Found, not advertised.
Opium is a vintage and curious cocktail bar, hidden in the stone vaults below Grove Street, just off Pulteney Bridge in the heart of Bath. There is no sign on the street. The lucky few who find it tend to come back.
Down a flight of stairs, the vaults open into a warren of small rooms: velvet chaises, gilded tables, candelabras and a stag’s head that has seen it all. Everything has been collected over the years, and none of it takes itself too seriously.
Behind the bar we keep an old-style Boston approach: if we can make it, we’re happy to oblige. The list runs from proper classics to fifteen ‘house’ creations you won’t find anywhere else. The more you visit, the more we get to know you, and the better your drink gets.
We’re open from five, and later at the weekend. Walk in if you’re passing, or book a table ahead. For something more private, the Secret Room behind the bar is yours for an evening, karaoke and all.
A short history of the vaults
A short historyThe vaults
The stone vaults below Grove Street are far older than the bar: cool, thick-walled rooms built into the hill beneath Bathwick.
The bar
Opium moved in and furnished them the way we like: velvet and gilt, candles on every table, and a growing collection of curiosities.
Now
Open from five every evening, later at the weekend. The door is still easy to miss; most people are looking for it by the time they find it.
Come and find us.
The Vaults, Spring Gardens Road, Bathwick, Bath BA2 6PJ. Open from five, and later at the weekend.