‘Honoured’ – Manchester bar reacts after winning UK Bar of the Year

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Manchester cocktail bar Schofield’s has shared its absolute honour at being awarded not one but two prestigious gongs at one of the UK’s biggest bar awards ceremonies.

Shortlisted for no less than four awards in all, the sophisticated cocktail bar was awarded both ‘Bar of the Year’ and ‘New Bar of the Year’ at the Class Bar awards ceremony this week – making history as the first venue to ever win both.

Attending a glitzy awards ceremony on Tuesday night, the understated cocktail den beat London’s A Bar with Shapes for a Name and Tayer + Elementary, as well as Leeds’ Tabula Rasa, to take home two of the ceremony’s biggest awards.

It’s a coup for Bury-born brother Joe and Daniel Schofield, who have only recently opened the sleek city centre cocktail bar – taking over landmark Manchester boozer The Old Grapes last year.

Image; Schofield’s Bar

Since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength – with Schofield’s first appearing at number 16 on the 2022 Top 50 Cocktail Bars List, and now this.

Read more: The best cocktail bars in the UK have been revealed – and two are in Manchester


Sharing their news on Instagram, Schofield’s wrote: “We are honoured to receive Bar of the Year and New Bar of the Year at the prestigious CLASS Bar Awards, and be the first bar to ever win both.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our team, for constantly giving 100% to our goal of providing hospitality to our guests.

Image: Schofield’s Bar

“We would like to thank our guests for supporting what we do on a daily basis. We would also like to thank the hospitality community of Manchester for taking us in.

“We are proud to call Manchester home and proud to be a part of a thriving hospitality scene.
To the team who couldn’t join us last night, we collected the awards on your behalf.”

As well as Schofield’s, brothers Joe and Daniel also have a second cocktail bar, Atomeca, on Deansgate Square and recently revealed plans to open a third underneath Gary Neville’s Stock Exchange Hotel.

Image:Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s wasn’t the only Manchester bar to take home an award on the night.

Mecanica, the opulent Swan Street bar with a menu inspired by hotels from around the world, also took home a gong from the Class Awards on Tuesday.

Bartender Elena Wright has only been in the industry for a year, but that didn’t stop her from being awarded the ‘Emerging Bartender of the Year’ award at this year’s Class Bar Awards ceremony.

Read more: Manchester bartender left ‘absolutely speechless’ after winning top award

The annual awards, organised by leading industry publication Class, celebrate the very best of the UK’s bartending talent, with further categories including Bar Manager of the Year, Front of House Star of the Year, Bar Employer of the Year, Social Media Presence of the Year and Sustainable Practices Award.

The full list of Class Bar Awards winners and finalists can be found below.

Social Media Presence of the Year sponsored by Della Vite

Sexy Fish, London

Nightjar & Oriole, London (Winner)

Pineapple Club, Birmingham

Mr Fogg’s, London

Sustainable Practices Award sponsored by Belvedere

Publiq, London ​(Winner)

Henrock Bar, Windermere

Ugly Butterfly, St Ives

Rockwell, London

Front of House Star of the Year sponsored by Horse With No Name

Dina Gestoso-Mattar, Pineapple Club, Birmingham

Christiana Pirinu, The Donovan Bar, London

Jacopo Correnti, Oriole, London (Winner)

Shaneka Mccalla, The Goring Bar, London

Emerging Bartender of the Year sponsored by La Hechicera

Courtney Francis, Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth

Rory Sorrell, Murder Inc, London

Elena Wright, Mecanica, Manchester (Winner)

La’Mel Clarke, Lyaness, London

Bar Employer of the Year sponsored by Master of Malt Trade

Mecanica, Manchester

Pineapple Club, Birmingham (Winner)

Speakeasy Entertainment (Nightjar & Oriole), London

Dishoom, London

Bar Manager of the Year sponsored by Italicus

Maura Milia, Connaught Bar, London (Winner)

Klára Kopčikova, Pineapple Club, Birmingham

James Wheeler, Lyaness, London

Sophie Bratt, Sexy Fish, London

Outstanding Contribution Award sponsored by Stauning Whisky

Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown (Winners)

Cocktail of the Year sponsored by Lanique

Pineapple | Miso, Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London

Biscoff Old Fashioned, Present Company, Liverpool

Pastel, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London (Winner)

Irish Coffee, Swift, London

Drinks Menu of the Year sponsored by Franklin & Sons

Lab 22, Cardiff (Winner)

A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London

Schofield’s Bar, Manchester

Couch, Birmingham

Bar Food Menu of the Year sponsored by Menabrea

Bon Vivant, Edinburgh

Tayer + Elementary, London (Winner)

Little Mercies, London

Homeboy, London

Specialist Bar of the Year sponsored by Savoia

KOL, London

Hey Palu, Edinburgh

Milroy’s, London

Hacha, London (Winner)

Hotel Bar of the Year sponsored by Moët & Chandon

Side Hustle, Nomad, London

Connaught Bar, The Connaught, London (Winner)

Artesian, The Langham, London

Lyaness, Sea Containers, London

New Bar of the Year sponsored by Hapusa Gin

A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London

Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (Winner)

Tabula Rasa, Leeds

Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London

Bar of the Year sponsored by Disaronno

Tayer + Elementary, London

Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (Winner)

A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London

Lab 22, Cardiff

Bartender of the Year sponsored by The Busker

Rachel Orange, Schofield’s Bar, Manchester

Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London (Winner)

Monica Berg, Tayer + Elementary, London

Filippos Filippopoulos, Tabula Rasa, Leeds

Bar Innovator(s) of the Year sponsored by Tia Maria

Lyndon Higginson, The Liars Group, Manchester

Joe & Daniel Schofield, Schofield’s Bar / Atomeca, Manchester

Monica Berg & Alex Kratena, Tayer + Elementary, London (Winner)

Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London