A glitzy restaurant regularly haunted by celebrities was temporarily repossessed by bailiffs.

On Tuesday, October 23 La Sala restaurant on Chigwell Road, Woodford Green was served with closure notices pasted to the window by Dawkins Specialist Civil Enforcement Agents.

The notices read: “Under the terms and conditions of your lease we as authorised agents acting on behalf of the landlord have this day re-entered and recovered possession of these premises and the lease is hereby determined.

“Any attempt by you or your agents to enter the demised premises will result in criminal/civil proceedings being taken against you.”

It was unclear why the restaurant was closed.

Late on Friday evening Paul Groman-Marks, director of the restaurant, announced its doors were open again for trading.

He said: "After a dispute with our landlord the courts have allowed us to repossess the property and we are now once again trading."

La Sala has long been a celebrity favourite, with the Only Way is Essex stars such as Yazmin Oukhellou and James Lock recently dining at a restaurant financially backed by former Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Although it is not clear whether it is connected to the venue's brief closure, in recent years a spotlight has been shone on La Sala's opening hours.

Owner Sala Group Holdings has fought a long battle with Redbridge Council in order to have its trading hours extended, a battle it partially one to the annoyance of the restaurant's neighbours.

One such neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "They wanted to open until 2am in the morning every weekday.

"I think they were trying to become a nightclub passed off as a restaurant.

"We weren't having it. We went to the council and had meetings with them.

"In the end they got a license until 1am for Friday and Saturdays, and 10.30pm for the rest of the week.

"The neighbours were quite concerned about the opening times, because there was already a lot of shouting outside every Friday and Saturday night."

The restaurant opened in 2014 as a licensee of Spanish hospitality company Sala Group Holdings, whose offices are registered in Malaga.