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Dry Jan is long gone, it’s time to get back out there and head to the UK’s finest bars for swish aperitifs, sultry nightcaps and whacky mixological concoctions. Not sure where to start? The Top 50 Cocktail Bars is here to help. Picked by a voting academy of bartenders, drinks writers, industry figures and influencers, the 2025 ranking has officially been revealed.
Taking the top spot was Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green, London, which also claimed first prize in 2019 and 2023. Top 50 judges commended this bar for its daily changing menu, its ‘damn good music’, its fun twists on classic cocktails and its ‘unbeatable atmosphere’. You can find out more about Satan’s Whiskers’ triumph (and other London bars in the list) here.
Panda and Sons, a themed cocktail bar in Edinburgh, picked up second prize. Hidden behind a false exterior, prohibition-style, Panda and Sons was praised for its ‘first-class, refined and intelligent’ cocktails and experimental techniques, such as freeze drying and cryo-concentration. It also happens to be the only UK bar outside of London to be declared one of the best in the world.
Completing the podium this year was last year’s winner Schofield’s Bar, which sits in the majestic art-deco Sunlight House in Manchester. Judges particularly loved its book pairing concept, which offers patrons some classic novels to read alongside matching cocktails. The pairings include ‘Casino Royale’, served with a vesper martini, ‘Cocktail’, served with a Singapore sling and ‘The Old Man and the Sea’, served with a mojito.
London cocktails bars dominated the rest of the list, but it also featured standout drinkeries in the likes of Bath, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow and the Isle of Man. See below for the full ranking.
The top 50 cocktail bars in the UK for 2025
- Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green, London
- Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
- Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
- Couch, Birmingham
- Tayer + Elementary, Shoreditch, London
- Swift, Soho, London
- Passing Fancies, Birmingham
- Dram, Soho, London
- The Hideout, Bath
- Lyaness, South Bank, London
- Speak in Code, Manchester
- Nauticus, Edinburgh
- Three Sheets, Dalston, London
- Amaro Bar, Kensington, London
- Below Stairs, Leeds
- Hey Palu, Edinburgh
- Viajante 87, Notting Hill, London
- Daddy Marmalades, Glasgow
- Silverleaf, Spitafields, London
- The Connaught Bar, Mayfair, London
- Bar Termini, Soho, London
- Blinker, Manchester
- Filthy XIII, Bristol
- Murder Inc, Soho, London
- Stray, Manchester
- Lab 22, Cardiff
- Tabula Rasa, Leeds
- Soma, Soho, London
- Little Mercies, Crouch End, London
- Nipperkin at NIJŪ, Mayfair, London
- Kwãnt, Mayfair, London
- Scarfes Bar, Holborn, London
- The Absent Ear, Glasgow
- Side Hustle, Covent Garden, London
- 🔶🟥🔵 (A Bar with Shapes For a Name), Hackney, London
- Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh
- The American bar at Gleneagles, Auchterarder
- Bar Glue, Liverpool
- Public, Sheffield
- Red Light, Manchester
- Twice Shy, Kensington, London
- Mother Mercy, Newcastle
- The Gate, Glasgow
- Pearl at Park Hill, Sheffield
- Sister Ray, Liverpool
- Archive & Myth, Leicester Square, London
- Happiness Forgets, Hoxton, London
- Callooh Callay, Shoreditch, London
- Kiki Lounge, Douglas, Isle of Man
- 69 Colebrook Row, Islington, London
Thirsty for more?
In the mood for more Great British bars? We’ve got lists of our favourite bars in London, Manchester, Glasgow, and beyond, and the best pubs in the country, depending on what mood you’re in. We’ve also got guides to the best rooftop bars and vineyards, to make sure all bases are covered.
ICYMI: All the UK restaurants that won new Michelin stars in the 2025 Michelin Guide.
Plus: One of the world’s best sandwiches is right here in the UK.
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