This January, Joe Allen turns 40 and to mark the occasion, the theatreland institution has gathered the great-and-the-good to ring in 40 years. On the 29th January 2017, owners Tim Healy and Lawrence Hartley will welcome esteemed alumni and a star-studded line-up of regulars to host a rather unusual dinner party. Joe’s friends and family will takeover the restaurant, serving up an array of Joe Allen classics, in aid of Mousetrap Theatre Projects.
Returning to his inaugural kitchen, alumnus Rowley Leigh will be on the pass along with Gizzi Erskine and journalist and critic Lisa Markwell. Original waiters from the 70s Jon Spiteri, David Young and Jonathan Blake will share a tale or two from the early days whilst shaking up cocktails behind Joe’s timeless bar and waiting tables.
West-End actress Harriet Thorpe (The Dresser, Absolutely Fabulous) will return to the floor for a show-tune or two, whilst Joe Allen regular, actor and TV personality Christopher Biggins, will be on the door. Formidable restaurant critic Jay Rayner will play live jazz piano accompanied by his wife, Pat Gordon Smith and American singer and actress Shelia Ferguson (The Three Degrees) will perform West-End classics. The evening’s performances will be in the hands of Musical Director Nigel Lilley (Piaf, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, My Fair Lady) before he brings La Cage Aux Folles to the National Theatre later next year.
Guests will receive a signature cocktail upon arrival, before the food enters stage right, with a pleather of Joe’s classics including; black bean soup, mac & cheese, pretzel with blue cheese dressing, mini ribs and chicken wings served with bang bang sauce. Moving into the second act, diners will have the choice of the Joe Allen fish cake with spinach and hollandaise, the not so secret ‘off-the-menu’ cheeseburger, or a bowl of the iconic veggie chilli. For the finale there will be a trio of desserts featuring chocolate fudge brownie, pecan pie and New York cheesecake. A selection of signature cocktails, fine wines and bubbles will be available throughout the evening.
For the encore, guests will be given the chance to take home something extra with a lucky dip in aid of Joe Allen’s charity partner, Mousetrap Theatre Projects. The theatre education charity dedicated to bringing the magic of theatre into the lives of young people will join forces with the restaurant to launch an exclusive offer.
‘I’ve been coming here since I was a young boy – I grew up on the house burger, surrounded by the timeless legends on the wall and it’s the same for many of our regulars – we had to celebrate appropriately’ says Tim. ‘We wanted to get the Joe Allen family together to mark the occasion in the best way we know how – with good food, good cheer and as much of the gang as we can fit!’ adds Lawrence.
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