After 18 years in business, Ponsonby Road Bistro is closing its doors, marking another stalwart Ponsonby restaurant shutting up shop. 

It comes in the wake of Sid and Chand Sahrawat last month announcing they are closing their Ponsonby restaurant Kol, and the shock closure of SPQR last year after more than 30 years. 

Ponsonby Road Bistro’s owner Blair Russell, 51, told the Herald he has loved the more than two decades he has spent providing hospitality on Ponsonby Road. 

“We are sad to be closing, Ponsonby has been very good to us,” says Russell. “Yes, the last five years have been hard, but [wife and business partner] Gina and I are closing as we want to take on some new challenges.” 

Ponsonby Road Bistro is set to close on May 3. Photo / Brett Phibbs 

After working for more than a decade at some of the world’s best restaurants, Russell first opened a Ponsonby Rd restaurant in 2001, launching Rocco with Auckland restaurateur Mark Wallbank. 

The pair then opened Magnum, which morphed into Ponsonby Road Bistro in 2007. When Wallbank moved on to other establishments in 2011, Russell’s wife, Gina, gradually came on board. 

Wallbank opened The Blue Breeze Inn at Ponsonby Central in 2013. 

Russell says he and Gina will be taking time to chill a little this year and are working on some new business ideas outside of hospitality to launch next year. Ponsonby Road Bistro will have its last dinner service on May 3. 

In an Instagram post, the Russells thanked all their “wonderful customers and the incredible staff who’ve brought their own magic to our restaurant”. 

They said the last dinner service will be on May 3 and they will honour all outstanding vouchers up to this date. 

“Come in for one last meal, one last glass, one last memory,” they wrote, saying their time at the restaurant has been “an unforgettable ride”. 

Earlier this month, Sid and Chand Sahrawat announced they were closing their restaurant Kol, citing challenging trading conditions. 

“The past few months have been tough,” they said in a statement, “and while we’ve made the decision to close, we’re glad we tried - you never know if an idea will succeed unless you try.” 

Kol will host its last dinner service on Mother’s Day. They plan to set up a “hospitality incubator” in the Kol premises to help new ventures test the market before launching out on their own. 

Renowned restaurateurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat announced in April the imminent closure of their third restaurant, KOL in Ponsonby. Its last dinner service will be on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 11. 

In July last year, one of Auckland’s most famous restaurants, SPQR, was placed in liquidation. That same month, Chapel Bar & Bistro, also in Ponsonby, was placed in receivership after it failed to repay a loan to its co-owner worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

In December, Michael and Annette Dearth announced they were closing fine-dining CBD restaurant The Grove, after 20 years. 

“There’s a lot of reasons why we’ve made this decision,” Michael Dearth told the Herald’s Shayne Currie. “It’s definitely been floating around because it’s been such a fight – from the pandemic, to so much uncertainty [with the] global financial crisis and extreme weather events where suddenly vegetables cost more than protein.” 

The Grove owners Michael and Annette Dearth. Photo / Cameron Pitney 

In February, Britomart’s Bar Non Solo and MoVida announced they were closing, with the owners wanting to explore new opportunities. 

In March, popular Auckland eatery Monsoon Poon revealed it is set to close after 20 years in business. It will have its last service on May 3, the same day as Ponsonby Road Bistro will shut its doors for the last time. 

Owner Nicola Richards announced the news with “mixed emotions”, and said the closure came in the wake of the building on the corner of Custom St West and Lower Hobson St in downtown Auckland being sold and set for demolition. 

Last year, Madame George and Pilkingtons Restaurant and Bar also closed. 

SPQR reopened in March under new owners, hospitality business sisters Jessica and Bronwyn Payne, and a new name - Jacuzzi.