Another year has rolled around, which means that the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars ranking has been revealed for 2024. After a year of drinking up and down our fine country, a group of hospitality industry experts have whittled down the vast selection of bars into a list of the UK’s best – and London has made an impressive showing on the list.
Now, unfortunately, we didn’t take the top spot this year (despite Satan’s Whiskers topping the list last year). But London bars did account for four of the top ten. Our city also made up an impressive majority on the list, with 24 spaces from the Top 50 Cocktails Bars ranking going to London cocktail bars.
Where are the UK’s top cocktail bars?
For the very first time, a venue from Manchester has claimed the top spot. Schofield’s Bar scooped up the top honour, after only having been open since 2021! In the bar’s first year of operation, it immediately entered the Top 50 list and has subsequently climbed the ranks over the years. And now the bar, which is gorgeously laid out with art deco features and serves delicious drinks, has reached the tippy top!
Coming in just behind Schofield’s was last year’s winner, Satan’s Whiskers, which was closely followed by Birmingham’s Passing Fancies. The third-place bar climbed an impressive 29 places up the list after being named among the UK’s best for the first time last year.
Group Director at William Reed, Publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, Chris Lowe said:
“It’s so exciting to see so many new names on the list which just highlights the breadth of talent there is across the UK. London will always have a decent portion of the list, but it is amazing to see so many other cities show up, like Glasgow and Birmingham. The list continues to grow to help people discover hidden gems and the UK’s best bartending talent.”
Top 10 cocktail bars in the UK
For the very best of the best mixed drinks and shaken libations in the United Kingdom, head to these cocktail bars:
- Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (1)
- Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green, London (2)
- Passing Fancies, Birmingham (3)
- Couch, Birmingham (4)
- Hey Palu, Edinburgh (5)
- Blinker, Manchester (6)
- Swift, Soho, London (7)
- AMARO BAR, Kensington, London (8)
- Panda & Sons, Edinburgh (9)
- Tayér + Elementary, Shoreditch, London (10)
Where else in London made the Top 50?
Now, even though these drink-eries didn’t crack the top 10, they’re still among the best drinking dens and venues in the UK. So they’re all easily worth searching for and making a trip to try! The rest of London’s cocktail bars that made it into the Top 50 Cocktail Bars ranking were:
- Kwãnt, Mayfair (11)
- Three Sheets, Dalston (13)
- 🔶🟥🔵 (A bar with shapes for a name), Hackney (14)
- Murder Inc., Soho (15)
- Crossroads, Newington Green (19)
- The Connaught, Mayfair (20)
- SOMA, Soho (22)
- Eve Bar, Covent Garden (23)
- Side Hustle, Covent Garden (24)
- Little Mercies, Crouch End (26)
- Silverleaf, Spitalfields (28)
- Bar Termini, Soho (29)
- Seed Library, Shoreditch (30)
- Scarfes Bar, Holborn (33)
- Happiness Forgets, Shoreditch (34)
- The Bar With No Name (69 Colebrooke Row), Islington (36)
- Artesian, Fitzrovia (37)
- Callooh Callay, Shoreditch (38)
- Nightjar, Shoreditch (44)
- Lyaness, South Bank (47)
My main takeaway from this list is this – if you’re after some great cocktails and you want to hit up a bunch of venues, you want to stick to Central or East London. Nine of the 24 entries on the list can be found in East London, while 12 can be found in Central London. But be sure to make the trip to try those incredible North London bars too!
You can find the full Top 50 Cocktails Bars list here.