Last night (May 23) was quite the night for Manchester as one cocktail bar flew the flag for the city by taking not one, but two coveted awards home. Schofield’s Bar has done it again as the drinking spot was crowned the ‘Bar of the Year’ at CLASS Bar Awards for the second year running.
Racking up four CLASS Bar Awards nominations and winning two of those, Schofield’s Bar was praised last night for its “period, classy looks” and “focus on five-star service”, winning both ‘Best Bar in the North’ and ‘Bar of the Year’. It is only the third time since 2003 when CLASS Bar Awards debuted that a bar has won consecutive ‘Bar of the Year’ titles.
Opening in spring 2021, Joe and Daniel Schofield’s debut bar set in Manchester’s Sunlight House has become “an instant classic”, winning plaudits across the UK. The owners were also nominated for the award of ‘Bar Innovator of the Year’ and mixologist Rachel Orange was also nominated for ‘Bartender of the Year’ too. Schofield’s was just one of three Manchester bars to be nominated for the CLASS Bar Awards, including Speak in Code, Sterling and Blinker, with the latter two bars being nominated for the ‘New Bar of the Year’ award.
Hamish Smith, editor of CLASS and co-host of the CLASS Bar Awards, said: “The 78 finalists this year were the strongest and most geographically diverse since we relaunched the Awards in 2017.
“London remains strong but the Bar of the Year is in Manchester again, the New Bar of the Year is in Birmingham, the Bar Innovator of the Year is in Edinburgh and the bar leading sustainable practices is in Cornwall – there are countless other bars up and down the UK propelling the industry forward.
“Not in recent memory has the UK bar scene felt as rich in talent, or as evenly spread. London doesn’t lead the global bar industry anymore, the UK does.”
The full list of CLASS Bar Awards winners and finalists
Social Media Presence of the Year sponsored by Villa Sandi
Winner Junkyard Golf Club, nationwide sites
Scarfes Bar, London
Cahoots, London
Mr Fogg’s, London
Front of House Star of the Year sponsored by Rabbit Hole
Winner Cristiana Pirinu, The Donovan Bar, London
Antonio Galetta, Lyaness, London
Liana Oster, The Nomad Hotel, London
Enzo Sigaut, Beaufort Bar and American Bar at The Savoy, London
Sustainable Practices Award sponsored by Avallen Calvados
Winner Ugly Butterfly, Saint Ives
Henrock, Windermere
The American Bar, Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder
Christina’s Shoreditch, London
Emerging Bartender of the Year sponsored by La Hechicera
Winner Courtney Francis, Couch, Birmingham
Rebecca Bird, Freelance, Bournemouth
Drew Fleming, Kiki Lounge, Douglas
Ewan Grieve, Lab 22, Cardiff
Bar Manager of the Year sponsored by Italicus
Winner James Wheeler, Lyaness, London
Stefanie Anderson, Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh
Jacob Clarke, Couch, Birmingham
Josh Linfitt, Ugly Butterfly, Saint Ives
Bar Employer of the Year sponsored by The Lost Explorer
Winner Speakeasy Entertainment, London
Kiki Lounge, Douglas
Lab 22, Cardiff
Junkyard Golf Club, London
Cocktail of the Year sponsored by Lanique
Winner Irish Coffee, Swift, London
Coriander Seed Gimlet, Seed Library, One Hundred Shoreditch, London
Buck Fast, Die Young, Lab 22, Cardiff
Kazimir, A Bar With Shapes For A Name, London
Drinks Menu of the Year sponsored by Franklin & Sons
Winner Ancestral Cookbook, Lyaness, London
Theories + Frontiers, Lab 22, Cardiff
Silverleaf Menu, Silverleaf, London
Transcend, Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
Bar Food Menu of the Year sponsored by Altamura Vodka
Winner Tayēr + Elementary, London
Passing Fancies, Birmingham
Side Hustle, Nomad, London
Sterling, Stock Exchange, Manchester
Specialist Bar of the Year sponsored by Sipello
Winner Hacha, London
Hey Palu, Edinburgh
KOL Mezcaleria, London
Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
Hotel Bar of the Year sponsored by Everleaf Drinks
Winner Connaught Bar, The Connaught, London
Lyaness, Sea Containers, London
American Bar, The Savoy, London
Silverleaf, Pan Pacific, London
Best Bar in the North sponsored by The Busker
Winner Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Speak in Code, Manchester
Blinker, Manchester
Best Bar in the Midlands & East Anglia sponsored by The Busker
Winner Passing Fancies, Birmingham
Couch, Birmingham
Fox and Chance, Birmingham
400 Rabbits, Nottingham
Best Bar in Wales & West sponsored by The Busker
Winner Lab 22, Cardiff
Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
Filthy XIII, Bristol
Ugly Butterfly, Saint Ives
Best Bar in London & the South East sponsored by The Busker
Winner Satan’s Whiskers, London
Seed Library, One Hundred Shoreditch, London
Swift, London
Tayēr + Elementary, London
Best Bar in Scotland & Northern Ireland sponsored by The Busker
Winner Hey Palu, Edinburgh
Lucky Liquor, Edinburgh
The Gate, Glasgow
Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
Bar of the Year sponsored by Stauning Whisky
Winner Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
New Bar of the Year sponsored by Hapusa Gin
Winner Passing Fancies, Birmingham
Blinker, Manchester
Seed Library, One Hundred Shoreditch, London
Sterling, Manchester
Bartender of the Year sponsored by Savoia Americano
Winner Mia Kumari, American Bar, The Savoy, London
Rachel Orange, Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Filippos Filippopoulos, Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Tommy Matthews, Passing Fancies, Birmingham
Bar Innovator of the Year sponsored by Paragon
Winner Iain McPherson, Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
Monica Berg and Alex Kratena, Tayēr + Elementary, London
Tommy Matthews, Passing Fancies, Birmingham
Joe and Daniel Schofield, Schofield’s Bar, Manchester