New high-end cocktail bar from brothers behind Schofield’s opens at Gary Neville’s Stock Exchange Hotel

The team behind award-winning Manchester cocktail bar Schofield’s have opened a new venue at Gary Neville’s Stock Exchange Hotel.

Sterling, a name chosen to reflect the Edwardian-baroque building’s history, is the third bar from Manchester-born brothers Joe and Daniel Schofield, who have quickly become leaders in the city’s high-end cocktail bar scene since opening their first location in 2021.

The flagship bar Schofield’s recently won Bar of the Year and Best New Bar at the Class Bar Awards 2022.

Ex-Manchester United star turned businessman, Gary Neville, who owns the Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “From the moment I walked into Schofield’s bar some eight or nine months ago and met Joe and Daniel I felt like I was walking into an international quality destination but with a local feel and an understanding of the spirit of Manchester.

“We spoke about how we had grown up in Bury and the times we had there! I genuinely can’t wait now for Sterling to open in the Stock Exchange Hotel and develop this partnership with the Schofield brothers.”

With capacity for 100 guests, the new bar will be serving up classic cocktails, as well as original creations from the Schofield brothers, such as Aguila, made with Herradura Blanco Tequila, pineapple, lime, avocado, coriander, red chilli and black pepper, and Butterscotch, made with Singleton 12 Scotch.

Lush, the catering company founded by two-star Michelin chef Tom Kerridge, who also runs the Stock Exchange’s Bull and Bear restaurant, is developing a luxury bar snack menu. Dishes include truffle cheese gougeres, whipped taramasalata, squid ink tapioca cracker, pickled red onion and crispy potatobites, creme fraiche and caviar.

Founder Joe Schofield ranks among the best mixologists in the world. He is the only person to have won both International Bartender of the Year and Bartender’s Bartender at The World’s 50 Best Bars.

His resume also boasts some of the world’s most famous bars, like the Tippling Club in Singapore or American Bar at London’s Savoy.

He said: “We have been planning this new bar for a long time and the doors are now open.

“The Stock Exchange Hotel is a particularly meaningful venue for us as our mother used to work at the Stock Exchange. Our grandmother also learnt to swim in the old pool at the basement in our original Schofield’s Bar location.

“As we continue to evolve our operations in Manchester, it’s warming to have a connection to the past, as that very much reflects our approach to our offering.”

The bespoke wood-panelled interior of the new bar, located in the vaults beneath the Stock Exchange, is designed to reflect that history and the legacy of the building, which has stood in the heart of Deansgate since 1904.

Joining the Schofield brothers as co-founder of Sterling is wine expert and businessman James Brandwood, who is the director of the brothers’ second opening Atomeca on Deansgate.

Sterling’s general manager Paola Mariotti also has world-class experience at bars like The Beaufort Bar at the Savoy and The Blue Bar at The Berkeley in London.

Sterling is open now at the Stock Exchange Hotel on  Norfolk Street in between Market Street and King Street. It opens five days a week from Tuesday to Saturday.