Panda & Sons, the rare bear themed cocktail bar hidden beneath the streets of Edinburgh, has long been world-renowned – but as of right now, it is officially the World’s Number One bar.
This stunning news came last night at a ceremony in Florence, Italy, where the global bar community gathered for the reveal of the 2025 Top 500 Bars list.
Panda & Sons, led by its ever-dapper head Panda Iain McPherson, has enjoyed a stand out 2025, making history at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards with a record-breaking triple win, following top honours at the CLASS Bar Awards and a prominent position of #34 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.
Never before has a single venue achieved such widespread recognition across every major international award platform in the same year – and it is that prominence that has overwhelmed the Top 500 Bars’ data-driven approach to identifying the world most influential bar.
Using AI and digital aggregation, the Top 500 list draws on more than 2000 online sources across 20+ languages, from expert reviews and media features to expert guest opinions and social sentiment, ‘to capture the collective voice of the global drinks community and highlight those who truly inspire it’.
“It’s honestly surreal,” said McPherson. “Being named the world’s number one bar is something we never imagined when we started out in Edinburgh, Scotland!
“We never set out to win awards, our goal has always been to make people happy through what we love doing. It’s a huge credit to our amazing team; the creativity, care and soul they put into every guest experience is what makes Panda & Sons what it is. This award belongs to them.”
Established by McPherson back in 2013, this hidden speakeasy behind the façade of a vintage barber shop has grown to become a global symbol of innovation, craftsmanship and hospitality, earning worldwide acclaim for its pioneering sub-zero techniques, flavour preservation, and creative storytelling through cocktails.
Delivered with Scottish warmth and precision, every element of Panda & Sons’ success reflects collective effort, led by McPherson alongside Nicky Craig, Sean Moggach and a bar team whose ‘creativity, professionalism and generosity of spirit’ has become an international sensation.
The Pandas’ Number One ranking certainly marks a defining moment for their business, but also puts a much wider gloss on Scotland’s reputation on the international drinks stage, where it is now, officially, leading the way in global cocktail culture.
