Signs up at new Estabulo Darlington venue amid relocation

Brazilian steakhouse chain Estábulo is making a comeback to Darlington town centre – after its shock closure in January 2025 at the DL1 complex.

Now, new brand signs have appeared on Horsemarket, opposite House of Fraser, confirming that Estábulo is coming soon in the former Pizza Hut building.

Signs have gone up for the new Estábulo in Darlington amid its move from DL1 to the town centre. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The building on Horsemarket was then left vacant until late May when Mafea, an Italian restaurant opened briefly before mysteriously falling silent weeks later.

MAFEA on Horsemarket that closed in June (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Within weeks of opening, the venue appeared to close suddenly, with no social media posts since June and two customers claiming they turned up for bookings to find the doors shut.

Estábulo closed it’s site at DL1 complex at the start of the year when bosses said they were carrying out a revamp. But just weeks later, the restaurant was stripped out and its signs removed, fuelling speculation that it would not reopen.

Estábulo’s former site at DL1 complex (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

In April, Estábulo said it was “still in the process of reviewing future plans and no final decision has yet been made regarding reopening”.

By June, the company said a final decision was still not made.

In October of this year, signs appeared in the windows suggesting that the brand would be relocating its venue in Darlington to this site, and now in December the well-known branding sign of the yellow ‘Estábulo’ has been put up outside the entrance.

Estábulo head office previously confirmed to The Northern Echo in October that they were hoping to open in the new site within the next few months.

The Northern Echo has now approached them again for a further update and potential opening date.