Sophie Bratt: A day in the life of a bar manager

Sophie Bratt, bar manager of Sexy Fish’s Japanese whisky-focused bar in London, talks to Millie Milliken about having multiple books on the go, whisky training and riding home on a Harley Davidson

“I’m a natural early riser so I always wake up around 7am or 8am, no matter what time I go to bed. If I’m starting late I go for a run to clear my head or do some yoga or pilates – I’ve had two back surgeries so that’s important for me. 

“Then I head into work on the bus, check my emails on the way in and reply to what I can. If there is nothing to do and I’m running early I’ll read: I always have two books running at all times, something easy going and then something to improve my knowledge of whisky on my Kindle. 

“If I’m on a late shift when I start at 4pm I try and get in early to make sure everything is sorted and all prepped ready to go. We’re currently building a staff room so they have some balance between work and life. We’re hiring more staff so need more space for lockers and showers so people like me can run into work.

“We do regular training sessions so the whole of Caprice Holdings (Sexy Fish’s owner) are all invited and we do them at different venues. We’ve just had a few different brands looking at spirit category training, like House of Suntory’s James Bowker who’s coming in to do Japanese whisky training. We’re constantly updating the Japanese whisky menu and a lot of our whiskies are limited bottles – I think we have 430 at the moment, it’s a hell of a job. 

“At 4pm I do staff briefings on what the night ahead looks like. The service is about keeping energy in the bar and as the manager on duty you’re the ringmaster; you lead the show. It’s your job to set the tone of how the night will go – the team will follow me and then the guests will follow us. It’s our job to break that bar barrier down and to have fun together. It’s also nice to share knowledge with the guests – some of the team are extremely knowledgable and great entertainers. 

“If any of my team have done long shifts it’s nice to have a debrief, order in some food, have a sit down for half an hour together and have a chat. If we’re running an event we have to bring more energy to the bar. The energy doesn’t stop, the guests expect it and it’s more bottle and late night service – the DJ usually doesn’t start till 11.30pm. During the week we close at 1am and weekends it’s 2am. 

“At the moment I have Wednesdays and Sundays off and I think it’s important to keep up with what’s going on – like what people are doing in the industry, looking at how things are changing and taking the team along to bars to try new things. 

“At the end of the night we usually have a two-hour break down with a couple of beers. I work with a close friend, Cressie Lawlor, so if I’m going straight home I jump on the back of her Harley Davidson and generally sing High School Musical all the way home. If we finish early there is the Coach & Horses on Bruton Street around the corner so we head there for a bottle of Champagne – or we go to Be At One. Something Cressie and I have started doing is running to get last orders at Callooh Callay, place an order for Champagne or a Martini on the way, and have it handed to us when we get there.”