Consulting · Opening a cocktail bar
Opening a cocktail bar, step by step
To open a cocktail bar without leaving things to chance, you need the concept, bar layout, equipment, suppliers and a fully costed menu settled before the first night. I support you in phases, over 2 to 6 months depending on your project, with a plan for the final 4 weeks and team training.
If you're opening a cocktail bar, I'll support you from the concept to the first night: menu, bar layout, equipment, suppliers, costs and pre-opening. I've just been through it myself: Stillroom, the cocktail bar I co-own and run as creative director, opened in Madrid in April 2026. Tell me about your project and we'll see where to start.
How I work
Opening is a chain of decisions that depend on each other. This is the order we take them in.
Concept
We define what kind of cocktail bar you want to open, who it's for and what makes it different. Everything else hangs off this.
Bar and workflow
I review what the bar needs in terms of stations, movement and storage. I do it alongside your architect or interior designer, who handles the technical drawings.
Equipment and suppliers
I draw up the list of equipment and barware, and help you choose suppliers and build your opening stock.
Menu and costs
I design the opening menu with its costings, so you open with clear prices and costs from day one.
Pre-opening
A plan for the final four weeks: team training, tastings, opening and closing routines, and a soft opening before the big day.
Is it right for your project?
Your first cocktail bar
You're opening and want to make the big decisions (concept, bar, menu) with someone who knows the trade from the inside.
Restaurants and groups
You want to open a cocktail bar, or add a serious cocktail bar to your restaurant.
Hotels
You're opening or refurbishing your hotel bar and need a concept, bar and menu designed around your guests.
Projects already under way
You have the premises and an architect, and you're missing someone to think through the bar from the bartender's side.
What you get
- Concept document: value proposition, audience and style
- Proposed bar layout and workflow, coordinated with your architect or interior designer
- List of equipment, barware and glassware
- Supplier selection and opening stock
- Opening menu with costings
- A plan for the 4 weeks before opening
- Team training before you open
- Recipe costing and HACCP in Miselup, and opening, closing and cleaning checklists in Timlup, from day one
- Duration
- Indicative: 2 to 6 months, in phases, depending on where your project stands.
- Format
- Hybrid: site visits and pre-opening in person (in Madrid; elsewhere, just ask); the rest, remotely.
- Price
- Bespoke — ask for a proposal
For the day-to-day running of the bar, I set up Miselup and Timlup, the management software I distribute.
Before we start
When should I get in touch?
The sooner the better: ideally before you sign off the bar design with your architect. Changing a bar on paper is easy; changing it once it's built isn't. Even so, I can come in when the build is well advanced and focus on the menu, the team and pre-opening.
Do you handle licences and building work?
No. Licences, technical drawings and building work are for your architect and your licensing adviser. I make sure the bar, the menu and the team work, and I work with them so the design fits.
How much does it cost to open a cocktail bar?
It depends on the premises, the build and the concept, so I won't give you a figure without knowing your project. What I will do is help you put the money where it really matters behind the bar, and open with your menu costs under control.
Why does bar design matter so much?
Because it decides how your team works every night: where everything goes, at what height, how many stations there are, where stock is kept and how people move. A well-designed bar saves steps on every cocktail; a badly designed one costs you time every service.
Does it include training the team?
Yes. Training on the menu, technique and service routines is part of pre-opening. If you want to build on it later, bar staff training is a separate service.
Do you work outside Madrid?
Ask me. A good part of the work is done remotely; we arrange site visits and pre-opening around where your project is.
From a working bar.
Stillroom, the gastronomic cocktail bar at Calle Moreto 9 in Madrid where I'm co-owner and creative director, opened on 14 April 2026 with its bar, its ferment lab and a menu of 19 cocktails. I've lived it from the inside, and that's what I bring to your opening.
Pairs well with: cocktail menu design, bar staff training and cordials and ferments.
Opening a cocktail bar?
Tell me where your project stands: idea, premises, build or pre-opening. With that, we'll pin down the scope and the next steps for your opening.
Ask for a proposal