Edinburgh bars: 3 Edinburgh cocktail bars named in best 50 in UK, including Bramble and Panda and Sons

Three bars in Edinburgh have been included in a list of the UK’s top 50 cocktail joints.

The Top 50 Cocktails bars in the UK for 2023 were announced at an awards ceremony earlier this week. While bars in London dominated the line-up, three Edinburgh venues made the list.

Speakeasy cocktail bar Panda & Sons secured the number six slot, moving up three spaces from last year's rankings. Disguised as a barber shop, the prohibition-style bar on Queen Street serves up a selection of inventive cocktails.

Another venue on Queen Street, Bramble Bar and Lounge, made the list for the second year in a row. The bar, which is tucked under a dry cleaner’s shop, was named at number 13. Coming in at number 27 was Hey Palu, an Italian inspired bar on Bread Street. The venue’s cocktails are inspired by the Italian aperitivo style of drinking, with Vermouths, amari, bitters and aperitivi featuring heavily on the drinks menu.

Three Edinburgh venues have been included in a list of the Top 50 Cocktails bars in the UK for 2023.

Two bars in Glasgow were also featured. Van Gogh-inspired speakeasy Absent Ear was named at number 25, while hip cocktail joint Lunar secured a slot on the list at number 49.

Chris Lowe, publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, said: “Whilst London continues to dominate this year’s list, it is very exciting to see other major cities across the UK make their mark. The ever-growing interest in cocktails and bartending within the UK means we are spoilt for choice on where to go, and this list allows for the best of the UK bar scene to have a spotlight placed on them – and for consumers to find these hidden gems.”

Aidy Smith, host of this year’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars event in London, said: “It was my absolute honour to join the Top 50 Cocktail Bars family last year and present an awards programme which sits at the beating heart of our industry. It’s been a rough couple of years and these people have fought relentlessly to keep the nations spirits high in so many wonderful ways – it’s time to pay a nod to that. I’m raring to go and couldn’t be more excited to announce the liquid pioneers of 2023.

“From the Northern coast of Scotland and the valleys of Wales to the southern tip of England, this Isle is home to some of the best mixology and bar-team talent on the planet and it’s my pride and honour to read each and every name on the list.”

The top 50 Cocktail Bars 2023 list:

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