Cub, Mr Lyan’s Hoxton bar, closes

Mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana’s east London bar Cub will not reopen post-lockdown.

Cub, the Hoxton venue run Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr Lyan) and Masterchef finalist Doug McMaster, will not re-open at its site following lockdown, according to the founders.

The bar, which was launched in 2017 on the site of Chetiyawardana’s old site White Lyan, was best-known for its innovative cocktails and focus on sustainability and food waste.

The bar’s mission statement when it opened was to “blur the boundaries of food and drink by approaching them as a united entity”.

Chetiyawardana, himself a former scientist, and McMaster also worked with a number of experts within the food and hospitality world to create serves from less common ingredients.

Last year, the pair recruited Dr Johnny Drain, the editor of Mold, a bi-annual magazine charting the crossover between science and food, to build a fermentation lab at his Hoxton bar and restaurant Cub to give chefs access to unique ingredients produced in-house.

Among the other collaborators behind the sustainably-focused Cub are food alchemist Dr Arielle Johnson, and drinks partners Krug Champagne, Belvedere and LVMH.

Masterchef finalist Doug McMaster and Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr Lyan) teamed up to launch Cub in 2017.

The Lyan team said in a statement they hope to keep the Cub brand alive pop-ups and events in the future. Lyan Studio, the Mr Lyan creative agency, will continue to be based in Hoxton.

“Cub was named as the baby of the group – it was precious and important – and it is incredibly sad to see it go,” Chetiyawardana said.

“What the team created was something we were truly in awe of – something that reflected our desire to provide a super fun space for our guests, that also showed that our generation could have a positive impact on the world through food and drink.

“Although it won’t reopen as a permanent space, we certainly will continue its legacy as that still stands strong, and something we hope to bring back in the future.”