Hamish Smith catches up with former Savoy bartender Pippa Guy (now of Diageo) and ex-Milk Thistle GM Seb Fileccia about a new Bristol venue.

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Same Again will focus on the art of beauty in simplicity. We will have a carefully curated cocktail menu that will change with the seasons and spotlight produce at its best. The bar will also highlight two of our individual passions – champagne and whisky – to be enjoyed in a beautiful and intimate setting on the Bristol waterside.

Were you always thinking of opening a place together?

No, never! If you look back on the last year, it’s going to look from the outside like we’ve planned it, but frankly getting to this point has been mostly sheer dumb luck. We made a joke about a year ago if we were ever to take on a site in Bristol that The Wellhead (as it was formally known) would be perfect. 

So we kind of laughed when we found out, almost as soon as we got back from travelling, that it was going to become available. We had just spent all our money, and naturally the timing was crazy but also strangely perfect for where we’re both at in our lives. After belief and encouragement from friends we decided to grab the bull by the horns and go for it. 

Tell us about the name... 

Yes, we really struggled with the name to begin with but we settled on Same Again because it has a familiar neighbourhood ring while nodding to outstanding execution and the happiest guest.

There is so much variety on cocktail menus these days that we feel like people rarely order a drink twice and for someone to ask for the “same again” means the drink was executed so perfectly and is exactly what they were after, and that’s the kind of hospitality that we really want to champion. 

There are a lot of same agains – for Pip going back into the world of cocktail bars, for Seb operating another killer venue in Bristol and for Tom Austin (who will be part of our opening team), he actually used to work at The Wellhead years ago before going to train at The Milk Thistle under Seb. 

Champagne and whisky are your passions, but tell us a little about the cocktails you have planned.

We want to be known first and foremost for being really great employers. We almost want the cocktail programme to be the last reason people want to work for us. 

We’ve both grown up in the years of hospitality where wearing your burnout was the badge of honour – and we’re so over that. We want our people to have lives, families and passions, days off spent doing the things they love because they have the time and energy to do them. 

The bar doesn’t have a kitchen or back of house area so we’re going to have to be clever in how we approach executing the menu, which is an exciting challenge in itself. A clean, stripped-back, but carefully selected continually changing offering, the cocktail menu will have eight seasonally rotating drinks and one special of the month that will have a charity partner. Bristol has a really strong community and we want to make sure we’re giving back and playing our part. We’re also working on a very unserious concept called the Champagne Stock Exchange... full details will remain under wraps for now.

In Pippa’s case, how are you going to manage the bar and the day job at Diageo and what have you learned from working with brands that you’ll bring into operations?

(Pippa): I’m under no impression that this is going to be easy, but so far transparency has been key and I’ve never shied away from a challenge. Diageo has been great at helping me navigate the complexities that come with this unique chapter and ensuring it works for everyone. My day-to-day job will remain with Diageo and Seb will hold down daily running of the bar. Ultimately it’s a small site, so once we’re operational it won’t need us both there day in, day out. Seb is a far more experienced GM than I am and I’m grateful that he’s pushed and supported me into believing I can be a part of both.

When can we get in there? 

We’re hoping we can open in mid January and really take time to iron out service and any unexpected challenges of the bar so that by the time it gets to this summer period (which, unusually, is our busiest), we will be firing on all cylinders. Same Again will operate Tuesday to Saturday 3pm-11:30pm.