
Popular Glasgow bar named among the best in the world
Located in the Merchant City, the cocktail bar opened in 2010 and has since become a firm favourite in the city.
However, it's not the first time the bar has been named as one of the best. In February 2022, we reported how the speakeasy was named one of the best 50 cocktail spots in the UK.
READ MORE: Popular Glasgow pub named the 'best' boozer in the city
READ MORE: Well-known Glasgow pub reveals exciting rebrand after shutting its doors
(Image: Instagram) In a statement on Instagram, Top 500 Bars said: "This year, the industry has started to boom again with a lot of new bars around the world.
"For 2025, Top 500 Bars ranking involves 125 different cities in 53 different countries. The ranking is quite different from last year, too, with more countries and different bars.
"We hope with this list, we'll help bartenders and customers discover bars wherever they visit."
According to the Top 500 Bars website, it claims that awards use 'data, AI, and other digital revolutions' to determine a 'global ranking'.
A statement on the Top 500 Bars site reads: "In the era of big data, AI and other digital revolutions, it seemed important to us that the bar industry take advantage of these innovations to determine a global ranking.
"We aggregated the data from over two thousand sources on the web, in more than twenty languages.
"And we not only used the opinions of experts, journalists and influencers but also rankings, reviews on platforms, social media and search engines to complete the set.
"This data set makes it possible to appeal to the greatest number of opinions on the model of 'the wisdom of crowds', by creating this ranking via an algorithm from thousands of data.
"As the saying goes: 'we are smarter than me'. It's about finding a complementary ranking with existing selections to highlight the daily work of individuals who drive this industry. Because in the end, every opinion counts."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Scotsman
How traditional Scottish food is causing stir on world stage, bringing tourists and trade
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... All around the world, food is becoming more than simply a fuel. It is a cultural experience rooted in place, heritage and story. Social media and increased travel for leisure have amplified this shift, with platforms like TikTok and Instagram thriving on vibrant, shareable content about food. Diners want meals that connect them with the culture and character of where they are or where they dream of going. As a result, under-explored cuisines and ingredients like Mayan sikil pak and Filipino banana ketchup are taking centre stage. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With rich traditions and an enviable natural larder, Scottish food has the opportunity to thrive as a result of this growing appetite for exploring global food experiences. It is tough for food producers at the moment, so looking for a competitive edge is more important than ever. However, despite the challenges, it is also an exciting time for producers in Scotland; and the time is ripe for us to stand proudly on the world stage and turn local flavours into global fascination. Scotland's unspoilt landscapes and traditional Scottish ingredients like heather are part of the reason why global food tourists want to come here (Picture: Peter Thompson/Heritage Images) |Tapping into tradition The global culinary tourism market is growing, driven not just by food but by the stories behind it. According to Skyscanner, San Sebastian in northern Spain is rising in popularity partly because of travellers looking to try Basque cheesecake and pintxos – a Basque version of tapas – which are both rooted in regional identity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This reflects a broader trend: consumers value food that connects to heritage. And this authenticity is something Scotland offers in spades. Our research found that if an item is identifiably grown, reared or produced in Scotland, it makes it more attractive to 87 per cent of UK tourists. And that enthusiasm isn't limited to people living overseas – just over half of Londoners say the same. Traditional Scottish ingredients like oats, seaweed, heather and barley are part of Scotland's story. There's a renewed interest in these ingredients, with many of them inspiring new and exciting products, such as Six Degrees North's Foraged Saison beer, made with foraged elderberries and heather. Scotland's sensory appeal Visual appeal dominates on social media as well as on our plate – as the old adage goes, we eat first with our eyes. And with regulatory pushback against artificial dyes in countries around the world, producers are exploring natural ways to appeal to consumers' senses. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This shift is opening the door to other sensory experiences, particularly scent. Our sense of smell is not only central to flavour, but also closely linked with memory and emotion. Scottish cuisine is naturally rich in evocative aromas and colours: briny seaweed and green samphire evoke our coastline; purple heather and yellow-green juniper recall untamed countryside; and woodsmoke and peat offer a dark depth that contrasts with our open skies. These elements create a sensory landscape on our plates that resonate with visitors, locals and expats alike. For those who have visited, Scottish food brings back memories. For those planning a visit, it's a taste of what's to come. And for Scots abroad, it delivers a comforting sense of home. READ MORE: Our 4 favourite blended Scotch Whisky releases that are as good as any single malt Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Culinary curiosity As consumers search for authentic experiences, hybrid flavours are gaining ground – especially when they balance novelty with familiarity. We see this in crisps with globally inspired flavours like Manchego and olive or Thai red curry. Scottish producers are making their mark here, too, fusing international techniques with local ingredients to make something distinctly Scottish – such as Matugga, bringing African rum distilling techniques to a Scottish distillery. These reflect Scotland's long-standing openness and culinary curiosity, both parts of our culture. Products made in Scotland, by Scots or for Scots, are embraced as part of our identity. That sense of hospitality and inclusion is something to celebrate and is a strength as Scotland's food and drink sector continues to evolve for a global audience. Naturally nutritious Authenticity isn't the only thing driving consumer decisions. Wellness plays a central role in how people choose what to eat. Health is no longer a niche concern. Consumers are increasingly aware of the link between soil health and human health, and they're beginning to avoid ultra-processed foods in favour of naturally nutrient-rich options. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland is already well-suited to meet this demand. Our well-earned reputation for unspoilt landscapes, crystal-clear waters and open skies reinforces perceptions of purity and quality. Many traditional Scottish ingredients also align with contemporary dietary preferences, whether natural animal protein, gluten-free or nutrient-dense. They appeal to a broad and health-conscious market. Even trends like fermentation – despite their polarising flavours – are opening the door to more adventurous products with added health benefits. Scottish brands are well-placed to innovate here and use familiar local ingredients to create products that resonate globally and have functional value; consider Slow Sauce's miso made from fermented Aberdeenshire oats. A global presence Scottish cuisine has long been valued for its quality: just look at the £844 million of Scottish salmon and £5.4 billion of whisky exported last year as proof of the global appetite for our products. But there's more to share than seafood and spirits. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad From heritage grains and foraged botanicals to health-driven innovation and cross-cultural creativity, Scottish food is already delivering on the values that modern consumers want: authenticity, quality and nutrition. To fully embrace this momentum, Scottish producers must continue to pair innovation with approachability and lead with the compelling stories which show we deliver on the authentic, meaningful food experiences that consumers are looking for.


