Celebrating its first anniversary, a cosmopolitan 'gastro bar' set up by two local leisure industry experts has emerged as one of Birmingham's success stories.

Mackenzie's, in Corporation Street, claims it has been virtually fully booked since it opened and its new Thursday night live jazz, soul and blues nights have been a sell-out.

The bar has also contributed towards Birmingham being named the champagne capital in a recent Tesco survey.

In its first year, Mackenzie's pulled off a major coup by offering customers the city's largest selection of prestige champagnes, following agreements signed with three Grandes Marques Champagne houses - Taittinger, Laurent Perrier and Moet & Chandon - an accolade only Gordon Ramsay's London restaurants and a handful of distinguished outlets could previously boast.

Attracting a broad spectrum of the local business community, Barry Sherwin, director of the Bar & Dinning Room Company which owns Mackenzie's, said: "We identified a need for a genuine quality dining experience but with less formality than many conventional establishments."

Mr Sherwin together with former Living Room manager, Iain Ross-Mackenzie masterminded the Mackenzie's concept.