Best bars Sheffield: New 'local' at famous Park Hill flats makes list of UK's top 50 cocktail bars

Public and The Pearl at Park Hill both made Franklin & Sons Ltd’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars in the UK for 2025, published this week.

Public, located in the old gents toilets beneath Sheffield Town Hall, on Surrey Street, has become a mainstay of the annual rankings since it first opened in 2017.

But The Pearl at Park Hill - which in September 2023 became the first bar to open at the famous brutalist 60s estate since the closure of its original four pubs - is a new entry.

The Pearl, which serves a mouthwatering range of small plates alongside its inventive cocktail list and selection of craft beers and natural wine, has proved hugely popular.

It was opened by Jack Wakelin and chef Tom Aronica, the duo behind the acclaimed cocktail bar and bistro Bench, in leafy Nether Edge, who described it as their interpretation of what a ‘local’ in the 21st century should be.

The Park Hill flats used to have four pubs - The Scottish Queen, The Link, The Parkway Tavern and The Earl George - and The Pearl is an amalgamation of the latter two.

The Pearl, which has an average rating of 4.6/5 from more than 50 Google reviews, is ranked 44th in the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list for 2025.

Bench, which had previously made the top 50, was not included this time around.

But Public has retained its place, ranking 39th this year, with the judges hailing it as a ‘tiny haven for drinkers of fine liquids’ which offers an ‘exceptional experience’.

Like The Pearl, Public offers a range of seasonal small plates alongside the drinks, with judges also praising its ‘excellent food menu’.

It has an average rating of 4.5/5 from more than 300 Google reviews, with one customer calling it a ‘real gem’ and another describing it as ‘truly one of the best places I have been’.