina boardwalk for 15 years. The closure comes after branches of Cafe Rouge shut elsewhere. The Bournemouth branch shut in December, Bluewater in Kent in August and in Witney, Oxfordshire, closed last month, where the company will install its other brand Bella Italia.

The Marina is a popular destination for families, with its cinema and bowling alley (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

A spokeswoman for Cafe Rouge said: "We review every site to ensure we always have the right offer in the right location, and after careful consideration we have made the difficult decision to close our restaurant in Brighton on February 1."

Owners Big Table Group say they have offered staff jobs at their other rstaurants Las Iguanas and Bella Italia.

The spokeswoman added: "Wherever possible, our team have been offered roles at other Big Table Group restaurants. We’d like to thank all our customers and apologise for any inconvenience this will cause.”

The Big Table Group has not confirmed if it will replace Cafe Rouge with one of its other brands at the marina site.