A NEW speciality cocktail bar has opened in Bradford city centre with the aim to serve 'new and inventive' beverages and help to boost the nighttime economy.

Al's Dive bar opened its doors last week on Duke's Street and will offer a 'chilled out lounge style' setting, next door to sister company, and music venue, Al Juke's.

Owner, Stevie Le Shaw, 39 said: " We've got Al's Juke bar next door but that's more of a music venue, so we wanted somewhere nearby where people can come to relax in an intimate setting but can flit between the two if they want."

"The new bar is going to be predominantly cocktail based and concentrate on specialist cocktails and be a bit more of a chill-out zone."

The bar will serve "mostly signature cocktails that have been created themselves" and have been inspired by other bars in the area such as Mojo's and Almost Famous in Leeds.

Stevie said: "It will be very cocktail heavy and steer from classics. Although we will serve the classics too, we want to give something that we think people won't be able to drink anywhere else in Bradford."

Stevie said the extensive list of cocktails range from everything from sweet and sour to savoury cocktails.

"We have been quite experimental and we're particularly proud of our savoury section on our menu for people who don't like sweet drinks. We have a coriander based margarita and cocktails involving pickles which have been very popular. A lot of people turn their nose up until they try them and realise they're quite nice.

"We're experimenting with different flavours like smoked whisky, and theatrical things like smoke and foam, and we want our customers to also get involved and give us feedback to tell us what works and what doesn't." 

Stevie added that he is eager to help the nighttime economy and wants to give people a reason to "go out" in Bradford.

He said: "What we want to do is provide a unique selling point with the cocktails but also be part of the music scene to make people realise Bradford is a decent place to drink and get past the stigma and realise there's some places you need to give a chance."

The bar is open from 8 pm until 2 am from Tuesday until Saturday with view to extend the hours on customer demand.