The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘No clear explanation': businesses reliant on Meta struggle in the wake of wrongful suspensions
This time of the year is typically the busy booking season for Sam Enticknap, a makeup artist based in Margaret River, Western Australia. But the phone has stopped ringing since her Instagram account, which had 48,000 followers, was suspended without notice by Meta three weeks ago. 'I received a horrible email saying a reference to child sexual exploitation content, which obviously was quite traumatic to see,' she said. 'Saying my Instagram accounts have been disabled with just no clear explanation.' Enticknap estimates that, as a result of her account being wrongly suspended, she has lost 80% of the bookings she otherwise would have leading into the busy wedding season in Margaret River. Sign up: AU Breaking News email 'A lot of people come through Instagram, they find hashtags and they find word of mouth, and obviously through other businesses that always tag us,' she said. Enticknap said it made her realise how reliant she was on Meta for business. She said she lost two Instagram accounts and a Facebook account as a result of the permanent suspension, and said attempts to contact the company to have the ban appealed had resulted in a 'dead end'. She said she was not alone, citing another Western Australian business – which sells artificial flowers – which had been suspended from Meta platforms and received the same reference to child sexual exploitation. 'My friend who has another successful makeup business, she went down the week after me, but she's managed to get her account back,' Enticknap said. Incorrect account suspensions on social media platforms are not a new phenomenon. Often when Meta is asked by media about an account, it is later restored. However, something changed in July. A flood of emails were sent to journalists from people all over the world saying that, without warning, their Facebook and Instagram accounts had been suspended. Many were told – erroneously – by Meta that their accounts had been suspended for breaching community standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity. Users report Meta has typically been unresponsive to their pleas for assistance, often with standardised responses to requests for review, almost all of which have been rejected. There are petitions with tens of thousands of signatures, a subreddit devoted to people who have had their accounts disabled and talk of a class action against Meta over the bans. From around a dozen emails received in the past two weeks, Guardian Australia has reported five accounts – including Enticknap's to Meta, which said it had internally escalated the investigation of those accounts. Media reporting of the plight of businesses struggling as a result of their Instagram ban has led to many of those accounts being restored. But the company claims there has not been an increase in incorrect account suspension, and the volume of users complaining was not indicative of new targeting or over-enforcement. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake,' a spokesperson for Meta said. Meta is reliant on a mix of human reports and automation to find and remove accounts in breach of its rules. The company publishes data on how many accounts it removes – and data on how many it subsequently restores – in its quarterly community standards enforcement report. However, the latest report only covers to the end of March, so it can't yet be judged whether the company has had a significant uptick in removed accounts or appeals. For Enticknap, the suspension carries an emotional weight. Her father died this year, and the photos and messages her father uploaded to Facebook cannot be accessed. 'I've tried to message and just say: 'Can I just get my data? Can I just get that? Shut me down, but let me get those pictures back',' she said. 'But nothing. I've not had any reply.'


The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
WhatsApp takes down 6.8 million accounts linked to criminal scam centers, Meta says
WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts that were 'linked to criminal scam centers' targeting people online around that world, its parent company Meta said this week. The account deletions, which Meta said took place over the first six months of the year, arrive as part of wider company efforts to crack down on scams. In a Tuesday announcement, Meta said it was also rolling new tools on WhatsApp to help people spot scams — including a new safety overview that the platform will show when someone who is not in a user's contacts adds them to a group, as well as ongoing test alerts to pause before responding. Scams are becoming all too common and increasingly sophisticated in today's digital world — with too-good-to-be-true offers and unsolicited messages attempting to steal consumers' information or money filling our phones, social media and other corners of the internet each day. Meta noted that 'some of the most prolific' sources of scams are criminal scam centers, which often span from forced labor operated by organized crime — and warned that such efforts often target people on many platforms at once, in attempts to evade detection. That means that a scam campaign may start with messages over text or a dating app, for example, and then move to social media and payment platforms, the California-based company said. Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram, pointed to recent scam efforts that it said attempted to use its own apps — as well as TikTok, Telegram and AI-generated messages made using ChatGPT — to offer payments for fake likes, enlist people into a pyramid scheme and/or lure others into cryptocurrency investments. Meta linked these scams to a criminal scam center in Cambodia — and said it disrupted the campaign in partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.