Darwin & Wallace acquires The Ebury in Pimlico for first site: New bar and restaurant company Darwin & Wallace, backed by the Imbiba Partnership Bar and Restaurant EIS fund, has acquired The Ebury in Pimlico, an Enterprise Inns pub, for its first site. The Ebury will be re-launched and offer a new all-day, casual bar dining experience with an emphasis on “interior aesthetics, fresh, scratch-cooked food and first rate service” as well as a wide-ranging drinks offer. The Ebury will provide an all-day menu featuring brasserie classics alongside an extensive breakfast and weekend brunch menu as well as smaller dishes for bar grazing and social sharing. The intention is to provide “superb value-for-money in a great setting at whatever time of day, or moment of the week”. At the heart of the business will be the bar providing comprehensive wine and cocktail lists to encourage locals to frequent the site for social drinks or after-work catch-ups. Darwin & Wallace forecasts a targeted spend between £25 and £30 per head with food accounting for around 40 per cent of sales. Once The Ebury is established, Darwin & Wallace aim to grow the business with further sites between 5,000 square foot to 7,000 square foot predominantly in affluent London ‘villages’ including Chiswick, Chelsea, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill, Soho, Fitzrovia, West End, Hampstead/Haverstock Hill, Camden, Islington and Shoreditch. Darwin & Wallace is led by managing director Melanie Marriott, who has considerable experience in the creation of female-friendly and food led bars on the UK high street, most notably as brand manager of Mitchells & Butlers’ All Bar One. She said: “We are delighted to have found the perfect opportunity with The Ebury site to launch Darwin and Wallace. The property is in a wonderful neighbourhood location and will be a strong setting from which to launch our new creation. During the design process we have drawn inspiration from the eclectic furniture and interiors collections of neighbouring antiques retailers for which the area is famed. Combined with the knowledge of our designers gleaned from their extensive, worldwide research trips and that of my own, we hope to create an original, stylish and comfortable bolt-hole. The space will aim to appeal throughout the day and into the evening, to both locals and a wider audience alike.” A refurbishment has begun with a re-opened planned for early in 2013.” Launched in August 2012, Darwin & Wallace is the latest bar/restaurant company financed by The Imbiba Partnership whose current investments include London based bar group Drake & Morgan comprising; The Refinery, The Folly, The Anthologist, The Parlour and the recently award-winning The Drift.