Results
Mexico City, Mexico
Handshake Speakeasy claimed the World's 50 Best Bars number one position in 2024 and has held the top spot in North America's 50 Best Bars for two consecutive years. Split across two floors inside a Colonia Juárez hotel, it pairs culinary-driven cocktails with a service model where every team member rotates through every role. The Fig Martini has been on the menu since opening; the clarified piña colada rewrites what the drink is capable of.
Tokyo, Japan
Bar Benfiddich occupies the ninth floor of a Nishishinjuku building, operating nightly from 18:00 as one of Asia's most consistently recognised cocktail bars — ranked #9 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and #25 globally in 2024. Its 17-seat walnut counter frames a program built around farm-grown botanicals, antique tools, and a working distillery in Chichibu, producing drinks that shift with each harvest.
Chicago, United States
Kumiko has accumulated one of the most decorated award records of any bar in the United States, including the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar, a World's 50 Best ranking, and a North America Top 10 placement. Operating Wednesday through Sunday from a West Loop address on Lake Street, the bar occupies a serious position in Chicago's cocktail scene and in the national conversation about American bar culture.
Toronto, Canada
Ranked #55 on the World's 50 Best Bars list for 2025 and #7 in North America, Bar Pompette on College Street has set the standard for cocktail craft in Toronto since 2021. The marble bar, French-inflected hospitality, and technically precise drinks built around unusual flavour pairings make it one of the most consistently decorated bars in Canada.
New York City, United States
On Hudson Street in the West Village, Employees Only has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2009, peaking at #4 globally in 2015. The bar operates a walk-in policy with no reservations, making timing and crowd knowledge the key variables for any visit. In 2025 it holds #18 in North America and #95 globally.
New York City, United States
On Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side, Attaboy has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2013, reaching as high as #4 globally in 2014. The format is no-menu, guest-led: bartenders build drinks around what you tell them you like. It is one of the most consistently recognised bars in North America over the past decade.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Bar Leone in Hong Kong took Asia's Best Bar at the World's 50 Best awards in both 2024 and 2025, and claimed Tatler's Bar of the Year for 2025. On Bridges Street in Central, it channels the unpretentious spirit of Rome's neighbourhood bars through classic cocktails, low-intervention technique, and mortadella sandwiches that have developed their own following. The result is one of the most-awarded bars currently operating in Asia.
Mexico City, Mexico
On Álvaro Obregón in Roma Norte, Licoreria Limantour has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2014, reaching as high as #6 in 2021. The bar operates as a neighbourhood fixture first and an internationally ranked programme second — a combination that has made it the reference point for serious cocktail culture in Mexico City. Google reviewers rate it 4.4 across more than 3,600 ratings.
New York City, United States
Double Chicken Please revolutionizes New York City's cocktail scene through GN Chan's innovative "liquid dishes" concept, transforming beloved foods into extraordinary cocktails across two distinct spaces. This award-winning East Village destination earned Best Bar in North America 2023, offering both experimental cocktails on tap and intimate culinary-inspired mixology experiences.
Singapore, Singapore
Ranked #3 in Asia and #5 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Jigger & Pony has tracked Singapore's rise as a serious cocktail city since 2012. Operating from the Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar, the bar publishes annual 'menuzines' — editorial-format drink menus that have become collector items — anchored in classic technique and contemporary execution.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Ranked #17 in Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 and a three-time holder of the #1 Asia title, Coa occupies a lower-ground space on Shin Hing Street in Central with a forty-page agave spirits list and a cocktail programme that rotates a new drink every week. The food menu, developed with award-winning Mexican restaurant Chicano, grounds the experience in the culinary culture that produced the spirits on the shelf.
New York City, United States
On the 64th floor of a 1930s Art Deco tower in the Financial District, Overstory has placed in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2022, reaching #15 globally in 2024. The wrap-around open-air terrace delivers panoramic Manhattan views, while the drinks program — spirit-led, locally sourced, technically considered — ensures the bar earns its ranking on merit rather than altitude alone.
New York City, United States
Superbueno on First Avenue in the East Village holds North America's #2 bar ranking from World's 50 Best (2025) and a 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The bar runs a technically driven Mexican-American drinks program alongside a food menu built around refined cantina classics, all delivered through a hospitality approach that has made it one of New York's most-visited bars.
New Orleans, United States
Housed in an 1835 Creole cottage on St Louis Street in the French Quarter, Jewel of the South has become New Orleans' most decorated cocktail bar since opening in 2019. A 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar and a #4 ranking in North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 position it firmly at the top of the city's drinking hierarchy. The bar's identity is built around the historical cocktail record of New Orleans, refined rather than replicated.
