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.
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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).
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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.”
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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 Withington boozer has been named ‘Pub of the Year’ in South Manchester for 2026
Danny Jones
A pub in Withington has just been named the best pub in the South Manchester area for 2026, as the area continues to back CAMRA and proper boozers.
It’s not the first time they’ve picked up this kind of gong either.
Technically, it’s picked up the award for ‘Pub of the Year for Stockport and South Manchester’, but the venue itself sits on the edge of Withy and the outskirts of Fallowfield.
Operated by legendary local business, Hydes Brewery, they claim the trophy after having just missed out on the top spot in 2025, coming second behind The Crown in Heaton Mersey.
Not this time, though, as the Hydes pub located along Wilmslow Road won this year’s prize by some distance, in fact.
The Salford-born beer makers obviously have lots of sites all over Greater Manchester, many of whom regularly pick up monthly Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) awards – not to mention collecting a fair few annual ones – The Vic in Withington is one thought to have been long overdue for the grand prize.
Beloved by regulars and other nearby residents in and around the borough alike, the local community believe this place to be much more than just another watering hole.
For example, it’s been celebrated for its diversity and grassroots work throughout the area, with the team receiving praise for their extensive charitable efforts, such as with the Mero’s World Foundation.
The organisation was established by native Manc mum, Kelly Brown, in memory of her son Rhamero West, who was tragically stabbed to death in Manchester in 2021 at the age of 16; the charity aims to combat knife crime and support youth in the community through various initiatives.
As for The Vic, they’ve helped support the cause for many years, raising vital funds through their New Year’s Eve ticket sales, raffles, and with the management team taking on multiple athletic and endurance challenges on behalf of the cause.
Put simply, husband and wife landlords, Alyson and Paul Mitchell, are absolute legends.
Commenting on the win, Alyson said in a statement: “We’re so proud to win this award, and it is a real honour to be named the best pub in the region by CAMRA. We love what we do, but we couldn’t do it without our amazing team and the incredible support and top-quality ales we receive from Hydes.
“The Victoria is a truly special place for us, and we genuinely have the best customers you could ask for, from students to our local regulars. Winning this year after coming so close previously proves that our collective hard work has really paid off.”
Aside from serving a regular lineup of five or five Hydes cask beers, showing all the games on the box, and generally becoming a bit of a cornerstone of the community, Vic customers also helped raise £1,000 for the Withington Civic Society to install a much-needed community defibrillator outside the premises.
These are the kinds of things we want to hear happening in public houses across the ten boroughs, and it’s yet another instance of South Manchester, specifically, enjoying its moment in the sud-soaked sun.
Manchester’s own egg butty shop Egg & Co opens on Deansgate – right near rival Eggslut
Daisy Jackson
Manchester-born Egg & Co has hatched a new opening for us, launching their first restaurant and takeaway on Deansgate.
It’s a familiar name to a lot of us already thanks to their recent residencies at Ancoats General Store, Stretford Foodhall, and Kargo in Salford.
But now it’s time for Egg & Co to crack open the doors to their first bricks and mortar, stand-alone site.
From here, you’ll be able to grab their unbeatable breakfast sandwiches, where soft scrambled egg is piled into warm brioche buns.
There are a dozen or so breakfast butties on the menu here (yes, they do all feature egg), with other fillings ranging from beef patties to turkey bacon to caramelised onion.
Manchester’s own egg butty shop Egg & Co opens on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
And there’s more – sides here include truffle hash browns, curly fries, and chicken bites, with whisperings that banana pudding might be making the menu before too long.
And new for this location are the drinks – coffees, fruit juices, matcha, and a full fridge of soft drinks.
The space itself opens this week on Deansgate and is a clear homage to eggs in general.
From the butter yellow frontage to the yolk-bright tiles inside, along with egg-shaped table numbers and oval cut-outs for the bins, it’s like sitting inside an actual egg.
Even the self-service menu board is housed inside a giant egg structure.
You’ll be able to grab unbeatable breakfast sandwiches / Credit: The Manc Group
Egg & Co will open on the same street and within a few minutes’ walk of Eggslut, the cult London takeaway that took its first foray into Manchester earlier this year.
But Egg & Co’s menu significantly undercuts Eggslut’s, and it was founded right here in Manchester – we’ll leave it up to you where to spend your money.
Georgina Pellant -
8th February 2023 
