49 Bread Street Edinburgh EH3 9AH Scotland, U.K
Hey Palu stylish Cocktail Bar Edinburgh
About us
Hey Palu is an intimate stylish cocktail bar in the heart of Edinburgh Old Town, accompanied by a killer playlist. Our menu focuses on combining the culture of Italian Aperitivo with our love for modern classic cocktails. Our back bar is home to our extensive Amari collection (an Italian bittersweet liqueur) one of our specialities with nearly 60 bottles from the length and breadth of Italy.
Hey Palu has most recently been awarded Best Cocktail Bar by the Scottish Bar & Pub awards 2023, sponsored by DRAM Magazine, earlier in the year we won a Class Bar Magazine award for the Best Bar (region Scotland / Northern Ireland). We are also currently listed at no. 27 on the UK Top 50 cocktail bar list. Winner of the Best Bar Team for Top 50, shortlisted for CLASS award specialist bar 2022 & 2023, Winner of Best Cocktail Bar in Scotland 2022 by SLTN.
Italian Aperitivo Culture Comes To Abditory With Renowned Hey Palu Takeover
An Italian cocktail bar in Edinburgh nationally recognised for its excellent drinks, food and service is to takeover one of Liverpool’s best drinking haunts for a special evening this September.
For one night only, Hey Palu, recently included in the prestigious top UK 50 cocktail bars list, will be showcasing their mixology magic at Abditory on Queen Avenue, which itself knows a thing or two about blending flavours.
Offering an authentic Italian cocktail experience and the spirit of ‘aperitivo’ style of drinking with Vermouths, amari, and bitters, Hey Palu has gained a cult following in the Scottish capital as a brilliant place to spend an hour or two.
Co-founded by Alex Palumbo and his wife Rachel, Hey Palu opened in July 2019 as a neighbourhood bar on Bread Street in the Tollcross area of Edinburgh quickly gaining a loyal clientele which supported them during the repeated lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
Hey Palu continues to draw the crowds with their carefully selected drinks menu, perfect Italian small plates and a “killer playlist”.
Alex said: “Being named in the top 50 UK cocktail bars list was a beautiful surprise, but I think we have created a nice place for our guests to enjoy themselves and of course we serve them really good drinks. We focused from the beginning in what we wanted to achieve and worked very hard to get there.
“Hey Palu is what we call a modern Italian bar, a relaxed and informal environment but with the spirit of Italy found in the drinks. Our 47 different regional variations of amari, our Vermouths and our signature Negronis have made use very popular in Edinburgh.”
Alex’s stand out cocktails include the Pink Pigeon Club made with Roku Gin, preserved raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, lemon and aquafaba; the Smoked Banana Old Fashioned, made with Myers Rum, Jamaican rum, banana, tonka bean and Fernet Branca Smoke; and the Tiramisu! made using Buffalo Trace Bourbon, marsala, Averna Amaro Siciliano, espresso and mascarpone.
He added: “We are very much looking forward to this bar takeover, because it’s interesting to see different styles and different bars in different cities. I hear Abditory is a great place with great drinks and of course the main thing is about making new friends.
“This is also about working together because the bar industry has suffered a lot in the last couple of years so it’s nice to see it bouncing back now and things like this can only help. I am really looking forward to coming to Liverpool for my first visit and probably a big hangover the day after!”
Since it opened, Abditory, which means ‘hiding place’, has become known as a friendly neighbourhood and comfortable hideaway focused on standards of service and old school cool with an ace 80s soundtrack, wacky design touches in both the bar and the restrooms, serving exceptional cocktails and weird and wonderful snacks. It’s owned and operated by leading Liverpool hospitality consultants, Lucky Penny Group.
Abditory’s General Manager Tom Norris said: “To bring a bar with such a reputation to Liverpool is something of a coup for us because we have been following what they have been doing for some time and love what the Palumbo family and their team have created. I urge anyone visiting Edinburgh to sample it.
“In many ways Hey Palu and Abditory are kindred spirits, tucked away bars that mix the modern and the classical and consistently delivering great experiences for customers. It’s going to be an exciting night with new cocktails being served and a few surprises planned. To my mind, it’s unmissable.”