Montréal, Canada
Concealed behind a made-to-measure menswear shop on Montreal's Golden Mile, Cloakroom is a 25-seat no-menu bar ranked #31 on World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars (2025). Bartenders, trained individually by co-owner and mixologist Andrew Whibley, read each guest's palate and build bespoke cocktails using house-made amari, rotary-evaporation extracts, and a vintage spirits collection nearly a decade in the making.
Seoul, South Korea
Ranked #2 in Asia and #9 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2024, Zest operates from a minimalist ground-floor space in Gangnam's Dosan-daero corridor, where a zero-waste cocktail programme draws on contract-farmed Korean ingredients, in-house urban beehives, and micro-distillery spirits. Co-founder Dohyung 'Demie' Kim won the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award 2024. Weekday hours run from 18:30, with weekend service beginning at 15:00.
New York City, United States
Katana Kitten on Hudson Street has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars global rankings every year since 2019, reaching #10 in 2021 and maintaining a North America top-15 position through 2024. The West Village bar occupies a specific niche in New York's cocktail scene: Japanese-American technique applied with enough precision to attract a loyal repeat clientele alongside the global bar crowd. Reservations are advised, particularly on weekends.
New York City, United States
A MacDougal Street fixture since 1915, Dante NYC has ranked among the world's most recognised bars for nearly a decade, holding the number-one spot on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2019. The bar's Italian aperitivo tradition, sustained critical recognition, and Greenwich Village address place it in a peer set well above the typical neighbourhood anchor. Google reviewers rate it 4.5 across more than 2,500 votes.
New York City, United States
Ranked #15 in North America and #75 globally by the World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Martiny's on East 17th Street has established itself as one of New York City's most consistently decorated bar programs. Its trajectory — from #68 globally in 2023 to #24 in 2024 — signals a bar operating with real upward momentum in a competitive Manhattan field. Google reviewers rate it 4.2 across 374 responses.
Singapore, Singapore
Housed inside Parkview Square's art deco tower on North Bridge Road, Atlas has ranked continuously in the World's 50 Best Bars since 2017 — peaking at number four globally in 2020. The bar's gin collection and art deco setting have made it a reference point for Singapore's cocktail scene, recognised by Tatler Asia for Best Design in 2024 and listed among the Top 500 Bars globally in 2025.
Guangzhou, China
Ranked #7 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and making its World's 50 Best Bars debut that same year, Hope & Sesame has operated from Guangzhou's Dongshankou district since 2016. Entry is through a concealed refrigerator door; the programme inside runs on ultrasonic infusion, rotary distillation, and seasonal menus built around regional flavour and cultural narrative.
Miami, United States
On Calle Ocho in Miami's Little Havana, Café La Trova has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars global ranking every year since 2021, reaching as high as #24 globally and #6 in North America. The bar channels classic Cuban cocktail culture through a program that has shifted and matured across four consecutive years of international recognition. Bookings are recommended; the address is 971 SW 8th St.
Toronto, Canada
A neon pineapple is the only sign you need. Civil Liberties on Bloor West operates without a menu, letting bartenders move through the conversation instead — through house-made fortified wines, seasonal liqueurs, and draft cocktails that have earned the bar a spot in the World's 50 Best North America rankings four consecutive years running. The room is deliberately unpretentious; the drinks are anything but.
Bangkok, Thailand
Ranked #12 globally and #7 in Asia by World's 50 Best Bars in 2024, BKK Social Club operates from inside the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River. Soaring arches, a mirrored back bar, and an al fresco terrace set the physical tone, while a Mexico-inspired menu built around mezcal, tepache, and horchata riffs delivers the substance behind the spectacle. Named to Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 and Top 500 Bars at #67, this is Bangkok's most consistently decorated destination bar.
Los Angeles, United States
A technique-driven cocktail bar on West Temple Street, Thunderbolt has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars global list four consecutive years running, most recently ranking #64 globally in 2024. The format is deliberately low-key: a neighbourhood-bar atmosphere that sits in sharp contrast to the precision of what arrives in the glass. R&D is the engine here, with original ingredients driving a program that consistently earns global recognition.
San Francisco, United States
True Laurel occupies a precise position in San Francisco's cocktail hierarchy: ranked #64 globally and #17 in North America by World's 50 Best Bars (2025), it applies European and Japanese technique to Bay Area produce, with results that place it in a different register from most Mission District bars. The 4.5-star Google rating across nearly 800 reviews suggests consistent execution, not just critical acclaim.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Located on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong in Central, Argo has placed on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2022, reaching as high as #34 globally and #3 in Asia. Named to Tatler's Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list, it operates at the upper tier of Hong Kong's hotel bar circuit, where programme depth and regional recognition matter as much as the address.
