Cocktail bar - Bishops Stortford
Bar Twelve
Bar Twelve on Market Square is Bishops Stortford's best cocktail bar - a tight, rotating drinks menu and a late-night atmosphere the town genuinely needed.
Address
12 Market Square, Bishops Stortford CM23 3UX
Hours
Wed-Sat 5pm-midnight
Price
£££
Features
Marcus Osei
Contributing Editor - Reviewed 14 March 2026
The space
Bar Twelve sits directly on Market Square, in a building that has been sympathetically refitted - low ceiling retained, original brickwork visible, the bar itself a run of polished dark wood. It is a compact space that works well at three-quarters full and becomes genuinely atmospheric when it fills up on Friday and Saturday nights.
What to drink
The cocktail menu runs to twelve to fifteen drinks and rotates every two to three months. The house style leans toward spirit-forward classics with seasonal modifiers. The non-alcoholic menu - genuinely thought-through, not an afterthought - is one of the better ones we have seen in a town of this size.
The verdict
Bar Twelve is operating at a level above what the location would lead you to expect, and it is doing so consistently. Closed Sunday through Tuesday; book ahead for Friday and Saturday if you want a table. It has become the natural end to an evening in Bishops Stortford for anyone who drinks beyond the pub.
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