Dine seven floors up in the city’s hottest new dining venue Allegra London, set to open in The Stratford…
Discover a new culinary experience in Stratford this September with the opening of hotly anticipated restaurant Allegra. Set to open its doors in The Stratford, a 42 storey, SOM-designed skyscraper that combines a hotel and loft apartment with bars, restaurants and sky gardens.
The Food
Allegra will be headed up by chef Patrick Powell and is the vision of Harry Handelsman, the developer behind St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Chiltern Firehouse. It is set to celebrate exuberant hospitality and inventive, seasonal cooking. You can either dine a la carte, a more informal terrace menu, or take a seat and enjoy the view over a glass of wine. For a more special occasion, you can enjoy a 7-course menu that will change daily and features highlights from the kitchen. Indulge in starters such as hand-dived scallops, cucumber, pickled strawberry & elderflower; Tomato & gordal olive tart; and Smoked eel pithivier, parsley sauce, pickled chilli vinegar [£12-£17]. Mains offer Suckling pig, turnip, Bramley apple & mint; Welsh lamb, sweet pepper romesco & pickled walnut; and Baked celeriac, mizuna, jalapeno & celeriac ramen broth. [£18-£34]. Larger dishes to share, such as grass-fed beef, will be cooked over the outdoor grill and served with smoked bone marrow & beetroot tart. A whole roast chicken to share will be stuffed with a cep sausage and arrive at the table in two servings. At the bar, you can enjoy cocktails, snacks, oysters or a selection of charcuterie from their in-house curing room.
The Chef
Patrick’s training in French cooking, culinary experience at Dublin’s Michelin-star L’Ecrivain under the acclaimed Irish chef Derry Clarke, at Wild Honey with Anthony Demetre and working with Nuno Mendes for four years at Chiltern Firehouse has prepared him to take the lead as Head Chef of Allegra. Patrick’s cooking invites guests to embrace convivial dining from long lunches through to late-night dinners. His emphasis on the provenance of his produce led Harry to acquire land at Pale Green Dot farm in Sussex, which will supply much of the restaurant’s ingredients.
The Space
Allegra has been designed by Space Copenhagen and is accessed via the Stratford lobby through a private lift. The indoor dining space will feature fresh, mild tones of green and warm grey, illuminated by Allegra’s floor to ceiling windows and framed by a natural stone Montpellier floor. Bespoke booth seating overlooks an open montage kitchen, and tableware and crockery has been sourced from local craftsmen and makers. Retractive glass walls open out onto the terrace and large garden overlooking the London skyline. Here, herbs for the restaurant grow to celebrate the seasons, alongside flora and plants reminiscent of those in Hackney marshes. Outdoor seating areas are sheltered by the triple-height, cedar cantilevered roof and illuminated pergola. A separate terrace menu features dishes cooked from the outdoor wood-burning grill, which will act as a large fireplace in the evening.
The details
Harry says: “Stratford is my most ambitious project to date. I hope to redefine the integral living by encouraging a vertical community. Like many of my other developments, I want to put Stratford on the map. I chose a great architect to design a great building. Inspired by the River Café, I felt that The Stratford needs a truly wonderful restaurant to make it a destination.”
You can visit Allegra from Thursday 26th September.
Allegra The Stratford 20 International Way Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London, E20 1FD E: info@allegra-restaurant.com T: +44 203 973 0545 allegra-restaurant.com @allegrarestaurant
My name is Natasha and I am the Editor and Founder of Seen in the City. I have always loved to express myself creatively, most particularly through my writing, and after working for a number of other companies including Vogue and My Chic City I decided to head out on my own and Seen in the City was born. You can contact me on natasha@seeninthecity.co.uk
