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Wine and spirit merchant, The Bottle Club has recently compiled a list of the top 12 LGBT bars and clubs across the UK, taking into account Instagram followers, google rating, number of hashtags, and proximity to public transport. The Bottle Club team have scored each bar out of a total 40. Here’s what they found across the UK’s major cities.
- Mary’s bar – Cardiff [31.3 / 40]
- The Viaduct – Leeds [29 / 40]
- The Royal Vauxhall Tavern – London [28.9 / 40]
- On Bar – Manchester [27.8 / 40]
- The Old Market Assembly – Bristol [27.3 / 40]
- The Flying Duck – Glasgow [26.4 / 40]
- FunnyBoyz – Liverpool [25.8 / 40]
- Paradise Palms – Edinburgh [25.5 / 40]
- Rusty’s – Newcastle [25.3 / 40]
- Street 66 – Dublin [25 / 40]
- Club Revenge – Brighton [23 / 40]
- Eden – Birmingham [22.4 / 40]
Coming up with the top score is Mary’s bar in Cardiff, a city with bars and safe spaces and such as The Queer Emporium, which often host events with local drag queens and cabarets. Another venue of note in Cardiff is their Tonight Josephine branch, which has a reputation for drag queen brunches.
Promoting a young and open-minded vibe due to its large student population, Leeds comes second on the list for its gay scene, with its bar, The Viaduct.
London rounds out the top three, with The Royal Vauxhall Tavern taking the lead bar, and another notable venue being the Tiki-style The Cock Tavern.
Despite there being safe spaces for queer people across many cities and towns in the UK, the world still has a long way to go in terms of acceptance and truly letting go of all its prejudices, hence the importance for Pride events to celebrate joy and support a diverse and inclusive community. So this Pride Month, support an LGBT organisation, spread a message of tolerance and inclusion, and raise a glass to celebrate achievements so far.
