Popular Leith tapas restaurant announces they will remain closed for the rest of July

Leith restaurant Tapa will remain closed throughout July.

One of Edinburgh's best-loved Spanish restaurants has announced it will remain closed for the rest of July, due to social distancing concerns.

The owners of the multi-award-winning Tapa, on Shore Place, just off Leith's iconic waterfront, said they have taken the decision not to reopen until they are sure it is safe to do so.

“At Tapa we are fully committed to the health of our customers and staff”, reads a post on the restaurant's website. “As such, we have taken the decision to remain closed for the remainder of July.

“This will enable us to implement new operation procedures and policies to allow us to reopen at a level where we are confident that our restaurant environment is as safe as we can possibly make it.

“We’ll release a further update in due course.”

The restaurant, situated in a converted warehouse just yards from the Shore, previously received support from the local community in order to stay afloat after lockdown.

Having launched a crowdfunding campaign during lockdown, Tapa raised over £16,000 to ensure its survival post Covid-19.

Tapa launched a pay it forward scheme aiming to raise enough money to stay afloat and be able to reopen after the global pandemic and subsequent lockdown, which has caused huge struggles across Scotland’s hospitality sector.

The pay it forward scheme allowed the public to buy vouchers during lockdown which will be worth almost double their price once the restaurant opens.

The original target amount was £5000 over a month but the campaign proved so popular that the restaurant managed to triple its original target within the first ten days, reaching a total of £16,000 in less than two weeks.

Established in 2009 with a vision to bring authentic Spanish cuisine to the vibrant Shore area, the independent restaurant offers a range of creative tapas using artisan produce from small, family run producers.

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