"It's a bit scary" - Lee-on-the-Solent locals to achieve dream of opening bar as Bar Flores brings the tastes of Spain home
Two friends are set to open a new bar in Lee-on-the-Solent as they bring the tastes of their travels home.
Rachael Wilkinson, who grew up in Gosport and has lived in Lee for decades, is excited to achieve her dream of opening a bar when Bar Flores opens its doors on Friday, August 29.
Opening on the High Street, the new bar will sell a range of international beers, wine flights and grazing platters inspired by the food that Rachael and her good friend and business partner have tasted on their travels.
It is a new venture and a whole new direction for Rachael who works for the NHS. She admitted the change “is a bit scary” but the time was right to take the plunge and make her dream a reality.
She said: “It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time and now is the time. I am definitely excited.”
The bar owners are both passionate travellers and are looking to bring the tastes they have experienced from around the world, especially Spain, back home.
Rachael said: “We have travelled a lot and have picked up the best of what we come across on our travels and are hoping to bring that to Lee-on-the-Solent. We both love Spain and have been to a place called Mirfalores, and we wanted to incorporated those memories from Spain into our business.”
Bar Flores will start by serving a selection of grazing platters before broadening out to tapas dishes in the future.
Rachael said: “We are going to start off with grazing boards and then progress to tapas as the time goes on, we want to take things slowly to begin with. We will be selling international buckets of beer and wine flights, which are three smaller portions of different wines.
“We are going to offer a classic grazing board which will have Spanish meats and cheeses, and there will be the ‘at home’ grazing board which is similar to a ploughmans. There will also be a further afield vegetable grazing board which will have falafel, halloumi, dates and more.”
The space has been divided into three sections, each providing customers with a relaxing space to drink, talk and eat.
Rachael said: “We have three zones set out in the restaurant. The front zone is lower seating and is all about comfort while the middle section has the bar area and tall tables. The rear section will then be more a dining area.”
Bar Flores will open its doors for the first time on Friday at 4pm. To start with the opening hours will be Thursday and Friday 4pm to 10pm, Saturday 12pm to 10pm and Sunday’s 12pm to 6.30pm.