Fourfold rent rise in eight years kills Hong Kong steakhouse Blue, formerly Blue Butcher

Sheung Wan restaurant that launched restaurant group behind Mott 32, international fine-dining Chinese restaurant chain, to close this week with farewell dinner

Chef who launched the restaurant, known for its in-house dry-ageing room and butchery services, has returned to cook a special menu

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The interior of Blue – Butcher and Meat Specialist, formerly Blue Butcher, on Hollywood Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. Its rent has risen fourfold since opening in 2011, forcing its closure.

Published: 5:09pm, 15 May 2019Updated: 5:42pm, 15 May 2019

After eight years, Blue – Butcher and Meat Specialist, previously known as Blue Butcher, will close its doors on May 19 following a special dinner. To end the restaurant’s run on a high note, Danny Chaney, who was head chef when the restaurant opened in 2011, will return to cook a special menu.

Maximal Concepts, the restaurant group behind the steakhouse on Hollywood Road, says the decision was a financial one.

“We had seen a fourfold increase in our rental rates since we opened in 2011,” says Malcolm Wood, co-founder and group culinary director.

The company hopes to reopen Blue in another location, but nothing is confirmed yet.

A 32oz bone-in Australian wagyu rib eye steak served at Blue in Mid-Levels. The restaurant will close on May 19 after a special dinner.

It was the first of many restaurants opened by Maximal Concepts, whose stable of dining establishments includes Chinese fine-dining restaurant Mott 32, Nordic casual-dining restaurant The Flying Elk, seafood and craft beer joint Limewood, Cantonese restaurant John Anthony, and taco shop Brick House.