First look at Sunderland's new £1.5million bar and restaurant complex The Palm

Around £1.5million has been ploughed into creating The Palm, which has doubled the footprint of the established Liberty Brown bar and restaurant site in Hylton Riverside.

Whilst Liberty Brown has moved into the former Saucy Burger site upstairs, the downstairs has been completely transformed to create Wildernest and Tropicuba bars, whilst an extension to the building has seen the creation of Pineapple Cove cafe and a heated garden with its own street food stalls.

The destination venue, which has a late licence of 3am, will open tonight and tomorrow night for invited guests and is open to the general public from noon tomorrow.

The Palm is the brainchild of The Apartment Group, headed up by Sunderland businessman Duncan Fisher, whose portfolio of venues include As You Like It, Florita’s and Nancy’s Bordello in Newcastle and Newton Hall and Le Petit Chateau in Northumberland.

James Richardson, area manager for The Apartment Group, said the venue has already held a couple of friends and family nights as a trial run.

He said: “We couldn’t ask for a better start, it’s been really well received by everyone so far. Our aim has been to give the people of Sunderland a whole new destination venue that’s not been available to them before.

“It’s a place to come away from the city centre where you can spend the night going between the different bars. The city has been lacking a destination venue like this and there’s nothing else out there like it.”

Each of the five venues at The Palm, which has seen the creation of 40 new jobs, has its own theme and food menu. Liberty Brown will continue with its current family offering, while Wildernest has a cabin theme, complete with handmade Elm bar. Its menu features lobster, brought from day boats in Hartlepool and North Shields, as well as superfood salads, steaks and vegan options.

Next door, Tropicuba takes its inspiration from the streets of Havana and it will be serving Latin American-themed tapas such as albondigas, nachos and tortillas.

Pineapple Cove, meanwhile, has a beachcomber vibe and is more family friendly with a daytime offering of sundaes, sandwiches, waffles and desserts.

Finally, the garden area outdoors has its own fire pit, street food shacks, serving gourmet kebabs and curry rolls, and a space for live music performances.

Each bar has its own drinks menu serving an extensive range of tropical cocktails, spirits, wines and craft beers and lagers on draught.