In a coup for the city’s bartending scene, some of Manchester’s best cocktail bars have been named amongst the UK’s creme de la creme – with two ranking amongst the top 10 in the country at the Top 50 UK Bars awards.
The prestigious list, released annually, named four Manchester bars in total at a glitzy awards ceremony in London last night.
Coming in at number eight on the list this year was hidden Manchester cocktail bar Speak In Code, up two places from the year before, whilst ranking highly in fourth place was the brilliant Schofield’s Bar, having moved up twelve places on its 2022 ranking.
Spring Gardens cocktail bar Blinker, opened less than a year ago by ex-Gordon Ramsay bars boss Dan Berger, also ranked in this year’s top 50 – coming at number 41.
And there was an honourable mention for Zymogorium’s newly-reopened Project Halcyon bar, located in the Bonded Warehouse beneath the Old Granada Studios, which took home a special ‘One to watch’ gong at last night’s ceremony.
Whilst London once again dominated the list, there were still a large number of northern drinking spots included with a total of 14 of the Top 50 Cocktail Bars to be found in Scotland and the north of England.
ADVERTISEMENT
In Leeds, Tabula Rasa, (#48), Hedonist (#45) and Below Stairs (#42) were all recognised for their top-notch drinks, atmosphere and service, whilst in Sheffield natural wine bar Bench (#50) and cocktail bar Public (#39) were also given honours.
Liverpool bar Present Company also cleaned up at the awards, ranking at number 20 – a jump of 23 places from its 2022 position.
Over in Scotland, meanwhile, Edinburgh bars Panda & Sons (#6) Bramble (#13) and Hey Palu (#27) all got a mention, as did secret Glaswegian bar The Absent Ear (#25) and natural wine and cocktail bar Lunar (#49).
ADVERTISEMENT
Image: Project Halcyon
Image: Speak In Code
The Top 50 Cocktail Bars list is compiled by bar industry experts and offers a unique perspective on where those in the know like to go for a drink.
Each year, the list is chosen by a mixture of bartenders, bar owners, writers, critics, and other hospitality professionals.
To ensure each region in the UK has an equal opportunity to shine, voters are broken down into six geographical regions. Each voter then has four votes, including for one cocktail bar in their region and three others from anywhere else in the UK.
Top 50 Cocktail Bars community manager, Charli Tomney, said: “I am so excited to bring back this event with a bang. We have a real variety of bars, some with a capacity of 24 people some with 300. There are bars with spirit specialities, new bars that have opened just months ago and some female-owned businesses from across the UK.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Chris Lowe, publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, said: “We have created Top 50 Cocktail Bars to help people find the best bars, which are often hidden, around the UK.
“London still has more bars on the list than any other city but having almost all of the UK’s major cities represented showcases the explosion of great venues on the cocktail scene.”
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
A tiny new train station pub is set to open at Manchester Oxford Road
Daisy Jackson
A tiny craft beer pub is set to open at Manchester Oxford Road, making all those inevitable train cancellations a little sweeter.
The new boozer will come from the same team behind some of the UK’s best train station pubs, who already have bars at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria.
A licensing application has now been submitted by Bloomsbury Leisure Holdings Limited to take over the former cycle hub at Manchester Oxford Road.
The small building is directly opposite the entrance to the busy train station on the southern side of the city centre.
If approved, it will be the third site for the pub group in Manchester.
They already operate the Piccadilly Tap, that two-storey beer bar on Piccadilly Approach with a heated rooftop space and outdoor patio.
The team are also responsible for the more recently-opened Victoria Tap, which took over the former bin store at Manchester Victoria.
That particular pub has a heated beer garden constructed just inches away from where the trams tootle past and has a departures board where time is measured by pints (got 10 mins til your train leaves? That’s one pint, sir!)
As for the Oxford Road Tap, a new account on X appeared a few weeks ago that appears to confirm the imminent arrival of a new pub.
The Oxford Road Tap have applied to have opening hours through to half-past-midnight Sunday to Thursday, and until 1.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
They teased a mocked-up photo of posters outside the station with the new pub logo, plus a slogan of ‘Great beer is just a few steps away…’
They later shared ‘Triple threat incoming’ with all three pub brands lined up as a deck of cards.
Northern Quarter favourite Pie and Ale has sadly closed down
Danny Jones
Beloved Northern Quarter eatery and pub Pie and Ale has sadly and quietly closed its doors this week in yet another gutting bit of news for the Manc hospitality sector.
Known for its legendary homemade pies, great selections of ales, craft beers and lagers, not to mention a great little pub when it comes to watching live sport, it’s long been considered an NQ institution.
Unfortunately, however, as confirmed by a sign posted in the window, Pie and Ale has now closed for business after more than a decade.
Safe to say, we’re absolutely gutted, as we’re sure everyone else is.
Credit: The Manc Eats
While no official announcement has been made on their social media as yet, which will no doubt receive love and sadness from its loyal following, the sign in the window simply reads: “Pie and Ale has unfortunately ceased trading. Apologies for any inconvenience.”
The local favourite which was always hailed for being great value for money – celebrated especially for its popular pie and a pint for under a tenner deal – also served up great nibbles and light bites as well as dessert specials.
Although the Lever Street spot previously shut down for a short spell back in 2018 due to what they labelled as “unforeseen circumstances” before reopening just two months later, this latest update looks pretty definitive.
Sister-site Bakerie also ceased trading back in April 2019, with husband and wife founders, Alyson Doocey and David Cook, admitting that all independents had been “feeling the squeeze”.
While we have few other details at this stage, it does look like Pie and Ale has indeed closed down for the foreseeable future.
A mainstay on our list of the best pies in Manchester since day dot and just the latest in the list of losses in 2024 so far, they will be sorely missed.
We sincerely hope this is like last time and will keep our fingers crossed that we see the pie pros and expert pourers back in business at some point.
Georgina Pellant -
8th February 2023 
