L’Hexagone in Lower Goat Lane is run by the husband-and-wife team Thomas Aubrit and Gemma Aubrit-Layfield who opened it in January 2020.
Speaking about the recent birthday, Mrs Aubrit-Layfield said: “We just had a balloon up in the restaurant but it’s nice to mark it and to remind ourselves of how far we have come.
The bistro specialises in French food (Image: Simeon Jankowski)
“We want to say thank you to our customers – at the end of the day it is their support that has helped get us through the last five years.
“When you look back at everything that has happened it is wild and we are so grateful to still be here.”
The restaurant opened two months before the UK was thrown into the first coronavirus lockdown and the bistro had to close – leaving the couple “gobsmacked”.
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Gemma and Thomas outside L’Hexagone before opening in 2020 (Image: Newsquest) Mrs Aubrit-Layfield reflected: “We had just got going and before we knew it we had to close.
“We weren’t very established and there was a lot of uncertainty.”
However, once the world opened back up the couple was delighted by the response from city folk and surrounding independent businesses.
Critic Jay Rayner was impressed in 2022 by the food on offer (Image: Simeon Jankowski) “We have had really loyal regulars from the start and the Norwich Lanes community has been so supportive,” Mrs Aubrit-Layfield said.
“It keeps you going!”
Jay Rayner reviewed L’Hexagone for The Guardian in September 2022 and commended the restaurant for “simple” food “done very well”.
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The restaurant made it into The Good Food Guide Top 100 Restaurants in 2024 (Image: Simeon Jankowski) “It was crazy – overnight we had quadrupled our reach,” she added.
“It was amazing and very overwhelming. We are so thankful as it has massively helped us.
“He just got what we were about – a simple, family-run French bistro.”
The bistro has also been featured in the Good Food Guide’s Top 100 Restaurants and Mr Aubrit and Mrs Aubrit-Layfield were guests on Jake Humphrey’s High Performance Podcast.