Wabi Shebele

I've heard rumours that Wabi Shebele (http://www.wabishebele.com/)on New Kent Road has closed down. Anyone know what is happening? Would be a shame, as its somewhere I've been looking to try for some time and gets excellent reviews.

It did close down, around December/January. A real shame for the gf and I, as it was the restaurant we frequented the most. We got to know the owner a bit and he was a really nice guy.

Anyways, there was a licensing review poster up on a lamp post beside the restaurant for a while. I did some detective work on the council website when I saw it and it turned out that the adjacent neighbours had been complaining about noise, fights etc. for a long time. We never saw anything odd going on when we went there to eat but then again we never stayed there into the morning hours. Many of the complaints were about loud music being played past its licensed hours.

So yeah... too bad as it was one of the best deals/most interesting places in the area. I did find it strange though that the moment they lost their license another restaurant-type looking place has openened in its place...

Looks like a Turkish - no bad thing, actually... let's hope they bring lahmacuns to this part of London. Hackney's been having these £1.20 lunches to itself for far too long.

Funnily enough, most of the businesses on that strip of NKR seem to have had their fascia signs changed in the past week.

The venue is still owned by the same person - so not sure how changing the ethnicity but keeping the same opening hours will change the complaints about noise and fights.

According to the website it wasn't only the neighbours who were complaining but also the police being called out to disturbances.

Yeah looked Turkish to me when I passed. Interesting if its the same owner. Anyone tried out the new incarnation?

Details of the licensing sub-committee hearing:
http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/mgAi.aspx?ID=15632

So this place turned to 'Nese' (Turkish) briefly, then to 'Habesha' (Ethiopian again). Now it has turned back to Nese? Anyone know whats going on?

It seems to be labelled as Cyprus Nese now... and the premises next door which used to be "That Polish Shop" seems to be a matching food store. Oddly when we walked past one evening recently someone was cooking barbeque in an oil drum outside on the pavement... Who knows??

That Polish Place changed to a Turkish cafe quite a while ago now, but it is very recent that the restaurant went (again) from Ethiopian to Turkish. Can't keep up.

I walked passed today and it's a building site inside, so it's being done up. What food it will serve when it's finished is anyone's guess.