Melbourne Powerhouse Chef Shannon Martinez Is Coming to Sydney To Relaunch Woolloomooloo’s Alibi Bar & Dining

Shannon Martinez, the plant-based powerhouse behind top Melbourne diners Smith & Daughters, Smith & Deli and Lona Misa, has announced her first project in Sydney: she’ll be relaunching vegan restaurant Alibi Bar & Dining, at the Ovolo hotel on Woolloomooloo’s Finger Wharf. The well-regarded chef will be joined by Andrea Gualdi, a co-founder of Maybe Sammy (he’s no longer involved), who recently joined Ovolo as creative beverage director.

Under Martinez’s guidance, Alibi will relaunch in late January. Along with gaining a new plant-based menu inspired by the chef’s Spanish background and Mediterranean flavours, its dining room will undergo a refurb.

“I look forward to bringing a taste of plant-based Latin cuisine to the bayside and giving Sydneysiders their own version of Smith & Daughters,” said Martinez in a statement.

The partnership between Martinez and the Ovolo hotel group began with Martinez’s restaurant Lona Misa – an ambitious meat-free take on a mid-century bistro, which draws on the chef’s Spanish heritage and the Hispanic communities of New York and LA – in the Ovolo in South Yarra. Executive chef Jiwon Do will execute the menu day-to-day. And while the menu hasn’t yet been announced, the team promises some of Martinez’s “signature dishes”.

Gualdi’s drinks menu will also draw on the Med. Expect spritzes, a range of cocktails designed for high tea, alcohol-free options and beers. Wines will be Mediterranean varietals from small Australian producers; around 30 per cent of the list will be vegan.

Martinez has drawn acclaim from plant-based diners and meat-eaters alike for her approach to vegan cooking, and is considered a pioneer in the field.

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