East London skyscraper and hotel The Stratford is opening a new bar called The Mezzanine, headed up by industry luminaries Elias Yiallouris and Enrico Gonzato.
Open until 2am throughout the week, the “hidden” destination cocktail bar aspires to bring a sophisticated, late-night offering to the area, with DJs playing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Designed by Space Copenhagen, the Scandinavian duo behind Noma, The Mezzanine centres on a large fireplace and balcony overlooking the hotel’s triple-height lobby below.
The bar is home to a specialty whisky collection, with the menu featuring modern techniques applied to familiar classics inspired by the New York cocktail scene between 1930 and 1960.
Under the tutelage of general manager Elias and bar manager Enrico, The Mezzanine will focus on “the timeless simplicity of putting control back into its guests’ hands”.
The pair have a wealth of bartending and management experience working in some of London’s most exclusive hotel bars.
Elias started his bartending career 21 years ago at the Country Hall Marriott Hotel as bar manager, where he discovered his enthusiasm for bartending before moving to Claridges to grow his 5* hotel knowledge and expertise.
He then headed to the prestigious Savoy Hotel to oversee the opening of The Savoy Grill & Bar before expanding to also direct The Banquette and The Laurent Perrier Bar.
Enrico’s family have owned a hotel in Verona, Italy for four generations, which is where he cut his teeth behind the bar at the young age of 16.
Continuing his career, Enrico moved to the UK, working at top London hotels such as Connaught Hotel’s Coburg Bar. Here, he moved up the ranks throughout his two year stint before firmly establishing his bartending credentials working at the multi-award winning Dandelyan at the Mondrian Hotel in 2016.
