Antonia Macone has run the restaurant since 2006

A RESTAURANT which has been a celebrated part of Hampstead’s village charm since the 1960s is to close with its owner warning of the challenging trading conditions.

La Cage Imaginaire, the much-loved French and Italian restaurant in Flask Walk, will shut at the end of next month after nearly 20 years under the same family’s ownership.

It was seen by movie-goers this year as the setting for a date scene in the fourth Bridget Jones film, but the cosy spot had been well-loved for many years for its French and Italian menu.

Owner Antonia Macone, who has run the restaurant since 2006, said the decision to close has been a difficult one. “The trading atmosphere is quite heavy at the moment,” she said. “It is a little bit complicated to trade now.”

She has a long history with the restaurant.

“I started to work here when it was the summer of 2000 – when I met my ex-husband in this restaurant.”

He was the chef at the time, and the pair later took over the business from its previous owner.

“We had the opportunity to buy the business and we did,” she said. “We keep the name as La Cage Imaginaire. It used to be successful. We just made our own changes to improve. I think that this restaurant was opened for the first in 1969.”

Ms Macone said the main reason for closing is the pressure on small independent businesses.

“Even for the amount of people that come, the business like this is very costly,” she said. “The freehold of this building has been sold to someone else. This person has his own project, which I don’t know yet.”

She said she was planning to invite regulars for a final farewell.

“I was thinking to invite the locals,” she said. “The locals they have been supporting me well ­­– even during Covid and even after Covid. I want to thank people.”

Antonia Macone

Ms ­Macone said the restaurant has always been more than just a place to eat.

“What I will miss the most is the Hampstead people,” she said.

“I love them. And the atmosphere in Hampstead. It’s been one of the best life experiences, working in Hampstead.”

Film crews had been busy all over Hampstead for the filming of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy last year and the location had previously been used by Ricky Gervais for his Netflix comedy After Life.

“All of Flask Walk was turned into a film set,” Ms Macone said.

“I met ‘Bridget Jones’, Renée [Zellweger] – she was very nice. The experience with Ricky Gervais was very nice too. I was seeing how they made the film sets, even all day outdoors and how they were preparing the restaurant. He was also a customer – he used to come here to eat. I had a lot of Hampstead celebrities to eat here.”

Rowan Atkinson and the late John Hurt have been among past diners.

But despite the star names, family has always been at the heart of La Cage Imaginaire, Ms Macone said.

“My mummy used to come in summer time to work in the kitchen,” she said. “Now she has passed away.”

Her mother was one of the first Italians to die at the start of the Covid crisis.

“She passed away 17th of January 2021,” Ms Macone. “In Italy it was already spreading, but nobody knew what it was then.”

Her daughter, Maria, began working at the restaurant at 16 before going to university.

“I do have memories with family, with my nieces coming to help me here,” she said. “It will be sad.”

The restaurant is now run by a small team of three, serving 28 covers a night.

Her favourite dishes are the beef bourguignon and coq au vin.

Like many independent businesses, she says, La Cage Imaginaire has struggled with rising costs.

“Now it’s very hard,” she said. “I’m closing because it’s the economic difficulty which all the businesses face now. I found it too hard for me to go through this with a small team.”

Ms Macone plans to return to Italy once the restaurant closes, adding: “Rome is where I’m from. I haven’t decided at 100 per cent what to do, but I’m a kind of person I need to work.”

As she prepares to say goodbye, Ms Macone sad she hoped the restaurant would be remembered as more than just a place to eat.

“A great restaurant with a community direction because I always like to help people around here,” she said. “I put all myself inside this restaurant. Thank you for all the customers for these 20 good years.”