The UK’s best cocktail bars have been revealed, and two of them are right here in Manchester.
We already knew that we had some great cocktail bars, but now it’s been made official – with two Manchester watering holes appearing on this year’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars list.
Hidden vegan cocktail bar Speak In Code and Schofield’s Bar, which took over historic Manchester boozer The Old Grapes last year, both made it into the top 20 – coming in at numbers 10 and 16 respectively.
Manchester Gin’s Three Little Words also got a special mention, taking home the 2022 Bar Team of the Year award
Image: Speak In Code
It’s a coup for both operators as well as Manchester’s drinks scene as a whole, which didn’t make the list at all last year (a bit of an oversight if you ask us).
In total, ten of the Top 50 Cocktail Bars this year are found in the north of England.
Over in Leeds, four bars made the list with Jake’s Bar & Still Room, Roland’s, Below Stairs and Hedonist all getting a well-dseerved mention.
Further afield, Liverpool’s Present Company, Sheffield’s Public and Newcastle’s Mother Mercy are also featured, with four more – Bramble Bar & Lounge, Panda and Sons, The Absent Ear and Hay Palu – getting a shout out up in Scotland.
Image: Schofield’s Bar
Acknowledging the growing number of northern bars featured in this year’s list, Top 50 Cocktail Bars publisher Christopher Lowe said: “London has always been seen as a global leader for cocktails but as you’ll see from the 2022 list, other major cities across the UK are now catching up.
“Our newly launched website will help cocktail connoisseurs discover the best of the UK bar scene with many of these very much still under the radar.”
Image: Schofield’s Bar
Further proving the move away from a London-centric focus on the cocktail scene, taking the. number one spot this year is Cardiff’s Lab 22.
Tucked away above a well-known bakery, the experimental Lab 22 has jumped up 32 places in two years with its daring drinks menu from award-winning head bartender Max Hayward.
That said, London still dominates half of the list. Number two in this year’s Top 50 is Swift Soho, a much-loved regular on the list and in third place isThe Connaught Bar, also voted as the 2021 ‘best bar in the world’ in The World’s 50 Best Bars.
Image: Speak In Code
East London bar Tayēr + Elementary meanwhile is this year’s highest new entry, coming in at number 4.
This year’s winners were announced during the list reveal at One Night Records, in London, hosted by Aidy Smith.
The Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2022 list is as follows:
Lab 22, Cardiff
Swift Soho, London
The Connaught Bar, London
Tayēr + Elementary, London
Satan’s Whiskers, London
Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh
Three Sheets, London
Oriole, London
Panda and Sons, Edinburgh
Speak in Code, Manchester
Yellow Triangle, Red Square, Blue Circle, London
Disrepute, London
Nightjar, London
Homeboy Bar, London
American Bar, London
SCHOFIELD’S BAR, Manchester
Opium Cocktails & Dim Sum Parlour, London
Coupette, London
Artesian, London
Scarfes Bar, London
Trailer Happiness, London
Lucky Liquor co., Edinburgh
Happiness Forgets, London
Jake’s Bar & Still Room, Leeds
Little Mercies, London
The Absent Ear, Glasgow
The Milk Thistle, Bristol
Berry & Rye, Liverpool
Laki Kane, London
Filthy XIII, Bristol
Lyaness, London
Roland’s Leeds, Leeds
Gungho!, Brighton
Hacha, London
The Hideout, Bath
Pennyroyal, Cardiff
Couch, Birmingham
Bar Termini, London
Below Stairs, Leeds
Hay Palu, Edinburgh
Public, Sheffield
Hedonist, Leeds
Present Company, Liverpool
The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Publiq., London
Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
L’ Atelier du Vin, Brighton
Callooh Callay, London
Mother Mercy, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Cocktail Trading Co, London
Feature image – Schofield’s Bar
News
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.