Following the success of the Pearl at Park Hill, the team behind Bench are opening a bakery and wine bar, Bench la Cave, in the adjacent space in February.
Award winning bartender Jack Wakelin and chef Ronnie Aronica are joined by house baker Dan Ward at la Cave, where they will be serving up Dan’s house sourdough; a selection of sweet treats, sandwiches and provisions.
In the early evening the venue will evolve into a wine bar, stocking wines made popular at their Nether Edge restaurant, a range of natural wines by the glass to drink in or by the bottle to takeaway and craft beers. The kitchen is set to serve up a short food menu inspired by the team’s favourite Parisian wine bars.
“Three weeks into Bench’s life, we were forced to close for lockdown and pivoted from a restaurant to a ‘deli – bottle shop’ (didn’t we all?). At the deli, we served Dan’s sourdough, cheese, charcuterie and tarts; the bottle shop sold natural wine, bottled cocktails, craft beers, and started a natural wine subscription which still runs to this day. This gave us a real good trial run, and it’s something we’ve wanted to bring back since.”
Jack and Ronnie recently opened the The Pearl at Park Hill in September 2023, the first bar to open at Park Hill since the closure of the four original estate pubs.
“We love how welcoming the community at Park Hill has made us feel at the Pearl and we couldn’t be more excited to bring ‘Bench la Cave’ to this special place.” Jack says, “We’ve found ourselves part of the fabric (or concrete!) of the place already.”
Chef Ronnie Aronica said of the opening: “We’ve always been fans of Dan’s bread. We served it at our very first pop ups and when we opened Bench we knew the quality and care that it’s made with would make it a signature of the restaurant, and so it has proved to be.
“Giving Dan the opportunity to showcase his talent on a larger scale, has always been in the back of our minds so the opportunity to make it happen is something we’re really excited about.”
‘Bench la Cave’ opens on February 9th at 10am. Check their socials for more deets.
