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Our Story
Back in 2016, a man called Joey had an idea. It was simple; he was going to serve ramen and cocktails from a tiny building in Holmfirth which had at various times been a nightclub, a sculpture lounge, and a coffee shop. He chose the name The Winking Stag because people kept telling him to open a traditional pub instead of a bar and kitchen and against the odds, it worked.
A year later, Joey handed the reins to Sam, who took the idea and ran with it. Opening hours were extended, and the spark of our much-loved Happy Hour cocktails was lit. Tom, our current owner, stopped by for a drink around this time and joined the team as a bartender on the spot.
Over the years, we've changed a few things. The kitchen's been moved from behind the bar and been given its own room, our menus have changed and expanded and we've found ever more creative uses for our space, making room for ice machines, kitchen equipment and of course more tables! Our team has grown from just three to almost twenty, with many of us starting off as guests and decided to stay on as staff, just like Tom.
Through all the changes, challenges, and celebrations, the core idea has stayed the same: Japanese food and hand-made cocktails in a relaxed and intimate setting. And don't worry, this isn't changing any time soon.
Kanpai!
Meet the Team
Coming soon! (We're still trying to persuade everyone to let us take their photo).
Policies
We collect some of your personal information during our booking and payment processes, here's how we use your information:
Our booking system (provided by Avenista) collects contact information (full name, email address and contact telephone number) and stores it in secure online servers. We only use this information for the purposes of making and managing reservations plus occasional targeted marketing if you've told us you're happy to receive marketing communications. Avenista only use this information to support us in the use of their system.
You can view Avenista's privacy policy here.
The card pre-authorisations we take instead of deposits are handled by Stripe. Neither us nor our booking system provider store these details and we only have access to the final four digits of the long card number for verification purposes. We will never ask for financial information over the phone, by email, in written form or through any other means than the secure links provided in our booking widgets or confirmation emails.
You can view Stripe's privacy policy here:
Cancellations
Our £5.00 per person cancellation charge applies to all no-shows and all reservations cancelled at or later than 12:00 noon the day prior to the reservation.
This policy also applies to significant reductions in group size (excluding venue or room hire reservations). In case of a significant reduction we will charge £5.00 for each person fewer than the original reservation. We define a significant reduction as follows:
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For tables of one to six people, more than 50% of the number on the original reservation.
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For tables of seven people or more, 50% or more of the number on the original reservation. If the booking is for an odd number we treat it as if it is for one more person, e.g for a reservation of seven people a significant reduction would be four people and not three.
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We define the original reservation as the details of the reservation at 12:00 noon the day prior.
Children
We don't allow children under 14 after 18:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and Bank Holiday Sundays. We do this because it can become quite lively at these times and we don't think it's necessarily a very child friendly environment. If you do bring children under 14 after 18:00 on these days, we may ask you to leave and treat your reservation as a late cancellation.
Late Arrivals
We understand that sometimes things beyond your control mean you're running late and we'll always do our best to accommodate you. Our kitchen is very small though and we do have other guests to consider, so if you're 30 minutes (or more) late, we may not be able to serve you and may treat your reservation as a late cancellation.
If your booking is for Bottomless Brunch, we may start your two hour time slot from the time of your booking and not your arrival time.
Tips and Service Charges
We pay any and all tips directly to our staff, with the total amount for each day being divided evenly among all members of staff who worked that day.
We add a 10% service charge to the bill for groups of seven people or more (excluding drinks only, venue and room hire reservations). This charge is optional and will be removed upon request, but if paid it will be divided among the team in the manner described above.
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