Southport's cocktail bar scene is better than it used to be. Five years ago your options were limited. Now there are several places doing proper drinks — not just a tired menu of Cosmopolitans and Mojitos, but bars with some actual thought behind them. Here's where to go.
What's changed
The improvement has come from two directions: the boutique hotels on Lord Street taking their bars seriously, and a small number of independent cocktail bars opening in the town centre. The hotel bars — The Vincent, The Bold — were always competent; they're now genuinely good. The independents have raised the bar (not sorry) for everyone.
The Vincent Hotel bar, Lord Street
The bar at The Vincent Hotel is one of the best drinking spots in Southport. Properly made cocktails, a good spirits selection, and the kind of setting that makes the drink taste better. The Art Deco styling of the hotel carries through to the bar — it's a room that's taken seriously. More expensive than the pub alternatives, but worth it for a night when that matters.
The Bold Hotel bar, Birkdale
The bar at The Bold has its own character — warmer, less formal than The Vincent, but equally serious about what it's pouring. Good for a pre-dinner cocktail before eating in Birkdale village, or for the kind of evening that starts at the bar and stays there. Locally made gin and craft spirits feature prominently.
Coopers Bar, Lord Street
Coopers is primarily a live music venue, but the cocktail menu is better than you'd expect for somewhere that also does rock covers on a Saturday night. The atmosphere is lively, it gets busy from Thursday to Sunday, and the staff are experienced. Good choice if you want cocktails and noise rather than cocktails and quiet.
What to order
- →Anything that uses locally made spirits — Southport and the surrounding area have produced some decent small-batch gins
- →Classic cocktails, well made, will always tell you more about a bar than the specials list
- →Negroni — if a bar can make a good Negroni it can make anything
- →Avoid venues where the cocktail menu is a laminated A4 sheet: those tend to be the places where the cocktails are a secondary thought
During The Open 2026
Open week in July will test every bar in Southport. The good news: all the places mentioned above will be staffed up and serving at volume. The less good news: expect queues, especially from Thursday to Sunday evening. Book a table if possible, or arrive early. Post-round drinks at the hotel bars are going to be very popular — the Vincent in particular will be busy.
The honest advice
Southport's cocktail scene is genuinely worth exploring if you approach it correctly: don't walk in expecting a London cocktail bar experience, but do expect proper drinks made by people who know what they're doing. The hotel bars deliver consistently. The independents have personality. Between them, a cocktail evening in Southport is a decent night out.
🍸The best cocktail I've had in Southport came from a bartender at The Vincent who didn't need to ask what was in it. That's the benchmark. If they have to check the recipe card, move on.
For a full picture of Southport's bar and pub scene — live music, cocktails, real ale, and sports bars — our guide covers the lot.
Bars & Pubs in Southport →Terry
Chief Editor, SouthportGuide.co.uk — Lives in Churchtown with his wife,
four kids, and Frank the bulldog.
