By Society is now firmly established on Cleethorpes High Street as the only Sports Bar in the area but it once had a home in Cleethorpes Town Centre, just off Seaview Street on the adjoining Cambridge St, in-fact, up until recently Google still sent you to its old site but what inhabits this old unit now?
Black painted exterior walls, golden yellow writing with windows you just can’t seem to see through due to the glare of the sun from the opposite unit that used to house Coral Bookmakers lives Folk Wine Kitchen.
Excited by the prospect of venturing in further we peered through the window, nose scrunched against it that close we left a lovely smear of misty face cream, to see a Grand Piano, an elegant arrangement of glass wear and a map of the world filled with flags of some sort. What were we getting ourselves into?
The door, a little stiff & old with vintage stained windows only added to the apprehension which was already excitingly mixed, albeit subtly, with the feeling of walking into a speakeasy American style cocktail lounge but actually led us into a warm, welcoming array of stimulation from every corner we could see.
The Grand Piano sat there minding its own business with a note expressing “If you are not Mozart don’t try, we love listening to those who can play but anyone else, just No!” The map of the world lacked flags but had handmade labels of all the wines, cheeses & meats pinned to their region with picture references and tasting notes for you to peruse and in the background a stunning floral mural was surrounded by walls full of mouldings, random pictures & mixed cocktail bar seating.
“Excuse me” (our first words) Excuse me can I ask what is this place, please?’ And then, a very well-spoken bar tender took us through its mission statement. ‘Hello, well. We are all about fine wine, great cocktails & other drinks mixed with the best cured meats, world cheeses and artisan breads there is to offer. We have a fridge full of wines from all over the world that change as soon as we run out of one, we have a fridge full of over 30+ cheeses, 15+meats and numerous homemade accompaniments such as pesto, hummus, various chutneys and all the extras you need to make a mouth-watering antipasti board.’
‘Where? When did this happen?’ These were our only other words before we found out it was actually the same owner as People Bar, Society and other local hospitality businesses, Brett Smith. He had kept hold of the building when Society relocated and turned it into something else. At the time we were there to have a nosey, later we found out it had gone from Society to Folk Kitchen & Deli and to then Folk Wine Kitchen, but today was about seeing what was on offer and not searching through the journey it had taken.
We sat down, had a look through the food menu and asked the bartender to provide us with a mixed board with 5 choices of meats & cheese plus all the extra’s we need, with added breads & crackers to make the perfectly balanced board as well as a glass of red wine and unfortunately a mocktail as I was driving. While we had a look around the bartender went back and forth to a converted drinks fridge where you could see all the meats hanging, the cheeses labelled and all the different accompaniments he previously spoke of and should this article had been the food review then trust us, don’t wait; get yourself in quick!
We looked around and found more floral artwork, a classic set of vinyl decks, a Chesterfield single chair before we entered the most beautiful outside drinking area with the matching Chesterfield sofa a tiered seating area and some beautiful racing green armchairs. The sun was beaming down, a definite sun trap as it was mid-afternoon and the sun was only at mid-height, the pergola as it was named, really was the perfect setting for a glass of vino and a continental style eating experience.
This new business is a definite success visually, it has so many little areas to enjoy and on further questioning of the bar tender we found out it was littered with live music throughout the week with Acoustic Sessions on Thursdays & Sunday’s, Live DJ’s playing non-obtrusive background music every Friday & Saturday and resident singers and pianists showing up throughout the month.
Our visit lasted longer than expected, a little like the car in the car park overnight but it was well worth it!
A brilliant atmosphere, superb choice of drinks excellently mixed with fresh ingredients and a wine selection that there is no point of asking for as it changes so often but certainly didn’t disappoint.
Look out for out food review to come and our follow up with Brett Smith (Owner) on what Folk is all about and the Internationally Acclaimed DJ’s they’ve had and are having to play for little old Cleethorpes.
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