An award-winning restaurant and bar in Lancashire is to re-launch its over 25s cocktail lounge with experimental drinks on the menu.
Encore restaurant and bar, in Peter Street, Chorley, is set to re-open its champagne cocktail lounge at the end of July.
Owner, Gareth Tebay, said the bar will have a “sophisticated atmosphere” with theatrical cocktails that pack a punch of flavour.
He said: “We have a range of champagnes ranging from rosé to vintage.
“The bar itself is tipped to be an over 25s champagne and cocktail lounge with table service only and it’s in a setting that’s a little bit more sophisticated.
“I wanted it to be a more exclusive drinking venue to create the correct ambience for the restaurant.
“I’ve curated almost everything myself, vintage tiles, iron frame work, the wooden front of the bar.
“We only planned for it to be an overflow area for diners but many said it needed to be a space for the public as they liked the aesthetic."
The business, which was recently named the North West’s restaurant of the year at The Food Awards England 2022, will even feature an exclusive cocktail named after Sir Linday Hoyle.
The veteran Chorley MP, who has also served as the Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019, visited the restaurant earlier this month after hearing about their award win.
Encore will now create a cocktail called ‘The Speaker’ which will be loosely based on his self-proclaimed favourite cocktail, the French 75.
The cocktail, which mainly consists of gin, lemon zest, champagne and sugar syrup, will have a more gastronomic twist.
Gareth said: “We are thinking about making limoncello pearls that you pop in the drink. When you bite into them they release an intense flavour.
“We’re not sure exactly what the flavours of the cocktail will be – but there will certainly be a little gastronomic edge.
“It won’t be your traditional French 75 – it will be something a little more ‘Encore’ and different.”
The theatrics won’t end with Sir Lindsay’s either, with dry ice smoking cocktails, drinks topped with ‘bubbles’ of scented mist.
There are even bite-sized jelly cocktails, such as Molecular Mojito Spheres, in the pipeline after opening.
The business has even made their very own liqueur infusions to use in the drinks.
“We have taken a few classics and given them a bit of theatre – but our cocktails will actually taste good,” Gareth said.
“For instance, our passionfruit martini is made with our own liqueur and instead of just giving guests a shot of prosecco we have given them a shot glass of prosecco sorbet.”
While the champagne cocktail bar was open for a short time in 2021, Gareth said he was hunting for the right staff members and mixologists to take over the area before relaunching it.
Now, he has created his menu and is training staff to create his cocktails.
Gareth said the decision to launch the bar now is both for customer experience and also due to pressures of the cost of living.
He said: “The cost of living crisis is impacting us massively. We’ve noticed a massive drop in diners even with our massive success.
“I am sure we aren’t alone and many venues across the country is struggling and fighting to stay open.
“It makes financial sense to use another area of the business and give people a reason to come out for a drink and an exciting deal.”
They are also very aware that customers are having to tighten the purse strings which is why they offer an exclusive food deal on Fridays.
Gareth said: “We are a small and family run businesses who understand this isn’t an affluent town. We are sensitive to the needs of our customers.
“Most businesses have put prices up but we have gone the other way.
“We launched fixed price Friday where we offer two courses for £14.95 which isn’t profitable for us at all.
“It’s our way of trying to alleviate the pressures people are feeling right now.”
Encore’s new champagne cocktail launch is set to open near the end of July with an exact date to be confirmed closer to the time.
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