Best Cocktail Bars in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Town's Best Drinks

Cheltenham's cocktail scene has grown up in the last few years, and quietly. While the town is still famous for its races, its festivals and its Regency terraces, there's now a serious drinking culture tucked between them. Properly made cocktails, independent bartenders, speakeasy rooms in Georgian basements, and a standard of hospitality that holds its own against cities several times the size.

This is a local's guide to the best cocktail bars in Cheltenham. The places worth booking for a date, the ones you'd take out-of-town friends to, and the quieter corners that reward visitors willing to step off the Promenade. We'll cover the speakeasies, the Montpellier favourites, the specialists (rum, gin, whisky) and the spots with the best atmosphere for a proper night out.

A few rules before we start. Most of these bars take bookings, and the best ones fill up on Friday and Saturday evenings. Book ahead. Read the drinks list before you order. And if you're not sure what you want, ask the bartender. Cheltenham's cocktail scene runs on people who care about what they pour.

What Makes Cheltenham's Cocktail Scene Different

For a town of 120,000 people, Cheltenham punches well above its weight for drinks. The reason is the independents. Cheltenham's strength has always been its independent restaurants, bars and cafés, and the cocktail scene has followed the same pattern. Chains exist, but the bars locals actually talk about are the ones run by hospitality people who chose Cheltenham for a reason.

The other factor is the architecture. Regency basements, Georgian townhouses and tucked-away side streets lend themselves to the speakeasy format, and several of the best cocktail bars in Cheltenham make full use of it. You descend from the Promenade into a low-lit room, the door closes behind you and the town above goes quiet.

Add to that the local gin and whisky scene, proximity to the Cotswolds (plenty of produce, plenty of distilleries) and a hospitality workforce that has absorbed influences from London and Bristol, and you get a cocktail culture that feels distinctly Cheltenham rather than a small-town copy of somewhere bigger.

The Best Speakeasy Cocktail Bars in Cheltenham

If you only have one night in town and you want to do cocktails properly, the speakeasies are where to start. Two genuinely stand out.

Memsahib's Lounge

Memsahib's Lounge is the standout. Tucked into a Promenade basement and styled like a colonial Indian gentleman's club, it's atmospheric, intimate and built for slow drinking. The cocktails lean Indian-inspired, with gin-infused teapots, chai syrups, house creations called the Cheltenham Sling and the Memsahib Star, and a selection of spirits that actually warrants reading the menu twice.

The room has low ceilings, dim lighting, velvet and brass, and the service is unhurried in the best way. It's the right choice for a first date, a grown-up birthday, or showing someone who thinks they know Cheltenham that the town has more interesting corners than they realised. Book ahead for any evening and especially for weekends.

Croft & Jones Trading Co

Beneath The Clarence Social on Clarence Parade sits Croft & Jones Trading Co, a classier take on the speakeasy format with table service, a well-drilled bar team and a menu of cocktails that is built around technique rather than theatrics. The room is small, quiet and properly lit for drinking rather than photography. Expect classic cocktails done to a high standard, plus a rotating list of the bar team's own creations.

It's the grown-up option. If Memsahib's is about atmosphere, Croft & Jones is about craft. Both are worth booking. Both make Cheltenham feel like a serious drinking town.

Montpellier's Cocktail Bars

If Memsahib's and Croft & Jones are the speakeasy picks, Montpellier is where the wider cocktail scene lives. The walkable cluster of bars, wine merchants and restaurants around Montpellier Gardens is the natural home for an evening out, and you can easily hop between three or four places in a night.

John Gordon's

John Gordon's is the spirit lover's choice. Technically an independent wine and spirit merchant (with the shop to match), the bar upstairs overlooks Montpellier Gardens and stocks one of the most serious collections of whiskies and gins in Gloucestershire. The staff know their stuff and genuinely enjoy talking through the list, so turn up with an idea of what you like (smoky, citrus-forward, barrel-aged, whatever) and they'll steer you somewhere interesting.

It's more of a late-afternoon, early-evening spot than a late-night bar, but it's the right place to start a proper drinks night before heading elsewhere for food.

The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie

A chain, yes, but one that suits the Montpellier setting beautifully. The Ivy sits in a grand building on Montpellier Walk with elegant interiors, green velvet, brass detailing and a cocktail list that covers all the classics plus a few house creations. It's the right pick for visitors who want a recognisable name with a guaranteed quality level, and for locals who want to meet friends without the small-bar scramble for a table.

Good for before-dinner drinks, better for after-dinner espresso martinis.

Montpellier Wine Bar

Not strictly a cocktail bar, but impossible to leave off a list of places to drink in Montpellier. Montpellier Wine Bar has been at the end of Montpellier Terrace for over 40 years, which in hospitality terms is basically forever. It's lively, loud, wine-led and the natural pre-dinner stop for anyone who wants to feel the pulse of Montpellier on a Friday or Saturday. Order a glass of something interesting, stand at the bar if you can't get a table, and watch the neighbourhood file past.

