New cocktail lounge opening its doors in Rochester
The Mixologist Rochester will offer three different themed rooms where you can sit back on velvet seats and sip on a hand-crafted cocktail
A new cocktail lounge offering handcrafted drinks with a dash of theatrics and sprinkling of flamboyance is being opened in Rochester high street.
The Mixologist Rochester (@the_mixologist_rochester) boasts three themed lounges and a menu with some 25 different cocktails.
There’ll be old favourites as well as new ones, created by an experienced mixologist who will create tantalising and exciting drinks for guests.
Oliver Tulett and Helen Finch are the couple behind the new venture, which is located at the former Bistro M site, and they have been working round-the-clock to get it open.
“We’re not going to be serving drinks at the bar, it’s all table service,” explains Tulett. “There are three themed lounges, with low seating, low tables, velvet seats - it’s all very comfortable.
“We’ll be playing Ibiza type, chilled music in the background.
“We have a cocktail list with about 25 different cocktails on there with the favourites and then our mixologist is creating some new ones. Some are Kent-themed and others go with the themes of our lounges.”
Downstairs will be the butterfly room, painted dark green with butterflies on the wall and a small library.
Upstairs is animal themed but Tulett is quick to point out it’s not “over the top”.
Guests will also find the garden room outside, with olive trees and bushes in the outdoor space.
“It’s a cocktail lounge, but we’ll also do wines and champagne, alcohol-free drinks and mocktails, and of course lots of spirits,” he says. “We’ve got a little smoke machine so we can create smoke on top of the cocktails, and bring them out in domes. The mixologist is very flamboyant so it will be a bit theatrical.
“We said from the start we wanted to make it more than just a drink, we want to make it an experience, so we have props to add to the excitement.
“It’s not going to the bar and getting a drink, everyone’s involved, you can chat to the staff and mixologist and they can explain what the drinks are and the different ingredients.
“The mixologist makes his own syrups and uses all sorts of ingredients. We think it will be really exciting.”
A cocktail lounge is perhaps not the first thing that springs to mind when Mr Tulet tells you his background.
Working for the military, and then 12 years as a management consultant, working in Belgium and all over Europe, it’s a far cry from running a boutique nightspot.
Yet he and his partner Helen, who was doing finance in schools in London and has a legal background, packed in their jobs to put everything into The Mixologist.
“Prior to lockdown I was away a lot and spent a lot of time in Europe, and myself and Helen spent quite a lot of time in London going to cocktail bars and restaurants,” Tulet explains.
“Just after lockdown, when we did more in Rochester, we kind of realised that it’s ok for a certain age group or if you want to go for a meal, but now a lot of restaurants are doing two or three hour seatings, once you’ve eaten and you want to go have a drink, there’s not really anywhere to sit and relax.
“We were initially going to open a restaurant and we had found a place in Maidstone but we pulled out of that for various reasons.
“Funnily enough, my dad was walking past this building in Rochester, he saw it was empty and sent me a photo of it.
“We went and had a look and thought it’s not massive but actually if we change our thoughts and make it a cocktail lounge, it would work.”
And so here we are, with the new nightspot on the verge of opening, with the launch expected this week.
Tulet, who grew up in the Rochester and Strood area, says he’s excited to see what people think and hopes it will become an exciting new addition to the town.
