Eats

Two bars in Leeds have been named in the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars

We'll raise a glass to that.

Daisy Jackson - 12th February 2025

Last night, the best bars in the UK were named in the prestigious Top 50 Cocktail Bars list - and it was a great night for Leeds.

Two of our city's very best cocktail bars were crowned and honoured among the very best in the cocktail industry.

The prestigious Top 50 Cocktail Bars list had already named those who had placed on this year's list, but it was only in a glittering ceremony last night that the bars learned where they'd ranked.

Let's just say Leeds has a lot to be proud of for another year.

Below Stairs, the cosy speakeasy on South Parade, has leapt up the list into a very respectable 15th place (up from 27 last year).

This much-loved Leeds bar is famed for its creative cocktails - split on the menu into Sugar, Salt, Acid and Fat - which has previously had interactive cocktails like one where you can literally paint colours into your drink with a miniature edible easel.

And also placing in the Top 50 Cocktail Bars for Leeds was the renowned Tabula Rasa, which has ranked in 27th place.

This beautiful bar on Eastgate (which happens to be dangerously close to The Hoot office...) is a laid-back aperitivo and cocktail bar where the atmosphere is chill but the drinks are seriously good.

Also shining for Yorkshire were a couple of bars over in Sheffield, naturally.

Public is one of the UK’s smallest bars inside a former (you guessed it) public toilet - but don't let that put you off.

There’s a considered menu with your classic martinis and negronis, plus some more unusual combinations, and it's made it onto the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list in 39th place.

Then The Pearl at Park Hill, sister site to the beautiful natural wine bar Bench, was named at number 44.

This bar, only 18 months old, is known for its menu that splits into Day, Dusk and Dawn, plus a load of classic drinks, along with craft beer, natural wines, innovative bar snacks and small plates.

A huge congratulations to all the bars representing Leeds and West Yorkshire - we love you.

The Top 50 Cocktail Bars list in full

1. Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green, London
2. Panda and Sons, Edinburgh, Midlothian
3. SCHOFIELD'S BAR, Manchester, Greater Manchester
4. Couch, Stirchley, West Midlands
5. Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch, London
6. Swift Soho, Soho, London
7. Passing Fancies, Digbeth, Birmingham
8. Dram, Soho, London
9. The Hideout, Bath, Somerset
10. Lyaness, South Bank, London
11. Speak in Code, Manchester, Greater Manchester
12. Nauticus, Edinburgh, Midlothian
13. Three Sheets, Dalston, London
14. AMARO BAR, Kensington, London
15. Below Stairs, Leeds, West Yorkshire
16. Hey Palu, Edinburgh, Midlothian
17. Viajante87, Notting Hill, London
18. Daddy Marmalades, Glasgow
19. Silverleaf, Spitalfields, London
20. The Connaught Bar, Mayfair, London
21. Bar Termini, Soho, London
22. BLINKER, Manchester, Greater Manchester
23. Filthy XIII, Bristol, Somerset
24. Murder Inc, Soho, London
25. Stray, Manchester
26. Lab 22, Cardiff, Glamorgan
27. Tabula Rasa, Leeds, West Yorkshire
28. SOMA, Soho, London
29. Little Mercies, Crouch End, London
30. Nipperkin at NIJŪ, Mayfair, London
31. Kwãnt, Mayfair, London
32. Scarfes Bar, Holborn, London
33. The Absent Ear, Glasgow, Lanarkshire
34. Side Hustle, Covent Garden, London
35. ???, Hackney, London
36. Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh, Midlothian
37. The American Bar, Auchterarder, Kinross-shire
38. Bar Glue, Liverpool
39. Public, Sheffield, Yorkshire
40. Red Light, Manchester
41. TWICE SHY, Kensington, London
42. Mother Mercy, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
43. The Gate, Glasgow, Lanarkshire
44. The Pearl at Park Hill, Sheffield
45. Sister Ray, Liverpool
46. Archive & Myth, London
47. Happiness Forgets, Hoxton, London
48. Callooh Callay, Shoreditch, London
49. Kiki Lounge, Douglas, Isle of Man
50. 69 Colebrooke Row, Islington, London

Featured image: The Hoot Leeds