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