Wax Bar

You'll find Wax Bar tucked into Nottingham's city centre on Broad Street, in that strip where things actually get interesting after dark. This isn't a place where they'll make you a mojito with the enthusiasm of someone assembling flat-pack furniture—the bar staff here actually care about what goes in your glass. The vibe sits somewhere between proper cocktail bar and somewhere you'd genuinely want to spend an evening with mates, which is rarer than you'd think. It's got enough personality to feel like a proper venue rather than another corporate chain, and the fact people keep coming back (4.2 stars from 280 reviews speaks for itself) suggests they're doing something right.