The Charleston brings restaurant, cocktails and live music to a restored Bakewell landmark
One of Bakewell’s best-known buildings has reopened after a £2.6 million transformation, turning the town’s former Royal Bank of Scotland building into The Charleston, a new restaurant and cocktail bar inspired by the glamour of the 1920s.
The Grade II-listed building had stood vacant for several years. Its reopening creates around 60 jobs and adds a new all-day venue to Bakewell’s food and drink scene, with speciality coffee, brunch, evening dining, cocktails and live music spread across the restored building.
The Charleston has been created by Longbow Venues, the hospitality group behind The Peacock at Rowsley, The Maynard, The George Hathersage, The Ashford Arms and The Peacock at Owler Bar.
From morning coffee to late-night cocktails
The idea is for The Charleston to change character throughout the day. Mornings centre on speciality coffee and pastries, while brunch includes dishes such as tea-smoked duck Benedict, cured scallop muffins and buttermilk chicken waffle sandwiches.
Coffee is roasted in Sheffield by Roastology, while afternoon tea is also available.
As the day moves into evening, the menu shifts towards brasserie-style cooking. Dishes include crayfish and lobster ravioli, Derbyshire beef fillet with blue cheese chutney, best end of lamb with pomegranate chimichurri and pan-fried cod with walnut and chicory velouté.
The drinks list covers signature cocktails and classics, alongside Champagne, wines and spritzes. Live music, centred around the venue’s baby grand piano, is also part of the evening offering, with jazz, soul and swing among the styles featured.
A former bank vault becomes The Speakeasy
The restoration has retained many of the building’s original architectural features while introducing a new 1920s-inspired interior.
Rich colours, bespoke artwork, intimate lighting and brass and other decorative finishes have been used throughout the building, while its original proportions remain a prominent feature.
The upstairs restaurant looks out across Bakewell, while the former bank vault has been converted into a private dining room called The Speakeasy.
Outside, the venue also has a large courtyard, described by the operators as one of the biggest outdoor dining spaces in Bakewell town centre.
The building’s history as a bank has therefore become part of the restaurant itself, rather than being hidden by the refurbishment.
Local producers feature on the menu
The Charleston is also placing an emphasis on suppliers from Derbyshire and the surrounding region.
Local and regional businesses supplying the venue include Winster Foods, R G Morris & Son, Middleton’s Dairies, Bluebell Dairy, Sheffield coffee roaster Roastology and Bakewell-based Hattersley Wines.
The opening also continues a family connection to Bakewell’s hospitality scene for Longbow Venues Managing Director Rob Hattersley. His parents opened Aitch’s Wine Bar in the town 44 years ago, and Hattersley referenced that history during the restaurant’s official opening.
“This project has been in the pipeline for three years and it’s amazing to finally open it.”
Hattersley also thanked the team behind the project and said he hoped The Charleston would continue the hospitality legacy established by his parents.
The Charleston was officially opened alongside Derbyshire Dales MP John Whitby and Bakewell businessman John Brocklehurst. Whitby highlighted the scale of the redevelopment and the jobs created by the new venue, while Brocklehurst welcomed the return of an independent business to a previously vacant historic building.
For Bakewell, the opening gives a prominent landmark a new lease of life while adding another option for visitors looking for something beyond the town’s traditional cafés and restaurants.
The Charleston is now open in Bakewell.
