It would be fair to say that Stockport's food and drink scene is having a bit of a moment. And, over the last six months, a plethora of new restaurants and bars have opened their doors, from Mekong Cat and Bistro Marc, to Yellowhammer.
While the majority of new openings can be found in the Old Town, particularly on Lower Hillgate, within the picturesque Underbanks area, there's a new Stockport bar that's doing things a little differently.
Cue Bask, a new speakeasy-style bar and music venue launched by former music promoter Benji Taylor. Located on Exchange Square, overlooking Stockport train station, the bar, which opened its doors over the Platinum Jubilee weekend, is set to become the go-to destination for live music, comedy and great drinks.
Taylor originally planned to open a vegan restaurant at the site, but had to change direction when issues arose with the fitting on an extraction fan at the large venue. While Benji's Vegan Kitchen looks for a new home, Bask is his chance to create the type of bar that he has always loved.
"I'm sober now but when I was drinking, I liked to drink in dark-lit, moody settings, New York-style bars - essentially what a lot of bar's in Manchester's Northern Quarter do, I'm bringing it over to Stockport. My background is in live music so the idea was to create a space that was like that, with a stage, where people young and old can come, have coffees and smoothies in the day and great cocktails in the evening.
"I didn't want it to just be a place where people get off the train and come in, get a drink and go. Instead, I want people to spend all day here, whether that's seeing a DJ or someone playing live music or performing a comedy set."
Having worked in the music business for 20 years, first as a promoter at Night & Day Café on Oldham Street, before stints at Roadhouse, Sound Control, and later Jimmy's in Manchester and Liverpool, Taylor has quite the rolodex of contacts to hit up for his events. As well as Monday's Acoustica nights, which will see three artists take to the Bask stage, there will also be a comedy night called Bask in Laughter, with the first show hosted by Justin Moorhouse.
Ticketed events will see the likes of Jonny Brown of Twister Wheel and Ben Ottewell of Gomez perform, while a spoken word night entitled 'Express Yourself' - which Taylor has worked with Dave Scott on - will sit alongside regular Q&As and quizzes.
Drinks wise, there's plenty of beer to go round, with 12 draft lines and their own Bask export lager. The menu will change regularly, but as present they've got Moretti, Cruzcampo, Heineken, Silver, Brixton Pale, Grand Central IPA and Guinness on tap, amongst others.
"We're also putting together our own Bask cocktail menu as well, some of the bar team will create their own signature cocktails. At the moment we've got a lot of classics though, like Old Fashioned, Negroni and a Daiquiri."
There's also a variety of non-acholic options on offer, including homemade smoothies spanning flavours such as Berry Blast, Sunset Orange and Super Greens. A bar menu to complement the extensive drinks menu is also in the works.
Bask is now open at Stockport Exchange Square next to the train station.
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