A restaurant on a remote Welsh eco retreat is opening an outpost in the heart of the Big Smoke next week. Bert’s has taken over part of the well-known Brackenbury Wine Rooms in Hammersmith, which closed down 18 months ago, and will be an all-day small-plates spot featuring produce from Wales.
Founder Ali Paice (pictured) and her husband Ian launched Bert’s on the Llyn Peninsula in 2019 as a campsite with a ‘Garden Kitchen’ restaurant. It takes its name from an old school bus the couple took to the road in with their four children after what they refer to as an “early mid-life crisis”.
Born and bred in Hammersmith, Ali has been looking for a London outlet for some time. With a career in hospitality behind her, she is the driving force behind the restaurant side of the family business, with Ian in an all-round “handyman” role.
“Wales is very seasonal, from April to September, and we close in the winter,” Ali says. “When the Brackenbury Wine Rooms closed, it was a huge loss to the local community – we used to drink there regularly. It’s a big site, so when the landlord split it into two and the lease came up for the smaller half, we jumped at it.“
Opening in London provides extra job opportunities for some of the team from Wales. The new branch will serve a brasserie-style menu with a “huge focus on Welsh ingredients“, including produce from their own kitchen garden and from the North Wales property of chef Bryn Williams. There will be Menai oysters, Welsh cheeses, and gin and rum from Welsh distilleries.
The interior has been designed with comfort in mind, Ali says. “Guests will feel they are coming into a London townhouse with sofas, family portraits and a sense of being at home.”
Bert’s will be open from 9am to 11pm from next Thursday, 29 October. Reservations can now be made on the berts.london website.