Tokyo, Japan
Ranked #65 in the World's 50 Best Bars 2025 and a fixture on the Asia's Best Bars list since 2019, The SG Club in Shibuya operates across two distinct floors with a program rooted in Japanese ingredient logic and international technique. Located in Jinnan, a quieter pocket above the Shibuya crossing noise, it draws a consistent crowd of serious drinkers and has held a place in the global top 25 as recently as 2021.
Singapore, Singapore
Nutmeg & Clove has spent eleven years building one of Asia-Pacific's most recognised bar programs from an eight-table saloon on Purvis Street. Named in Asia's Best Bars Top 10 multiple times and ranked #24 in the 2025 edition, it turns Singapore's neighbourhood memory — kopitiam counters, mama shop shelves, itinerant ice cream carts — into formally structured cocktails that read as cultural argument as much as drink.
Mexico City, Mexico
Ranked #20 in North America and #78 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Baltra Bar in Condesa has built a consistent presence at the top of Mexico City's cocktail scene over five consecutive years of recognition. Positioned on a quiet residential street in one of the city's most walkable neighbourhoods, it draws a crowd that takes its drinking seriously without the theatrics that define some of its peers.
Guadalajara, Mexico
El Gallo Altanero has ranked on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2022, reaching #48 globally in 2024 and placing eighth in North America in 2025. Located in Guadalajara's Colonia Americana, it represents the leading edge of Mexico's agave-driven cocktail movement and draws serious bar travellers well beyond the city's own circuit.
New York City, United States
At 30 Water St in Lower Manhattan, The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog has held a position at the top of the global bar rankings for over a decade, reaching number one on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2016. Across two distinct floors, it anchors Irish hospitality to serious cocktail craft in a Financial District setting that draws both locals and visitors with intention.
Los Angeles, United States
Ranked #12 on North America's Best Bars 2025 and #93 globally, Mírate on Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz positions producer-first Mexican spirits and technically precise cocktails within an open-air neighbourhood setting. The bar earned its place at the top tier of Los Angeles craft cocktail culture through a focused commitment to Mexican heritage ingredients rather than trend-chasing formats. Open daily from late afternoon through midnight on weekends.
Seoul, South Korea
Bar Cham has climbed from #50 in Asia's Best Bars in 2020 to #6 in 2025, placing it among the most consistently recognised cocktail bars on the continent. Situated in the Jongno District neighbourhood of Bukchon, the bar frames Korean aesthetics through classically grounded technique. It opens Wednesday through Monday from 18:00 to 01:00.
Tokyo, Japan
Bar High Five has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2011, reaching as high as #3 globally in 2013. Located in a basement in Ginza, it represents the classical Tokyo bar tradition — precise technique, minimal theatre, and drinks built around the guest rather than the menu. A 4.3 Google rating across 715 reviews reflects consistent execution over more than a decade.
Tulum, Mexico
Arca has held a position inside the World's 50 Best Bars global list every year since 2022, reaching #55 in 2024 and #77 in 2025, making it the most consistently decorated bar in the Yucatán Peninsula. Set on the Tulum beach road at Km 7.6, it operates where the jungle presses against the Caribbean coast and where fermented, foraged, and fire-driven drinks have become the dominant local idiom.
Bangkok, Thailand
Vesper has held a place on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, making it one of Bangkok's most consistently recognised cocktail programmes. Located on Soi Convent in Silom, it operates in the upper tier of a city that has built a serious regional reputation for bar culture. With a 4.5 Google rating across more than 1,100 reviews, the consensus among repeat visitors is clear.
Singapore, Singapore
Native on Amoy Street has spent nearly a decade placing Southeast Asian foraged and fermented ingredients at the centre of Singapore's cocktail conversation. Ranked among Asia's top bars every year since 2017, including a peak of #4 in Asia and #12 globally in 2019, it occupies a tier defined by conceptual rigour and ingredient provenance rather than spectacle or volume.
Washington DC, United States
On U Street NW, Service Bar has held a consistent position among North America's most recognised cocktail programs, appearing in the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list every year from 2022 to 2025. The format is deliberately unpretentious: serious drinks inside a neighbourhood joint atmosphere, where the bar's technical ambition doesn't announce itself with ceremony. Google reviewers rate it 4.6 across more than 800 responses.
Tokyo, Japan
Perched on the upper floors of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, Virtù has accumulated a consistent run of World's 50 Best recognition — including Asia's Best Bars positions in 2023, 2024, and 2025 — alongside the 2024 Michter's Art of Hospitality Award. The bar pairs skyline views across eastern Tokyo with a drinks program that maps Japanese produce onto a French spirits framework, served by a multilingual team with evident warmth.