El Sur, contemporary Spanish restaurant and bar located at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi, has appointed a new bar manager, Emilio Valencia, to spearhead the beverage section and raise the bar with innovation and creativity.

The Mexican national comes from a family of restaurateurs and got a taste for hospitality from his early years. After completing high school, he moved to London in 2006 to get hands on experience in the bar and nightlife industry. He has worked across a number of high profile venues across England, like Ronnie’s Scott and Azteca, many of which were frequented by nobility of England, followed by Devomshire Terrace as the head bartender.

His next stop, after London, was Los Angeles, where he worked at the century old El Carmen Restaurant.

Most recently, Emilio was working at Asia de Cuba in Abu Dhabi, before joining El Sur. Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I am excited to be working with our chef, Juan-Carlos Gonzales, and raising the bar for beverages to be at par with the food. I will introduce new techniques and flavours, and we will make our ingredients, like jams and purees, in house. The idea is to reinvent the way cocktails are made. Also, we will be introducing a new Gin and Tonic bar, along with a new cocktail menu.”

Emilio was one of the two finalists from Abu Dhabi for Worldclass Championship, and is now also contesting in Bacardi Legacy cocktail competition with his bespoke creation ‘Perfume de Violetas’.

El Sur is open daily from 6:00pm to 12:00am; Friday and Saturday from 12:30pm to 1:00am. It is located at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.