Kumar Mahadevan, the Sydney-based chef who has accumulated more chefs' hats than most Indian restaurants take orders for naan on a Saturday night, has closed his Woolloomooloo restaurant, Aki's.

The upheaval caused by COVID-19 proved the tipping point for the modern Indian restaurant, which opened at Finger Wharf in 2003.

"We couldn't keep all our staff (during the lockdown) and there was no point in doing takeaway there," says Mahadevan, 60. "It's 17 years in October. We've had a good run, but it's time to move on."

The Indian chef, who moved to Australia in the 1980s to help set up a restaurant in the CBD sponsored by Air India and the India Tea Board, decided to stay and opened Abhi's in North Strathfield in 1990, serving everyone from Mick Jagger to Rupert Murdoch along the way.

Aki's earned its own cult following, becoming popular with Australian cricketers and visiting Indian magnates.

The Aki's story mightn't be over. The chef is keeping a lazy eye out for a new location. In the meantime, fans will need to head to Abhi's.