Hotel Du Vin

For something quieter, Hotel du Vin's bar is the Montpellier option for comfortable seating, leather sofas and a relaxed atmosphere. It's a good call for a conversation you actually want to hear yourself having, a measured cocktail list, and the kind of clientele that has read the wine list before ordering. Low key, reliable and easy.

Independent Cocktail Bars for Something Different

Once you've done the speakeasies and Montpellier, Cheltenham has a handful of specialists worth seeking out if you're after a particular style of drink or a particular vibe.

33 The Rum Bar

33 The Rum Bar is exactly what it sounds like. Over 150 rums on the back bar, a cosy room a short walk from the town centre, and a cocktail list built around the spirit rather than tacked onto it. It's dog-friendly, laid-back, and attracts the kind of regulars who have opinions about Jamaican versus Bajan rum and will happily tell you. If you don't drink rum, you'll still enjoy the atmosphere. If you do, it's a must-visit.

The Clarence Social

Above Croft & Jones, The Clarence Social occupies three floors with contemporary decor, a proper cocktail programme and a busier, brighter atmosphere than the speakeasy below. It's the right choice when you want cocktails without the full speakeasy formality. The ground floor is good for drinks and small plates, the middle floor for larger groups, and the whole place buzzes on weekends.

Gin & Juice at No. 131

No. 131 on the Promenade houses several drinking spots inside one of Cheltenham's most beautiful Georgian townhouses, and Gin & Juice is the cocktail-led option. It's part of the Lucky Onion group, which also runs The Tavern and The Beehive locally, so the hospitality standards are high. Expect well-made classics, a gin-heavy list and a room that feels both stylish and unpretentious. A good spot for before or after dinner at any of the restaurants in the same building.

The Cinema Bar at Regent Arcade

A quirkier pick. Cheltenham's independent cinema in Regent Arcade has a swanky basement cocktail bar that serves crisp, properly made drinks in sparkling glassware, and you don't need a film ticket to drink there. It's the right choice if you want somewhere slightly off the usual circuit, and it pairs well with seeing a film afterwards. Good for a quieter midweek drink.

Where to Find Cocktails Later into the Night

Cheltenham isn't a late-night city, and most cocktail bars wind down by midnight or shortly after. If you want to keep going past that point, The Clarence Social, Memsahib's Lounge and the Brewery Quarter venues are your best bets on a weekend. The Brewery Quarter in particular (home to The Alchemist, The Botanist and Flight Club) stays busy until late on Friday and Saturday, and while it's not the purest cocktail experience in town, it's the one that keeps going.

If you're on a longer visit, pair cocktails with a proper meal beforehand. The full list of Cheltenham's best restaurants covers the spots worth building an evening around, and our guide to spending a weekend in Cheltenham maps out where to go before and after.

When Should You Book a Cocktail Bar in Cheltenham?

For weekends, always. Friday and Saturday evenings at Memsahib's, Croft & Jones, John Gordon's and The Ivy Montpellier book up several days in advance, and during Cheltenham Race Week, the Literature Festival, the Jazz Festival or the run-up to Christmas, you should be booking at least a week ahead. Midweek is more forgiving, and most bars will usually find you a table at short notice from Sunday to Wednesday.

A quick tip: if you want a table for more than four people, always call ahead. Cheltenham's cocktail bars tend to be intimate, and walking in as a group of six on a Saturday night is rarely going to work.

What Are the Best Cocktails to Try in Cheltenham?

Three things worth ordering, if you want a local's pick. The Cheltenham Sling at Memsahib's Lounge is the house signature and a genuinely well-made drink, gin-led with Indian spice notes. Anything whisky-forward at John Gordon's is where the staff will shine, and you'll learn something new about the spirit in the process. A classic daiquiri at 33 The Rum Bar, which is the simplest possible test of a rum bar's ability and a drink the team there takes seriously.

Beyond those, order the house creation wherever you go. Cheltenham's cocktail bars tend to put real work into their own drinks, and the signature is usually the best thing on the menu.

Wrapping Up

Cheltenham's cocktail scene rewards people who take it seriously. It's not trying to be Shoreditch or Soho, and it's better for it. The town has a genuine cluster of independent bars, a few speakeasies worth going out of your way for, and a drinking culture that feels connected to the local food scene rather than bolted onto it.

If you've got one evening, start at John Gordon's for a proper drink, eat somewhere in Montpellier, then finish at Memsahib's Lounge or Croft & Jones for late cocktails. If you've got a week, work your way through the rest of the list slowly. Book ahead, tip the bartenders, and pay attention to what they put in front of you.

For more ideas on where to eat and drink nearby, browse our full guide to Montpellier, the beating heart of the town's independent scene and the best place in Cheltenham to spend an evening out.