Hey Palu, Edinburgh: cocktail bar review
Published: February 27, 2020
What’s the vibe?
Retro with contemporary features. There’s a lively ‘Campari’ bar area, perfect for that post-work cocktail, and for longer evening sessions the ‘Martini’ room has soft seating and a great playlist to while the night away.
Original black and white photos have been carefully selected to adorn the Martini area, and low lighting and blue banquette seating give the space a modern feel. It’s grown up but cool.
What’s the drinks menu like?
Cocktails, vermouths, amari (bitter herbal liqueurs typically eaten after meals) and aperitivi (drinks such as Campari, Cynar and Aperol) feature alongside a (mostly) Italian wine list. Non-alcoholic cocktails and low-alcoholic serves complete the extensive menu.
Which cocktails to order?
Garibaldi Shakerato – Campari with orange and pink grapefruit – is refreshingly citrus and bitter tasting without being too sour. Well balanced, it makes for a perfect pre-dinner drink.
Amaretto sour served on the rocks is a cocktail classic and at Hey Palu it’s served with Lazzaroni amaretto, Wild Turkey 81 bourbon, lemon, aquafaba (no egg whites here) and Angostura bitters. It’s sweet but not too sweet, bitter but not too bitter – a highly enjoyable guilty pleasure.
An amaro flight – Vecchio Amaro del Capo, Cynar and Averna – displays intriguing variety. Vecchio has notes of mandarin and cloves, Cynar has notes of artichoke, caramel and quinine, whilst Averna is treacle, oat and liquorice.
Is there any food?
A small but perfectly formed food offering features cheese platters, charcuterie, or a mix of both, as well as smaller bites including sherry tomatoes, rosemary mixed olives and toasted ciabatta. Oregano and sea salt crisps are the perfect nibbles to accompany a flight of vermouth. If you’re looking for something sweet, affogato can be served with your choice of Italian liqueur.
Anything else?
Hey Palu have mixed up some of their cocktails to go – pick up pre-bottled gin martinis, negronis and rum ’n’ raisin old fashioneds to enjoy at home.
Where to go nearby for dinner
It’s a two-minute walk to Timberyard, a hip, industrial warehouse space serving locally sourced seasonal dishes with a Scandi influence accompanied by natural wines.
Price: From £7 for a cocktail.
Name: Alex Palumbo
Nicknames: Palu
Pronouns: He/Him
Job title: Bar Owner
When did Hey Palu open: September 2019
Favourite drink: you can’t beat a Mezcal Margarita.
Awards & accolades: most recently being part of the Top 50 Cocktail bars, a definite highlight was placing third in the world for the Havana
Key skills: being a hard worker, determination & I would like to think I have a pretty balanced palate
What got you into cocktail bars?
I just loved the environment, the people you meet and the fun to be had, especially back in the early noughties in London!
How many years have you worked in the industry?
My first shift behind a bar was in the summer of 2000 in London. I was just 16.
What makes a great cocktail bar?
Everything. Drinks, people, music, lights. Most of all, a good cocktail bar is made by creating a great atmosphere and place where people feel welcomed.
What do you enjoy most about the industry?
Since I started it has completely evolved in the way we make drinks, techniques and technologies, but the base is the same…take good care of people and do it with a smile.
What’s a signature drink of yours?
My Wild Strawberry Negroni, Gin, strawberry vermouth and white bitters. It’s a light, fruiter version of a classic Negroni…and my Midori Sour. Seems like has a bit of a cult following in Edinburgh now.
Favourite post-shift meal?
Beer! Very cold beer.
What does being a Top 50 Cocktail Bar mean to you?
It means a lot, a lot of work and passion went into Hey Palu, and we love to share it with everyone.
What is the best cocktail bar you’ve ever visited?
The first time in Employees Only in New York in 2012. Was an absolute blast!
What do you enjoy most about working at Hey Palu?
Our regulars, and all the Amari available to play with.
Least favourite ingredient?
Kiwi…I’m allergic.
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