Chris Tanner, Jack Wallis and Martyn ‘Simo’ Simpson, who have also opened Milroy’s of Spitafields among other venues, and the latest bar will open on 1 November.
“We’ve done Silverleaf, we’ve done heritage whisky bars, we’ve done cool underground bars and everything’s been quite separated,” Simpson told Class Bar Magazine. “We want a space with multiple uses but all under one brand.”
The 120-seater space is accessible through a whisky shop on Denmark Street, where coffee and food will be served from 9am before transitioning into a fast-service, kegged cocktail bar.
Through the bar is a courtyard terrace and covered seating area, with its own bar for busy nights, above which sits a pool table room served by a vending machine stocked with canned cocktails.
Wallis added: “If it’s Saturday night and it’s popping off, rather than cram more people into the same space, we can open up the second bar at the back and then we can offer cocktails and RTD style drinks without any drop in quality or efficiency. It’s as easy as opening the doors.
“If you don’t need it, we can close spaces back down, so you don’t have 30 people rattling around a 120-capacity venue, they’re in a space for 30, it maintains its intimacy.”
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Tanner told Class that much of the bar’s inspiration came from some of the best bars in the world, and that the new space aims to change the perception of whisky in the on-trade.
“What natural wine did for the wine world, we want to do for the spirits world,” said Tanner. “The whisky industry and the spirits industry can feel a bit restrictive. What natural wine restaurants like Brat or Top Cuvee did was change the world from en primeur and big bold Bordeaux to Hackney and anchovies. We are looking at the future of the whisky industry as something in our wheelhouse, imbued with a sense of modernity and progression.
“Line and The Clumsies [in Athens] were a huge influence to us,” added Tanner. “Looking in, you might think these guys take themselves seriously, but you go there and people are rattling shots, it’s super fun, really loud, and a completely different experience.
“We want to give people that experience, a space where people can pop in for a Guinness or a great RTD and explore the bar how they want to – I’ve been describing it as an adult playground.”
