Unfortunately missing out on hosting an event in 2021 (due to you-know-what), the CLASS Bar Awards were back with a bang on the evening of May 24. In a nod to the bar industry’s bounce-back over the past months (and even years), many of the award-winners were bars that opened during the pandemic. Chief among them Dalston cult-favourite bar, A Bar with Shapes for a Name (🔶🟥🔵).
The East London bar took home two awards, including the coveted Cocktail Of The Year. The nod was awarded in recognition of their Pastel – a highball combining vodka, clarified rhubarb juice, recomposed lime, and Raspberry eau de vie. Owner and bartender RĂ©my Savage also took home the Bartender Of The Year award. No surprise given the care and consideration that has gone into the minimalist, Bauhaus-inspired approach to cocktails at A Bar with Shapes for a Name.
Judged by industry-wide professionals who represent expertise from more than 20 UK cities, the CLASS Bar Awards recognise those that are not only popular with their patrons and clientele, but also their peers. Among the nights other winners were Manchester favourite, Schofield’s, who netted the New Bar of the Year award and the Bar of the Year award. It marks the first time a bar has won both New Bar of the Year and Bar of the Year in the same night.
Among the other London-based winners of the evening were sister venues Nightjar & Oriole, which won Social Media Presence of the Year and Front of House Star of the Year (Jacopo Correnti of Oriole). Connaught Bar was also a highly awarded London venue, winning Hotel Bar of the Year and Bar Manager of the Year (Maura Milia).
The full list of CLASS. Bar Awards winners and finalists can be found below.
Social Media Presence of the Year sponsored by Della Vite
Sexy Fish, London
Nightjar & Oriole, London (Winner)
Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Mr Fogg’s, London
Sustainable Practices Award sponsored by Belvedere
Publiq, London ​(Winner)
Henrock Bar, Windermere
Ugly Butterfly, St Ives
Rockwell, London
Front of House Star of the Year sponsored by Horse With No Name
Dina Gestoso-Mattar, Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Christiana Pirinu, The Donovan Bar, London
Jacopo Correnti, Oriole, London (Winner)
Shaneka Mccalla, The Goring Bar, London
Emerging Bartender of the Year sponsored by La Hechicera
Courtney Francis, Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
Rory Sorrell, Murder Inc, London
Elena Wright, Mecanica, Manchester (Winner)
La’Mel Clarke, Lyaness, London
Bar Employer of the Year sponsored by Master of Malt Trade
Mecanica, Manchester
Pineapple Club, Birmingham (Winner)
Speakeasy Entertainment (Nightjar & Oriole), London
Dishoom, London
Bar Manager of the Year sponsored by Italicus
Maura Milia, Connaught Bar, London (Winner)
Klára Kopčikova, Pineapple Club, Birmingham
James Wheeler, Lyaness, London
Sophie Bratt, Sexy Fish, London
Outstanding Contribution Award sponsored by Stauning Whisky
Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown (Winners)
Cocktail of the Year sponsored by Lanique
Pineapple | Miso, Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London
Biscoff Old Fashioned, Present Company, Liverpool
Pastel, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London (Winner)
Irish Coffee, Swift, London
Drinks Menu of the Year sponsored by Franklin & Sons
Lab 22, Cardiff (Winner)
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Couch, Birmingham
Bar Food Menu of the Year sponsored by Menabrea
Bon Vivant, Edinburgh
Tayer + Elementary, London (Winner)
Little Mercies, London
Homeboy, London
Specialist Bar of the Year sponsored by Savoia
KOL, London
Hey Palu, Edinburgh
Milroy’s, London
Hacha, London (Winner)
Hotel Bar of the Year sponsored by Moët & Chandon
Side Hustle, Nomad, London
Connaught Bar, The Connaught, London (Winner)
Artesian, The Langham, London
Lyaness, Sea Containers, London
New Bar of the Year sponsored by Hapusa Gin
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (Winner)
Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London
Bar of the Year sponsored by Disaronno
Tayer + Elementary, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (Winner)
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Lab 22, Cardiff
Bartender of the Year sponsored by The Busker
Rachel Orange, Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London (Winner)
Monica Berg, Tayer + Elementary, London
Filippos Filippopoulos, Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Bar Innovator(s) of the Year sponsored by Tia Maria
Lyndon Higginson, The Liars Group, Manchester
Joe & Daniel Schofield, Schofield’s Bar / Atomeca, Manchester
Monica Berg & Alex Kratena, Tayer + Elementary, London (Winner)
Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London