One of the UK’s greatest bars is opening a new location this week

As British cocktail bars go, it’s fair to say Passing Fancies is up there with the greats. In 2023, less than 12 months after its debut, it was named New Bar of the Year at the Class Bar Awards. A year later it was awarded a pin by The Pinnacle Guide, a Michelin-style award for the world’s best drinks spots. Plus, last year it ranked seventh on a list of the country’s top 50 – pretty good going for a neighbourhood joint serving drinks out of a Brum parking lot.

But since the summer, Birmingham has had a Passing Fancies-shaped hole in its drinks scene. The cocktail spot shut its original Digbeth’s Custard Factory site on July 31, with owners Matt Arnold and Eve Green saying ‘there’s only so much you can do making drinks in an old car park’.

Since then, it’s been kept afloat through pop ups, guest shifts and residencies, including collaborations with 24 Stories, Selfridges and Saint Paul’s Market. The team also took a trip up to The Morris in Manchester for a month-long residency. They even managed to squeeze into 16th place on Franklin & Sons top 50 list despite being between venues.

Luckily, in just a few days Passing Fancies will officially be back between four solid walls. The bar took to Insta to confirm its return with a brand new venue, this time at The Goodsyard in the city’s Jewellery Quarter.

Opening on Friday April 24, the new space is split into three areas. ‘This space has given us the opportunity to build our dream bar,’ Arnold said on Instagram. The downstairs ‘Passing’ area will be dedicated to beers, wine and food, while the upstairs ‘Fancies’ space is ‘where we’re exercising that wanky cocktail menu’ (his words, not ours). Completing the trio will be a ‘secret space at the back’ called The Lab ‘that really is a bartender’s playground’. Ok, our curiosity is officially piqued.

The new venue was originally supposed to open in September, then February, but construction delays slowed things down. It’s clear that local fans haven’t been deterred by the set backs, though, because the bar’s opening weekend is already fully booked. 

Passing Fancies reopens at 11 Station Way, The Goodsyard Jewellery Quarter Birmingham (B18 6FH) on Friday April 24.

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