A Sutton bistro has paused its dinner service just four months after expanding into nights, with its owner saying he was working 18–20-hour days to keep up with demand.
LA Café, opposite Sutton station on the High Street, began opening on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings after a major refurbishment earlier this year.
But owner and chef Ankur Baria has now announced that the regular evening service will be paused, saying the problem was not a lack of customers but the size of the café's kitchen.
In a personal update, Ankur said the evening services had been "heavily booked", with some nights completely full and customer feedback "incredible".
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He said: "The reason is simply space. Our kitchen is tiny.
"Thursday–Saturday are already our busiest daytime services, and then we reset the same kitchen and go straight into a high-end, multi-course evening service.
"For me, that has meant 18–20 hour days."
Ankur, who opened LA Café in May 2021, said that after 27 years as a chef, he knew the difference between making something work and making it sustainable.
"If we had a bigger kitchen, we would absolutely continue," he said. "The customers, bookings, and passion are all there – the space simply isn't.
"And I will never allow our food, service, or standards to suffer just to keep something going."
The decision comes after LA Café underwent a major refurbishment earlier this year as it evolved from a daytime café into a bistro and restaurant.
At the time, Ankur said the changes were designed to prepare the Sutton business for evening service, with a new kitchen, flooring, panelling, and redesigned seating.
He described the transformation as "a café and bistro reimagined and now ready for evening".
The café, which opened in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, has built a reputation for high-end brunch dishes and daily changing specials, and has won multiple awards alongside an incredible 2,000 five-star customer reviews.
Existing evening bookings will still be honoured, but LA Café will not take new regular evening reservations.
Ankur said the change was not the end of the café's evening offering.
Instead, the business is evolving again into LA Café Bistro, with a new brunch and bistro menu bringing together five years of popular specials alongside new dishes.
A new drinks menu and daytime wine list will also be introduced.
Evening dining will return in a more limited form, with Ankur planning themed dinners once or twice a month featuring limited tables and special menus.
He said: "Sometimes growing isn't about doing more. It's about doing what you do best, even better."
Ankur thanked customers who had supported the evening service, adding: "Thank you for making our evenings such a success."
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