Hull cocktail bar is officially one of the best in the UK – here’s all you need to know

Need to know

The Brain Jar ranks fourth in prestigious list

How a Hull cocktail bar ranks as one of the best in the UK

1. A Hull bar manager is “overjoyed” after his Old Town venue was ranked one of the best in the whole of the UK. The Brain Jar has placed fourth in the prestigious Top 50 Cocktail Bars.
2. Matt Smith learned in early December that The Brain Jar had made the list for 2026, calling it a “huge accolade” in itself. Now the bar’s ranking in fourth position has been confirmed.
3. Matt said: “This is the highest new entry of any bar ever, and the highest of any bar in Yorkshire ever. It hugely surpasses any of our wildest expectations, expecting to be ranked possibly in the low 40s.”
4. Calling it the “bar equivalent of Leicester City finishing at the top of the Premier League”, Matt said: “It’s a serious point of professional pride and a career highlight for the whole team, and shines a light on Hull on the national stage. I am overjoyed that more people will visit Hull for The Brain Jar as a result.”
5. Matt previously said how the bar had been trying “for years” to get the recognition and that it was a chance to showcase the city across the UK hospitality scene. Award-winning cocktail maker Matt explained how voting was not just from bars but from people across the industry, including spirits business representatives, influencers and others connected to it.
6. The Top 50 Cocktail Bars is sponsored by Franklin & Sons and recruits over 200 industry experts to make up its voting academy, from bartenders and owners, to drinks writers and influencers. The bars chosen for the list were invited to attend an event in London to find out their official ranking.
7. The Top 50 Cocktail Bars’ description of The Brain Jar said the cocktail and pizza bar serves over 60 cocktails and temperance mixes, craft and bottle conditioned beer, wine and spirits as well as 25 different loose leaf teas, locally roasted coffee, and food. It said: “The goal of The Brain Jar is to create a ‘third place’ between work and home which encourages ‘conversation, the interaction of differing ideas, and a proactive approach to tackling the challenges’.”
8. Drinks at The Brain Jar include classic cocktails such as Old Fashioned, Rusty Nail and Bramble but Matt and his team are innovators with their seasonally-changing selection of tipples incorporating unconventional ingredients. Take for instance the Mushroom Old Fashioned, made with shiitake mushroom infused Toki Whiskey, Amontillado sherry, milk washed miso & white chocolate mushroom, or the Tarot Cake created with Absolut Vanil Vodka, Pedro Ximinez, Allspice Dram, Dry Curacao, carrot, lime and cream cheese frosting.
9. Not so long ago, Matt was raising eyebrows with his Yorkshire Grasshopper cocktail, a drink featuring tequila, clarified blue cheese syrup and an edible grasshopper to top it off. He previously represented the UK in the Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2025, paying tribute to Hull and its street art culture with his cocktail, Dead Bod, featuring beetroot from a Hull community allotment and roasted dandelion root.
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