Allegra McEvedy to reopen Albertine in Shepherd’s Bush
The co-founder of healthy fast food chain Leon will take back the running of the west London bar that her mother opened in the late 1970s and ran until she died. Albertine was one of the best-loved wine bars in London at the time.
The new-look space will have a greater emphasis on food than previously, both in the bar and in the more formal Upstairs dining room. McEvedy, along with head chef and business partner Roberto Freddi, will serve a menu of British and European dishes that will feature tart of the day; beef, claret and mushroom pot pie; and linguine alla vongole, as well as plates of charcuterie and oysters.
“My mum died so long ago now – nearly thirty years – that it feels like a total privilege, not to mention an exciting opportunity, to be the owner of that business nearly four decades later in a venue that has her at its very soul,” she says. “Although we are putting in a new offer that is hopefully both contemporary and timeless, to me there’s still exactly the same feel in the air as there was when I used to come in after school. It really is all a bit magical for me.”
The move marks a return to restaurants for McEvedy following the closure of her pork-led place Blackfoot, in London’s Exmouth Market, early last year.