The Cocktail Club Cardiff opening in May

07-Mar-2022 - Last updated on 07-Mar-2022 at 10:52 GMT

Opening plans: Nightcap CEO Sarah Willingham (credit: Nicky Johnston)

Nightcap, the owner of The Cocktail Club, the Adventure Bar Group and the Barrio Familia group of bars, is set to open a The Cocktail Club site in Cardiff in early May.

The announcement follows news the group is also planning to open The Cocktail Club in Exeter and a Tonight Josephine bar in Cardiff – both in early April.

The Cocktail Club will be located at 75 St Mary Street, Cardiff, and covers an area of approximately 3,400sq ft over three floors. The site has a 3am licence from Monday to Sunday and has an unrestricted capacity of 220.

Dozens of sites under offer

In addition to the three new openings scheduled for this year and alongside its existing 27 sites, Nightcap has a further 24 premises under offer or in legal negotiations and continues to see favourable market conditions for site acquisitions across the country.

The board, management team and entire staff within Nightcap decided late last month to remove the sale of Russian vodka across all 27 venues. On 4 March, the group introduced Ukrainian vodka to its menu as a replacement across the entire estate.

Nightcap chief executive Sarah Willingham said: “Cardiff has been high on our list for new openings for some time, therefore I am delighted to announce the latest lease signing for The Cocktail Club following hot on the heels of Tonight Josephine’s planned opening in Cardiff in the coming weeks.”

Trading ahead of expectations

She continued: “Just as we have already proven in Clapham and Shoreditch, we can successfully launch several of our brands into the most relevant locations for late-night drinking and partying across the country.

“With our second venue in Bristol trading ahead of management’s expectations since its opening in November and knowing that Cardiff is a vibrant city, our expectation for this new site is high. We can’t wait to bring The Cocktail Club energy and magic to St Mary Street in early May.

“This is the fifth completed lease for The Cocktail Club since Nightcap acquired it little over a year ago and the second in successive weeks following the lease signing in Exeter that demonstrates how committed our teams are to execute on our plan to become the leading bar group in the UK.”