You can read about my visit to Island Bar here
One of Birmingham’s first independent cocktail bars celebrates their 10th birthday in September, following a decade of providing customers with some of the freshest cocktails in town.
Island Bar, situated on Smallbrook Queensway, first opened their doors on September 9th 2006 offering an alternative option to the Birmingham pub and bar scene with handcrafted cocktails, classic creations and in-house Tiki concoctions, as well as an extensive rum collection and range of bottled beers. The venue’s ethos was, and still is, to serve quality products by knowledgeable staff in an unpretentious venue. The bar has had many a makeover in the past 10 years as well as seeing the cocktail offering expand, and the music profile moving from indie/rock n’ roll to more soul and disco.
To mark this big birthday, Island Bar’s General Manager Simon Gilligan has created a line-up of events
There’s some great events all week including:
Weds 7th – Big Old Quiz of the Decade, £1 to enter, 8pm – 10 years of popular culture and Island Bar!
Fri 9th & Sat 10th from 8pm, FREE entry all night: DJs from past and present taking to the decks to re-live some of the best moments from the Island Bar dancefloor.
Island Bar’s birthday isn’t just a milestone for the bar but also a celebration for the independently run family Island Bar is part of. Bitters ‘n Twisted Venues is one of Birmingham’s hospitality success stories. Run by Matt Scriven, his idea was to offer the flagging bar scene in the Midlands a much needed injection of creativity and fun 10 years ago. Following Island Bar’s opening in 2006, neighbouring boozer The Victoria and then gin emporium The Jekyll & Hyde were set up. Fast forward 10 years, Bitters ‘n Twisted Venues owns and runs 10 venues within Birmingham and the Midlands with the most recent being Bodega Cantina opening in Leicester, July 2016.
Matt Scriven said of this milestone:
“Looking back to 10 years ago the hospitality scene in Birmingham has changed beyond recognition. We’ve been honoured and determined to play a large role in this renaissance of Birmingham and we remain passionate about contributing positively to this great city for another 10 years. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone and what we have achieved and I hope our customers continue to love what we do for many years to come.”
