Chef Gary Lee leaves Joe Allen restaurant in London

Chef Gary Lee (pictured above left) has left Joe Allen restaurant in London’s West End.

It comes after the venue was relaunched less than a year ago under Polpo co-founder Russell Norman and former Ivy executive head chef Lee.

At the time, Joe Allen had been shut for 18 months due to the onset of the pandemic.

Food writer and critic Richard Vines tweeted the news on 1 August, which Lee himself then confirmed to The Caterer.

Commenting on his departure, Lee said: “It was time to move on. It was a good launch; I was there to help them relaunch it and help them to get it going.”

He added: “They’re great people, it’s a fun place to work, and the staff are lovely.”

Lee also revealed that he had “three or four things” in the pipeline, but that “there’s one in particular that I’m very happy with”, which he cannot yet fully disclose.

During his time at the restaurant, he introduced new menu items such as the ‘three-minute' USDA steak with peppercorn sauce and goose fat potatoes; and brick-flattened chicken with black eye bean salsa and a corn muffin, chicken gravy and plantain crisps.

Joe Allen was founded in 1977 and was taken over by London-based restaurateurs Lawrence Hartley and Tim Healey in 2012.

Joe Allen has been contacted for comment.