Two bars in Manchester have been named among the top 50 cocktail bars in the whole of the UK.
Speak In Code, on Jackson’s Row, came in at number 10 in the annual chart, having never featured in the top 50 before.
Schofield’s, on Little Quay Street, also put in a sterling performance, coming in at number 16.
Meanwhile, Three Little Words, on Watson Street off Deansgate, were awarded Bar Team of the Year.
Coming in the top slot was Lab 22 in Cardiff, followed by Swift Soho in London, The Connaught Bar in London, Tayer + Elementary in London and Satan’s Whiskers, also in London.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Speak In Code founder Nathan Larkin said that he and his team were ‘mind blown’
“We’ve been up for awards in Manchester every year, and this is the first time we’ve ever had any national recognition,” he said.
“We fully expected our names to be called at number 49, and we’d have been ‘cool, we’re on a national platform in a room full of the best bars on the planet’.
“But the further it went on, they were calling out some of the best bars in the world. Lyaness in London, the American Bar at The Savoy. We thought they’d forgotten about us.
“We just had to pinch ourselves that we’d made it into the top 10. We’re speechless. And a bit starstruck when you’re up there with bars that have taken the title of best bar in the world on multiple occasions.”
The bar opened in 2018 in a former cafe unit, running in the evenings when the cafe was closed, and eventually taking it over completely.
“We’ve grown organically, with the pop-up start that we had,” he went on. “And I believe in diversity in the city. Schofield’s have their thing that they bring to the table, Three Little Words have their thing, and we have our thing.”
Larkin, 34, formerly worked for Hard Rock Cafe, as a global trainer, before going on to teach at the European Bartending School.
“I’m always looking forward,” he added. “So I want to build on the momentum of this. It’s a nice feeling but as a team, we’re all super invested into the project, so this is not a moment to take a rest.
“We’re straight back to the bar.”
