Meet The Team – Nico Peratinos

Nico PeratinosIn the latest of our Meet The Team features, we catch up over a cocktail with Nicholas (Nico) Peratinos, bars manager for aqua London.

Hi Nico! Tell us a little about your role at aqua London, and what it involves?

I am currently the Bars manager at Aqua London, meaning I’m responsible for all the bars, so aqua spirit, aqua nueva and both the Kyoto and nueva terraces. My role involves creating cocktail menus and bespoke cocktails for events, and running the operation from rota planning to financial forecasting.

How did you first get into hospitality? Have you always worked in this industry?

I could say I have been in hospitality since I was a child, because my parents owned a couple of restaurants on the island of Corfu in Greece. I never thought I would make it my career but it happened and I am really glad about it. People often see hospitality as something to fill the time until they find what they really want to do, but I think they’re wrong there because hospitality can open so many doors for you. I really enjoy what I do because there are so many different aspects to the job.

Read more +

Don’t drop when you shop – rest up at aqua!

shopping

Being located at the junction of two of London’s – indeed the world’s! – most famous shopping streets, Oxford Street and Regent Street,  you won’t find a more perfect place than aqua london to fuel up for, take a break during or recover after an epic shopping spree.

Within just a few minutes walk of our front door you’ll find yourself in a shopper’s paradise with unbeatable retail experiences the likes of which just can’t be found elsewhere. Historic department store Liberty of London is so close that its ornate golden galleon weather vane can be seen from the aqua nueva terrace; why not enjoy a cocktail there after visiting the stores five floors of exquisite designer clothing, fabrics and homewares?

Behind Liberty, world-famous Carnaby Street is now the central thoroughfare of the thriving Carnaby Quarter, home to myriad small independent boutiques such as Bolongaro Trevor as well as larger stores from edgy international brands like Cheap Monday and for sneaker-heads, trainer stores stocking the most sought-after styles. Read more +

Bar Supervisor Simone Rossi named ‘The Mixing Star UK 2015′

Simone Rossi, Disarono's The Mixing Star UK 2015

For this guest post, Lorenzo Stabile, bar team member in aqua spirit, interviews his colleague Simone Rossi about his recent success in a prestigious international competition.

If you ever wondered how to be inspired to combine flavours for a new cocktail, here is the answer: behind a great cocktail there is always a story that starts its creation. That was the the first step of a journey that allowed Simone Rossi, bar supervisor at aqua spirit, to see his cocktail among the winners of The Mixing Star 2015, a global competition promoted by Italian liqueur company Disaronno.

Moving to London from a little city in Italy, Simone entered the hospitality industry with only a basic knowledge of cocktails but a great passion to develop his skills. A few weeks ago, his passion and determination were rewarded when he was named The Mixing Star UK 2015, one of thirteen worldwide national champions.
Read more +

If you like Green Tea Colada…

Green Tea Colada at aqua spirit

Reimagining classic cocktails with contemporary ingredients and influences is one of the hallmarks of our bars manager Luca’s style. And few drinks demonstrate it better than his already-extremely-popular new Green Tea Colada, from aqua spirit‘s ‘Inspired by Japan’ selection.
Read more +

Unveiling the new aqua nueva

Artist's impression of the new aqua nueva

After many months of planning and struggling to keep the exciting news under wraps, we’re absolutely delighted to let you know that we’re having an extensive refurbishment of aqua nueva this year. The restaurant will close this Sunday, 13th April, and will re-open in early June.
Read more +

aqua spirit cocktails by @manting_rachelaqua kyoto tomato & edamame salad by @jblleefriends enjoying themselves by @jayalexandracooper

Congratulations to our ‘Winstagram’ winners!

 
We knew that our guests had an eye for a great Instagram image, but we had no idea just how hard it would be to pick the winners of a recent competition we ran, announced in our newsletter.
Read more +

Win cocktails, lunch and Champagne with Instagram!

instagram

We love seeing all the images guests share of their experience here on Instagram and until next Wednesday, 18th March, we’re running a photo competition with some great prizes!
Read more +

aqua nueva, a jewel in ‘London’s Mile of Style’

Octopus with Galician style empanada low res copy

For a Spanish restaurant, it’s always exciting to be recognised by the Spanish community. So you can imagine how the Cava corks popped when aqua nueva was featured recently in El Viajero, the prestigious travel magazine of El Pais, Spain’s best-selling newspaper.
Read more +

Inspired new cocktails


Recently we introduced our new bar manager Luca Missaglia and in our Q&A with him he revealed that there would be new cocktails on the list inspired by Japan for aqua spirit and aqua kyoto and by Spain for aqua nueva. This week we spent some time with Luca tasting the Inspired by Japan section (yes, it’s a tough job…!) and we think guests are going to be delighted with his new creations.
Read more +

Meet The Team: Luca Missaglia

New bar manager Luca Missaglia

We’re delighted to introduce our new bar manager, Luca Missaglia, a well-known figure on London’s cocktail scene and a very welcome addition to the team. We caught up with Luca for a quick Q&A to find out more about him:

What is your career background – have you always worked in bars?

Most of my career I have been working in hospitality, the past ten years in bars and restaurants. I started as a coffee boy and worked my way up to bartender, and for the last four years I have been leading bar teams in different venues including Lab Bar and most recently Quo Vadis private members’ club in Soho.

What would you say is your ‘signature style’ of cocktail making?

My signature style is classic and elegant but with a contemporary twist.
Read more +