'We hate living by posh restaurant after shooting and Molotov cocktail bombing'

05 July 2023 , 23:02

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Police at the Monak restaurant following a fire bombing (Image: UkNewsinPictures)

Residents by an upmarket restaurant on London's fashionable Abbey Road want it closed following two attacks including a fire bombing.

Nearly 200 neighbours have put their name to a petition to have the pan-Asian sushi house Monak, in celebrity haunt St John's Wood, shut.

It comes after a masked gang armed with huge machetes stormed the restaurant and set it on fire in April. The six armed men, said to be wearing balaclavas, fled the scene after reportedly threatening staff with large knives, then launched Molotov cocktails into the building.

And shots were said to have been fired at the eatery in another incident in May, 2022, but no one was reportedly injured.

The swanky restaurant sits just yards from the Beatles' famous zebra crossing for the cover of their Abbey Road album, released in 1969.

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Many local residents now want the restaurant closed (UkNewsinPictures)

Now the families and businesses have backed the petition calling for the restaurant that has been 'plagued' by crime and disorder to lose its licence.

Police applied to Westminster City Council to review its licence, citing these two incidents, reported MyLondon.

Emails show Cllr Caroline Sargent, the Conservative member for Abbey Road Ward, calling for Monak to be reviewed.

Cllr Sargent said: "We are supporting residents and businesses nearby who, for the past several years, have been plagued by at best nuisance, and at worst crime and disorder associated with the premises."

According to the email, nearly 200 families have felt the impact "on a daily basis".

Other businesses in the area have also signed a petition calling for a review.

Referring to the 2022 shooting, the Met Police wrote in its application that the motive remained unknown, but it was believed a group of customers who had arrived at the restaurant without booking a table were connected. Police stated the gang had "Molotov cocktails" and firebombed the venue before running off.

London Fire Brigade said there were no reported injuries but half of the ground floor of the restaurant was damaged while police stated in their submission that one person was taken to hospital with "shrapnel injuries".

Meanwhile, Monak has announced online it is temporarily closed for "internal works" and its website is down.

Anyone wishing to make a representation about the review can contact the licensing team at Westminster City Council before July 11.

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The Mirror have attempted to contact Monak for comment.

Joseph Reaidi