Who better to answer the question, ‘what is the best cocktail bar in the UK?’ than the Top 50 Cocktail Bars awards. And who better to deliver the good news to the winners than our very own Aidy who hosted the ceremony!
An academy of drinks writers, leading business heads and influencers from all four corners of the UK arrived at this Top 10 as the finest cocktail bars in the country.
The full Top 50 is listed at the bottom of the page so you can see where your nearest amazing drinking spot is, but for now let’s dive in to the Top 10.
10. The Connaught, Mayfair, London
The Connaught Bar is the super sophisticated watering hole of its namesake hotel. Beautifully designed with platinum silver and classy furniture, you can expect to see the trademark martini trolley being ceremoniously wheeled over to a candlelit table, or showstopping ‘multi-dimensional’ cocktails leaving the bar. From mastering classics like the Bloody Mary to adaptations like the Faraway Collins, a twist on a Tom Collins using Star of Bombay gin at the heart of it, the cocktails are classics with modern interpretations and the setting is everything you want from a Mayfair haunt.
9. 🔶🟥🔵 (A Bar with Shapes for a Name), Hackney, London
Without a doubt the most unusually named bar on the list, this is ‘A Bar with Shapes for a Name’, although that isn’t really the name... it’s just the description you would give the bar because the actual sign is three coloured shapes. This Bauhaus style carries over into the unique inside space – functional, minimal and with no bottles on show. Remy Savage and Paul Lougrat designed it this way to reimagine what a bar is and could be. The lack of convention doesn’t end there, because the menu which is a 50/50 split of classics and in-house specials uses blind tasted spirits. The big names are only served if they genuinely taste good enough, which might explain the comparatively reasonable London prices.
8. Speak in Code, Manchester
Part of the flourishing cocktail scene in Manchester, Speak in Code is a relaxed, dimly lit, bare brick/dark wood bar with an imaginative and extensive plant-based menu. The gorgeous Victorian arch welcoming you peaks expectations which are more than met by signatures like Track 13 which uses grape skin vodka and chamomile wine, and Hot Buttered Rum Old Fashioned using fat-washed golden rum, demerara mix and cocao bitters. Keep an eye out for their incredible cocktail gift sets too!
7. Three Sheets, Dalston, London
Solidifying its No.7 spot from last year, Three Sheets by the Venning Brothers is a gorgeously designed sleek and simple bar with interesting seasonal ingredients. Their carbonated French 75 with Victory Gin, clear lemon, Moscato and orange flower is a stand-out signature serve, along with the Blackcurrant Americano.
6. Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
Panda & Sons is the Scottish representative in the Top 10, albeit one in disguise! Stroll past outside and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a barber shop, but this is all part of the prohibition-style false exterior that stylises the inside too – think dim lighting, cabinets of curiosities and vintage furniture. Each ‘chapter’ of the menu offers something different, such as Chapter One’s technical fat washing, clarification and sous vide and Chapter Two’s modern classics. A fantastic speakeasy experience with endless lovely touches.
5. Swift, Soho, London
Swift on Old Compton Street is no stranger to awards, loved for its mirrored walls, leather booths and expansive range of unique cocktails. The ground floor is casual and lively, but the basement den regularly hosts live music, and offers over 300 worldly whiskies and a rotating cocktail theme – currently ‘Legends’, celebrating much loved great thinkers, artists and performers. Take Only in L.A, for example, an Ab-Fab inspired mix of Absolut Elyx and Martini Rubino.
4. SCHOFIELD'S BAR, Manchester
Topping Manchester’s scene is Schofield’s Bar, named after the bartending brothers who created it. Situated on the corner of art deco beauty Sunlight House, they offer a combination of classic cocktails with in-house stylings paired with some of their favourite books! How about Casino Royale with a Vesper Martini? The Old Man and the Sea alongside a Mojito perhaps? The distinguished old-world venue also offers popcorn and charcuterie boards to snack on so it’s the kind of place you can happily whittle away the evening with everything you need.
3. Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch, London
The first onto the podium is Tayēr + Elementary, a venue of two halves. ‘Elementary’ offers casual all-day cocktails served at speed thanks to a draught system including Old Fashioned and Aquavit. Seasonal produce-led snacking also features massively in the experience. Through the partition however, ‘Tayēr’ awaits – inviting darkness with unusual and regularly changing exotic cocktails introduced by guest bartenders.
2. Lab 22, Cardiff
Behind a fairly innocuous door between a bakery and a restaurant is last year’s winner, the experimental and eclectically-styled cocktail bar. Pajtim Tani Hasa’s menu in particular has been heavily praised, winning the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu in 2021’s World’s 50 Best Bars. Science and personality-led, the current ‘Theory + Frontiers’ menu uses locally foraged ingredients to mimic well known flavour profiles. For instance, ‘Concrete Daisy’ uses rooftop honey and ‘Point Nemo’ incudes sea-salt chocolate fish scales. Besides being delicious, every drink is thoughtful and commenting on the world around us.
1. Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green, London
Back up to top spot is the Bethnal Green icon that is Satan’s Whiskers. It steps out of the swanky London style in favour of unassuming character, with taxidermy, unique décor, hip-hop, and exposed brick. A community cocktail bar of sorts, the offering changes every day but generally you can expect classics with twists, like the Industry Sour with lime, Chartreuse, Fernet Branca and egg white, or food pairings like the Bloody Mary with tacos and quesadilla. Expert mixology and unrivalled atmosphere crown this the deserving winner.
If Gastropubs are more your speed, then the Top 10 breakdown of those was also recently scrutinised and updated to present the best the UK has to offer!
The Top 50:
1 Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green, London
2 Lab 22, Cardiff
3 Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch, London
4 SCHOFIELD'S BAR, Manchester
5 Swift, Soho, London
6 Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
7 Three Sheets, Dalston, London
8 Speak in Code, Manchester
9 Bar with Shapes for a Name, Hackney, London
10 The Connaught, Mayfair, London
11 Little Mercies, Crouch End, London
12 Couch, Birmingham
13 Bramble, Edinburgh
14 The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
15 Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
16 Disrepute, Soho, London
17 Artesian, Oxford Circus, London
18 Hideout, Bath
19 Nightjar, Shoreditch, London
20 Present Company, Liverpool
21 Publiq, South Kensington, London
22 Scarfes Bar, Holborn, London
23 Lyaness, South Bank, London
24 Opium Cocktail & Dim Sum, Chinatown, London
25 The Absent Ear, Glasgow
26 Happiness Forgets, Hoxton, London
27 Hey Palu, Edinburgh
28 Filthy XIII, Bristol
29 Homeboy, Islington, London
30 Soma, Soho, London
31 Coupette, Bethnal Green, London
32 Passing Fancies, Birmingham
33 Bar Termini, Soho, London
34 Seed Library, Shoreditch, London
35 Murder Inc, Soho, London
36 Penny Royal, Cardiff
37 Callooh Callay, Shoreditch, London
38 Silverleaf, Liverpool St, London
39 Public, Sheffield
40 Fox & Chance, Birmingham
41 Blinker, Manchester
42 Below Stairs, Leeds
43 Milk Thistle, Bristol
44 Gungho!, Brighton
45 Hedonist, Leeds
46 Amaro, Kensington, London
47 Cottonmouth, Nottingham
48 Tabula Rasa, Leeds
49 Lunar, Glasgow
50 Bench, Sheffield
