Name: John Ennis
Pronouns: He/Him
Job title: Co-founder at GSG Hospitality and co-founder bartender at Manolo.
Awards & accolades: T50CB’s Newcomer of the Year 2023, master bartender from TGI Fridays & ‘it’s a reetmatch’ champion 2008
Key skills: Apart from making sick cocktails (easier said than done by the way) I like to think I am not a bad boss. I like helping others in the industry realise their potential. When myself and Matt Farrell co-founded GSG Hospitality, we didn’t start this company with anything other than a desire to be our own bosses, since then we’ve been through a lot, and I think it’s important to pass on the knowledge.
What got you into cocktail bars?
Seeing the film Cocktail when I was 7 and knowing pints of Grolsch and shots of Aftershock (first bar job) weren’t cutting it for me
How many years have you worked in the industry?
Making blended drinks matter since 1999…23 years and 9 months and counting.
What makes a great cocktail bar?
Hosting. A desire to truly want people to have enjoyed their time at the place. Treating people like they are a guest rather than someone just buying a cocktail.
What do you enjoy most about the industry?
The fact that I can go anywhere in the world and bond with people over what I love to do. Starting conversations from nothing, which is a true art form, and you don’t realise that until you are training others to try and do the same.
What’s your favourite drink?
Miami Vice. It used to be a Banana Margarita but since these bad boys have been knocking around it has taken the top spot. A good one is hard to find but when it hits, I’m there with speedos and flip flops on.
What’s your favourite ingredient right now?
Anejo tequila. It’s a fantastic gateway agave product. It’s doing bits!
Favourite post-shift meal?
I really enjoy a little staff meal when we get a chance. We don’t do it often enough but when we do I always think we should do it more.
What does being Newcomer of the Year mean to you?
We enjoyed winning the title at the awards after less than a year of being open! It meant a lot to me and the team, we wouldn’t have won it without them. Shout out to Adam, Junior, Jordan, Julio, Softlad and Uncle Slim.
It means we get to continue striving to elevate what we do. Our menu reads really simply but the work that goes into it isn’t. Awards like this give us the encouragement to carry on. Doesn’t matter how successful you are, we always strive for something better.
What is the best cocktail bar you’ve ever visited?
Sadly it was the Aviary in NYC and the second best was also sadly Blacktail NYC. Both gaffs were banging and if we were going even further back it was Montgomery Place. Those who remember all these places will probably find some agreement with me.
What do you enjoy most about working at Manolo?
I tell you what it's not, people asking me what I am doing working on the bar. I get asked this all the time, like I have an expiration date. The one thing I buzz off the most is finally cracking that drink spec and knowing people are really going to enjoy that.
Also spending more time working on El Bandito our basement tequileria next door to Manolo.
What does the future hold for Manolo?
We’ve got a new menu out this week, looking forward to that. We haven’t got any major aspirations other than carrying on with what we are doing. Got a few takeovers planned and a pop up in Shoreditch but no dates yet. We've started to integrate El Bandito to Manolo as they share the same building. El Bandito has been going for almost 12 years but this year we’ve started trying to elevate the concept and it’s working. The back bar and menu have never been as good as it is now. The lads are making it a great place to go and we’ve seen it get continually better. It's nice to see.
