A new cocktail bar hidden in the vault of Manchester’s old Stock Exchange is set to throw open its doors. Sterling is the new project from the brothers behind the much-loved Little Quay Street bar Schofield’s.
Joe and Dan Schofield have been working on plans for the new bar for the past 15 months, and will launch the bar tonight. “It’s been a long journey for us,” Joe Schofield told the Manchester Evening News. “We’re finally really excited to be able to open the doors to everybody.”
It was thanks to the ground laid at their first bar that they landed the opportunity to set up Sterling, with the hotel’s owner, ex-United icon Neville, having been a fan of their work. They opened Schofield’s in 2021 on the site of The Old Grapes, and quickly gained a following for their five-star service and classic cocktail menu.
“I believe Gary has passed through the bar,” Joe added. “Just trying to be a little bit discreet about some of our high profile guests! But yes, he has passed through, and was very complimentary about what we were doing at Schofield’s, and a few weeks later we got an email to come down to the hotel for a meeting. It was a nice and welcome surprise.”
Gary said of the new bar: “From the moment I walked into Schofield’s some eight or nine months ago and met Joe and Daniel I felt like I was walking into an international quality destination but with a local feel and an understanding of the spirit of Manchester.
“We spoke about how we had grown up in Bury and the times we had there! I genuinely can’t wait now for Streling to open in Stock Exchange Hotel and develop this partnership with the Schofield brothers.”
Joe and Dan, who also own Atomeca at Deansgate Square, cut their teeth working at a host of world class bars, including the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London and Little Red Door in Paris, both of which are ranked among the best in the world.
“We want to really elevate the idea of the hotel bar,” Joe went on. “Paola, our general manager, has spent time working at some of the best hotel bars in the world, like The Berkeley and the Beaufort Bar at the Savoy. We’ve always loved these classic hotel bars, and we really wanted to bring something like that to Manchester. We always try and put hospitality and service first.
“We were very fortunate to have a blank canvas, and really be able elevate it to what a great hotel bar should be. There are touches that are reminiscent of what we’ve done at Schofield’s.
“We’ll have nine drinks on the menu that we’ll champion, and they’ll become our nine signature classic cocktails, along the lines of a classic champagne cocktail, a brandy crusta or a Martinez. We’ll also look to the kitchen for inspiration with some of the techniques that we’ll use.”
The low-lit bar, which has leather-upholstered booths around the edge of the room, and stool seating down each side, all of which are made just near Rochdale, also features a private room for hire, which boasts the bar’s impressive wine collection. Meanwhile, Tom Kerridge, who runs the Bull & Bear restaurant upstairs in the hotel, will be masterminding the bar snacks, including truffle cheese gougeres, whipped taramasalata, squid ink tapioca cracker, pickled red onion and crispy potato bites, creme Fraiche and caviar.
Co owner James Brandwood added: “Having a wine room like this allows us to bring in special wines from all over the world, and hopefully build up a bit of following. We can be a little bit extra, and the sky’s the limit with what we can offer in here.
“We’ll be able to go into more detail, delve a bit deeper into certain wines, certain vintages, certain regions.”
The Schofields have already received widespread acclaim for their flagship bar, including being named in the top 20 cocktail bars in the UK, and bagging Bar of the Year and Best New Bar at the 2022 Class Bar Awards.
“It’s an amazing time to be part of the city,” Joe added. “We were born in Bury, grew up in Rossendale, but we’d always be coming into the city at the weekend, to enjoy what the city had to offer. At the moment it feels like there’s something real happening here, and it’s amazing to be able to be a small part of that.”
The bar is open from from Tuesday to Saturday.
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