Hard Hat: Bar Blondie
Introducing: Bar Blondie
Queen’s Park and Lonsdale Road are getting a new wine bar. On 10 July, we are bringing a small group inside before it opens to the public.
Bar Blondie is the new restaurant and wine bar from award-winning sommelier Alexandra Price and Elliot Milne, founder of Silver Tree Restaurants. Set in a converted stable on Lonsdale Road, it takes its cue from the easy, sociable spirit of southern European wine bars: good wine, ingredient-led cooking, art, music and design under one roof.
THE WINE
The wine list is Alex’s (Top 100 Sommeliers UK 2025; Harper’s Top 50 Sommeliers 2025). She opened Bar Crispin as General Manager and Head Sommelier, building the natural list that came to define it, then ran wine across the Ham Restaurant Group, including Bistro Freddie and Crispin at Studio Voltaire. Most recently she was Head of Wine at Plates, the Michelin-starred plant-based restaurant.
Two hundred bins span established old world estates and a new wave of independents, organised around four imagined collections. The Director gathers the landmark estates and the statement bottles; The Architect leans precise and structured; The Writer goes soulful and terroir-led; The Actor backs the restless, low-intervention growers coming up now. A changing by-the-glass selection runs throughout.
THE FOOD
The kitchen brings two regions together. Head chef Alastair Walling, formerly of Albers, Noble Rot Mayfair and Maset, cooks the food of southern France. Executive chef Alexander Busca, of Milk Beach, brings his Italian heritage. Both cook around simplicity and seasonality, led by what their suppliers are growing and landing.
THE MENU
The night opens with a welcome drink, then everyone sits down to dinner. Olives, sourdough focaccia and wagyu bresaola, followed by grilled artichokes with pecorino di fossa, veal tartare niçois and pâté au pistou. Monkfish tail with mussels and samphire, potato alla ligure, and crème caramel to finish.
GOOD TO KNOW
Due to the nature of the evening, we are unable to accommodate dietary restrictions or menu substitutions. Tickets are non-refundable.
