Picking the best bar in the UK is pretty contentious stuff. After all, everyone looks for different things in a boozer. Dazzling surroundings and/or spellbinding views? Mind-bending mixology? The homeliness of a local? All of that comes into play and much, much more.
If you’re on the hunt for the finest bars in the UK right now, the Class Bar Awards are a pretty solid place to start. One of the country’s most esteemed bar-award ceremonies, every year it crowns its ‘Bar of the Year’, as well as giving out prizes for different regions and specific bartenders.
The overall winner in 2023 was... Schofield’s Bar in Manchester! Despite having only opened in 2021, Schofield’s took top spot for the second year running. The bar received praise for its classy period looks and focus on five-star service.
Schofield’s wasn’t the only non-London bar to take a major award, either. ‘New Bar of the Year’ went to Birmingham’s Passing Fancies, while ‘Bar Innovator of the Year’ was awarded to Iain McPherson of Panda & Sons in Edinburgh. Here are a few more of the winners from this year’s Class Bar Awards.
‘Best Bar in the Midlands and East Anglia’: Passing Fancies (Birmingham)
‘Best Bar in Wales and West’: Lab 22 (Cardiff)
‘Best Bar in London and the South East’: Satan’s Whiskers (London)
‘Best Bar in Scotland and Northern Ireland’: Hey Palu (Edinburgh)
All of which should be more than enough drinking inspo to keep you going until next year! You can check out the full list of winners on the Class Bar Awards official website here.
Did you see that this stunning British beach has been named one of the world’s best?
Plus: this tiny island museum has been named one of the UK’s top attractions.