Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2023: Liverpool venue named among best in UK, Manolo scoops Newcomer of the Year

“Liverpool is certainly raising the bar for drinking”

The much-anticipated Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2023 list has been unveiled, and a Liverpool bar has nabbed a spot in the top 20.

Top 50 Cocktail Bars is now in its fifth year, with the first list published in June 2018. The bars on the list are voted for by hundreds of experts, bartenders, bar owners and drinks writers, and it features venues from across the UK.

Liverpool bar, Present Company has once again won itself a place on the prestigious list, coming at number 20.

The bar on School Lane has a focus on providing high quality cocktails and providing a friendly atmosphere for guests. It has 4.8 stars on Google and excellent reviews.

Present Company’s description on the list reads: “The venue was opened in May 2019 and has gone from strength-to-strength, since becoming a key destination for locals and city visitors alike. As well as drinks, including cocktails, beers and wines, the venue also serves a small menu of grazing dishes, perfect to keep guests going after a few cocktails. The menu is uniquely printed on a vinyl record with cocktails on the back cover with basic ingredients and flavour notes.”

Although only one Liverpool venue made the top 50 list this year, an award for Newcomer of the Year was given to Manolo, a speaskeasy style cocktail bar on Slater Street.

Top 50 Cocktail bars said: “Opening in September 2022, this bar is already a hotspot for fellow industry faces and we can see why. Liverpool is certainly raising the bar for drinking and Manolo is no exception.”

Chris Lowe, publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, said: “Whilst London continues to dominate this year’s list, it is very exciting to see other major cities across the UK make their mark.

“The ever-growing interest in cocktails and bartending within the UK means we are spoilt for choice on where to go, and this list allows for the best of the UK bar scene to have a spotlight placed on them – and for consumers to find these hidden gems.”

The Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2023 full list:

1 Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green, London
2 Lab 22, Cardiff
3 Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch, London
4 SCHOFIELD’S BAR, Manchester
5 Swift, Soho, London
6 Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
7 Three Sheets, Dalston, London
8 Speak in Code, Manchester
9 Bar with Shapes for a Name, Hackney, London
10 The Connaught, Mayfair, London
11 Little Mercies, Crouch End, London
12 Couch, Birmingham
13 Bramble, Edinburgh
14 The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
15 Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
16 Disrepute, Soho, London
17 Artesian, Oxford Circus, London
18 Hideout, Bath
19 Nightjar, Shoreditch, London
20 Present Company, Liverpool
21 Publiq, South Kensington, London
22 Scarfes Bar, Holborn, London
23 Lyaness, South Bank, London
24 Opium Cocktail & Dim Sum, Chinatown, London
25 The Absent Ear, Glasgow
26 Happiness Forgets, Hoxton, London
27 Hey Palu, Edinburgh
28 Filthy XIII, Bristol
29 Homeboy, Islington, London
30 Soma, Soho, London
31 Coupette, Bethnal Green, London
32 Passing Fancies, Birmingham
33 Bar Termini, Soho, London
34 Seed Library, Shoreditch, London
35 Murder Inc, Soho, London
36 Penny Royal, Cardiff
37 Callooh Callay, Shoreditch, London
38 Silverleaf, Liverpool St, London
39 Public, Sheffield
40 Fox & Chance, Birmingham
41 Blinker, Manchester
42 Below Stairs, Leeds
43 Milk Thistle, Bristol
44 Gungho!, Brighton
45 Hedonist, Leeds
46 Amaro, Kensington, London
47 Cottonmouth, Nottingham
48 Tabula Rasa, Leeds
49 Lunar, Glasgow
50 Bench, Sheffield