Chui Lee Luk closes Chow Bar & Eating House

Former Claude's chef-owner Chui Lee Luk has called time on her 10-month-old Surry Hills restaurant, Chow Bar & Eating House.

"The current concept of a Chinese version of Japanese izakaya hasn't been successful. By the time of printing, this may mean the closure of the place," Lee Luk told Short Black.

The chef says she has been in negotiations with the landlord after a tough trading period, but whatever eventuates she will no longer be involved at the site.

She believes the changing face of Crown Street, at the Chow end, is better-suited to a bar or pub than an eating house.

Lee Luk says her future direction will be as an employee.

"My strength is not in running and managing a business, but lies in cooking and leading the creative direction of a venture," she adds.