When it comes to a decent night out, you’d be hard pressed to find a better city than Brighton thanks to its huge array of restaurants, venues and bars.

Now there’s an interesting new wine and cocktail bar on the block, making the decision of where to spend an evening that bit trickier.

Accessed via a secret, unmarked door in Kensington Gardens, the 1920s-themed, prohibition style L’Atelier Du Vin is the latest offering from the team originally behind the Hotel Du Vin chain.

Steve Pineau, 39, from Rottingdean, who co-owns the bar with Dimitri Mesnard, 41, said: “We have been working on this idea for two years.

“I love the style of the Twenties and Thirties and liked the idea of a speakeasy in Brighton where people could come for a relaxed night out sampling wines and cocktails from that era.”

Once you’ve located the inconspicuous door, L’Atelier Du Vin transports you to a time when, in the United States, it was illegal to produce, import or sell alcoholic beverages, giving it a slightly mystical feel.

The bar holds an extensive stock of wines and spirits, with more than 900 varieties on the menu including Armagnac and Cognac from the 1920s and a Gordon’s gin from the 1950s.

Steve and Dimitri hope L’Atelier Du Vin will remove some of the snobbery which can surround wine drinking.

“We sell wine by the glass priced from £4 to £80,” said Steve. “Customers can buy by the bottle too, so if you want to know whether a £1,000 bottle of wine is worth it, we’ll let you try it.”

The classic cocktail list is also a sight to behold as each one has been traced back to its origins, with the menu arranged in the order in which each was invented.

One quirky service offered to customers is the ability to buy a bottle of wine or spirits for personal consumption, which is then locked away for them until their next visit.

The décor inside the bar is, of course, in keeping with the 1920s’ theme and has been fully renovated by Steve himself, who even built the bar which is made out of drawers and decorated with 2p pieces.

The business partners have known each other and worked together for about 20 years, including their time with Hotel Du Vin.

They have been mentored along the way by master sommelier Gerard Basset, who has put together a small, select menu of six special wines for customers of L’Atelier Du Vin to enjoy.

If you can find it the door in the first place.