CLASS Midlands reviewer James March reviews Space in Wolverhampton.
Once the staff canteen of regional Wolverhampton newspaper the Express & Star, Space is a breezy café-cum-cocktail bar in the paper’s historic former home on Castle Street.
The spacious room has been given a handsome Scandi makeover with sleek wooden shelves, potted plants and maroon leather sofas.
It’s quiet for a Friday, but the stereo’s laid-back ’90s grooves from Lauryn Hill and Sade fit nicely with the surroundings.
Space’s cocktail menu has a reassuring brevity, offering just six signature and five classic options, though there are initial teething issues.
The signature Cherry Negroni sounds alluring but they’ve run out of cherry amaro so I switch to the pun-tastic Expresso Star Martini which has a subtle richness with the addition of caramel.
I follow that with the Bananas in Pyjamas Old Fashioned, where a gentle sweetness from two banana slices with the bourbon’s aggressiveness watered down a notch makes for a pleasing sip.
Space is a well-executed concept that should gather more footfall in due time.
SCORE: 7/10
Castle Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 3AD