alcoholic<\/a> sorbets, which can be found in the ‘Frozen Delights’ section of its menu. According to judges, McPherson studied ice cream-making at two universities and founded alcoholic ice cream brand Se\u00f1or Scoop.<\/p>\nThe World\u2019s Best 50 Bars wrote: “This cocktail bar fronted by a family of tweed-wearing hairdresser Pandas is no new concept, having opened some 12 years ago, but the world continues to fall in love with it, step-by-step down its Queen Street entrance. And as word of the bar has travelled\u2014not least in the slip stream of owner-adventurer Iain McPherson\u2014the clientele has become more international.<\/p>\n
“Once you’ve visited Edinburgh Castle, climbed up Arthur’s Seat and seen the caf\u00e9 where Harry Potter was written, it’s time for a drink at Panda & Sons.<\/p>\n
“With vintage vibe and stylings and the wide-armed welcome of the likes of Nicky Craig, Sean Moggach or Chloe Yeung\u2014bedecked in panda aprons\u2014this is the kind of place where you’re as at home with a pint as you are a show-stopping cocktail.”<\/p>\n
The judges continued: “Though if you’re of a geeky disposition, the latest cocktail menu Transcend 2.0 is a seminal piece of work. A discovery of sub-zero cocktail making, it features freeze distillation and freeze-drying methods, alongside McPherson’s own techniques, switching and sous-pression, which have made him one of the industry’s most influential drinksmiths.<\/p>\n
“Have you ever considered what would happen if you removed the water from a spirit and replaced it with something else? Well, few had before McPherson.<\/p>\n
“Take the bar’s Coconut Daiquiri, which sees the water in rum replaced by roasted coconut milk. Or for more sub-zero libations, head to the Frozen Delights section and to the alcoholic sorbets and ice creams.<\/p>\n
“McPherson has studied ice cream-making at two universities and founded his own brand of boozy gelato Se\u00f1or Scoop\u2014you don’t get the moniker Mr Freeze for nothing.”<\/p>\n
In addition to being included on The World\u2019s Best 50 Bars’ list, Panda and Sons is also very popular amongst Edinburgh locals and tourists. The bar has a rating of 4.6 out of five on Google, with recent visitors singling out its “incredible vibes” and “one-of-a-kind menu”.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, coming in at number one on the prestigious global list is Bar Leone in Hong Kong. The bar was described as a “tribute to timeless Italian drinking culture in the heart of Hong Kong”, with judges praising its friendly service and mortadella sandwiches.<\/p>\n
The full list of the top bars across the globe can be found on The World’s Best 50 Bars website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“The kind of place where you’re as at home with a pint as you are a show-stopping cocktail.”The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15,12846],"class_list":{"0":"post-498165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-universities-and-colleges"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115371246707704928","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Panda](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Panda-Sons-interior.jpg\")
The bar was praised for its unique atmosphere and one-of-a-kind cocktail menu(Image: Panda & Sons)<\/p>\n