(L-R) Partner Pinar Ogun, co-founder and chef Simge Yalcin, and co-founder and marketing director Gizem Yorgun are the women behind Longa (Image: Mark Lewis) A Cardiff restaurant with food so popular that people were willing to travel from all over the UK to try it has announced it will be closing one of its venues. Longa, a Turkish restaurant run by sisters Gizem Yorgun and Simge Yalcin along with Pinar Ogun, has announced the "difficult news" that its city centre venue has closed with immediate effect. Longa first opened in the Welsh capital in 2019 with a breakfast and brunch café on Whitchurch Road. It then expanded in March 2025 when its venue on Park Place opened, serving dinner as well as its breakfast and brunch offerings. In a post on social media, the women behind Longa said they were "heartbroken" to announce that their time on Park Place "has come to an end". They said: "Keeping an independent restaurant going asks a lot of the people behind it, and we know many small businesses across hospitality are carrying that weight." The women also thanked everyone who has supported them over the last year, adding that they hope to still see customers at the Whitchurch Road café. The Longa restaurant on Park Place, which opened in March 2025, has closed with immediate effect (Image: Mark Lewis) "To everyone who supported us, came back, brought their friends and family, celebrated with us or simply made our tables part of their day: thank you," they wrote. "You gave this place its life. We’ll carry the memories with us. "We hope to keep seeing you at our Whitchurch Road café for as long as we can." For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here Simge, who looks after the food at Longa, worked as a teacher for eight years in Turkey before becoming passionate about cooking. When her mum was diagnosed with cancer, Simge started cooking some of her recipes. Longa has been a much-loved part of the Cardiff food scene since 2019 (Image: Mark Lewis) Simge previously told WalesOnline: "I made them to make her happy because we all knew she wouldn't survive and I wanted her to trust me to look after the family. The first time I cooked one of her recipes she couldn't believe her eyes. She said: 'It doesn't even look homemade, how did you make it so perfect?'" Ensure our latest news and sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings The more recipes she tried, the more she realised the talent she had. When she lost her mum 11 months after her diagnosis, Simge used cooking as a way to cope with her grief. When she moved to Cardiff she wanted to use her passion to do something and so she looked for somewhere to open a café. As she embarked on the dream of setting up a restaurant alongside her sister who had been in Cardiff studying a marketing degree, Simge created dishes known for their rich and diverse flavours and inspired by Turkish cuisine and aspects of Greek cuisine like olive oils and fresh vegetables. You can read more about Longa's story here. Choose Wales Online as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value. At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditi
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