Team behind Legare to open new restaurant in spring

Jay Patel, restaurateur and founder of NinthCollective restaurants, has announced he will open a brand-new concept, Luna – a neighbourhood wine bar, bottle shop and restaurant – in early 2025.

Luna will open opposite its big sister, the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Legare on Shad Thames. It will offer 28 covers indoors, including a counter dining bar, and a further six to eight outside on the Thames-facing terrace during warmer months.

Luna, taking its name from the moon’s role in biodynamic winemaking, will take over the old 'oil & spice shop' space previously occupied by D&D’s Le Pont de la Tour ‘Food Store’, which closed in 2023.

The Luna experience

The bar’s wine focus will resemble classic London wine bar institutions such as the 10 Cases, Gordon’s, and the Winemakers Club. Patel and the team will work with suppliers whose portfolios focus on great old-world producers.

The kitchen at Luna will be overseen by Legare head chef (and co-founder) Matt Beardmore (ex-Trullo), who steps up to executive chef role across the NinthCollective portfolio ahead of the new project. Beardmore's launch menu is still a work in progress, but guests can expect oysters shucked over ice, crudos and carpaccios sliced to order and straight-from-the-fryer French fries.

Legare’s current general manager Alice Sapieka (ex-Naughty Piglets) will step into the GM role for the launch of Luna, moving to a more operational position across the business once the site is up and running.

Patel says ahead of the launch: "We are really proud of our little corner of the world in Shad Thames and what we've created here with Legare over the last five years. There is so much history, from the legacy that Conran and D&D built with LPT through to the second wave of Shad Thames with businesses such as The Watch House and ourselves making their mark.

"It feels like there is a real resurgence in the area, and we are super excited to finally introduce our new wine bar to our loyal local customers who’ve supported us, and those who travel from across London and further afield to dine with us over the last five years at Legare.”

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