The Voyage of Buck is set to open on William Street in Edinburgh’s West End in October on the site of the former Bert’s Bar, which was taken over by the Big Red Teapot team last year.
The new cocktail bar and restaurant is the latest venture from Colin Church and Martin Luney, Big Red Teapot’s owners, who also operate Edinburgh outlets Hamilton’s, The Blackbird and Treacle. The duo operated it as Bert’s Bar for a number of months before closing for the reincarnation as The Voyage of Buck. The concept for the new venue is based on fictitious world traveler William “Buck” Clarence and his travels during the 1900s – 1930s, which will be reflected in the venue’s Edwardian-era inspired design. Buck’s travels to Paris, Taipei, Cairo and Havana will also inspire both the cocktail and food menu. It will have a capacity of 60 covers, and food will be served 10am – 10pm, with the menu changing every month.
Martin Luney told DRAM, “This is the first time we’ve ever done a concept bar. We created a character and picked a time frame we were very interested in. The 1900s-30s is a really interesting time period creatively, with Hollywood and Prohibition, but there are so many Speakeasy styles we wanted to take our own London slant on it rather than American.”