The St Albans branch of Raymond Blanc’s restaurant, Brasserie Blanc, is set to close next week.

The restaurant will be replaced by The Ivy, which serves modern British food and was founded in London in 1917.

A spokeswoman for Brasserie Blanc said: “After over five years of positive trading in St Albans the decision to close the Brasserie Blanc has not been an easy one.

“We continually evaluate where the most appropriate locations are for our brasseries, this means we have a healthy programme of openings but also leads to us relocating or closing certain sites. The offer made to us by Caprice Holdings (The Ivy) was very attractive and will be invested into the expansion programme.

Last year saw the opening of our 19th and 20th sites in Fulham Reach and Bournemouth and we look forward to announcing further openings in the coming year. All staff are being offered the opportunity to relocate to one of our other Brasserie Blancs or our partner White Brasserie Company pubs in the surrounding area.

“We would like to thank all our wonderful guests for their custom and loyalty during our time in St Albans and invite them to visit one of our other Brasseries - Oxford, Beaconsfield, Milton Keynes or one of our nearby pubs - The Highwayman in Berkhamsted and The Hare in Old Redding near Harrow.”