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Cadzand, Netherlands
On the North Sea coast of Zeeland, Hotel de Blanke Top occupies a position that few Dutch coastal properties can match: a serious drinks programme, recognised by Star Wine List in 2026, set against the wide skies and tidal rhythms of Cadzand. For travellers making the trip to the Netherlands' southwestern edge, the bar here carries enough credential to justify the detour on its own terms.
Montpellier, France
Hôtel Pinard holds a Star Wine List recognition (2026) and occupies a historic address in Montpellier's old-town core, placing it among the city's more serious wine-bar addresses. The setting, on Rue des Trésorier de la Bourse, carries the architectural weight of the neighbourhood's merchant past. For visitors tracking the southern French wine-bar circuit, it warrants attention alongside the city's broader drinking scene.
Sölden, Austria
At 2,090 metres above Sölden, Hotel Schöne Aussicht occupies a position that few alpine properties can match: ski-out access, direct glacier sightlines, and a wine programme that goes well beyond the average mountain lodge. For skiers who want altitude without sacrificing the glass in hand, it sits in a distinct tier of Tyrolean highland hospitality.
Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
House on Heaton Road holds a Star Wine List award for 2026, placing it among a focused tier of Newcastle bars where the drinks programme carries serious curatorial weight. Located in the Heaton neighbourhood rather than the city centre circuit, it operates outside the obvious Saturday-night current, which tends to attract a more deliberate kind of drinker. The wine-led approach makes it a reference point for those tracking the North East's evolving bar scene.
New Orleans, United States
At 225 Decatur Street in the French Quarter, House of Blues New Orleans has spent three decades evolving from a novelty blues venue into one of the city's most recognizable live music institutions. It sits at the intersection of Southern gospel tradition, touring rock circuits, and local culture — a combination that keeps it relevant in a city where musical authenticity is the sharpest possible measure of credibility.
Køge, Denmark
Hugos No. 19 occupies a Brogade address in Køge that punches well above the town's profile, recognised by Star Wine List 2026 for a programme that rewards the kind of attention most provincial Danish bars don't ask for. The wine list is the main event, but the bar counter is worth your time regardless of what you're drinking.
Singapore, Singapore
Humpback on Bukit Pasoh Road has earned Star Wine List recognition for 2026, placing it among Singapore's more serious wine-focused bars. The shophouse corridor setting frames a program that rewards curiosity over convention. For those who treat the glass as the main event rather than an afterthought, Humpback is worth the detour.
Mosjøen, Norway
Huset i Gato sits on Sjøgata 15 in Mosjøen, a small northern Norwegian town better known for its preserved wooden streetscape than its bar scene. The venue earned a Star Wine List award in 2026, placing it in a credentialed tier that most towns this size cannot claim. For anyone passing through Helgeland, it represents a serious drinks stop in an otherwise thin field.
Bangkok, Thailand
Hyde & Seek Gastro Bar on Thanon Witthayu earned its place on Asia's Best Bars 50 list in 2016, signalling Bangkok's arrival in the region's serious cocktail conversation. The bar occupies a distinct position in the Lumphini district, pairing a considered drinks program with a setting that rewards guests who take their time.
Paris, France
Open since 2014 on Rue de Charenton in the 12th arrondissement, Ici Même has built its reputation around a program weighted toward biodynamic and natural wines, supplemented by magnums of Champagne and a strong wine-by-the-glass selection. The address sits outside Paris's more-trafficked bar corridors, drawing a clientele that comes specifically for the cellar rather than the neighbourhood foot traffic.
Seoul, South Korea
A natural wine bar and Korean fusion restaurant positioned beside Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul's Jongno District, Ida sits at the intersection of heritage geography and contemporary drinking culture. The address places it within walking distance of several major palace complexes, making it one of the few serious wine-focused venues in a neighbourhood better known for its dynastic architecture than its bottle lists.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan’s cocktail scene has shifted from rum shorthand toward bars that treat Caribbean and Latin ingredients as a full creative vocabulary. Identidad sits in that movement, with a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Best New Bar giving the room national context without stripping away its local point of view.
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Idilio Cocina y Vino earned a Star Wine List recognition in 2026, placing it among Palma's most serious wine-led dining addresses. Located on Carrer d'Antoni Frontera in the city's Nord quarter, it operates at the intersection of kitchen and cellar — a format that rewards guests who treat the glass as equal to the plate. Palma's wine-focused restaurant scene is still maturing, and Idilio sits at its more considered end.
Vienna, Austria
A Gumpendorfer Strasse address places If Dogs Run Free inside Vienna's most concentrated stretch of neighbourhood bars, where the drinks program has earned a 2025 Top 500 Bars ranking at position 494. The bar operates with the low-key confidence typical of Sixth District spots that attract serious drinkers rather than passing tourists. Booking ahead is advisable for evening visits.
Florence, Italy
Il Santino occupies a wine-bar format on Via Santo Spirito in Oltrarno, Florence's left-bank neighbourhood that sits at deliberate remove from the Duomo circuit. The draw is a serious by-the-glass list paired with small plates, in a room that rewards the kind of unhurried afternoon drinking that the neighbourhood was built for. It is the annexe to Il Latini-adjacent dining culture, done at counter scale.
Rome, Italy
A few steps from Vatican City, Il Sorpasso occupies a particular position in Rome's all-day drinking and eating culture: part wine bar, part trattoria, part neighbourhood anchor. The name references overtaking, movement, a crossing of thresholds, and the place delivers on that promise with a format that resists easy categorisation and rewards those who stay longer than planned.
Tel Aviv, Israel
Imperial Craft occupies a prime position on Tel Aviv's seafront at Atarim Square, earning a place in the World's 50 Best Bars twice — reaching No. 17 in 2015. The bar holds a 4.,000 reviews, signalling consistent delivery at volume. For serious cocktail drinkers visiting Tel Aviv, it remains a reference point on the city's bar circuit.
Geneva, Switzerland
Inda-Bar on Rue Henri-Blanvalet in Geneva's Eaux-Vives quarter holds a 2026 Star Wine List award, placing it among the Swiss bars where the drinks programme carries genuine critical weight. The room draws a neighbourhood crowd with serious intent, where the list goes beyond decoration and the cocktail approach reflects the kind of precision Geneva's bar scene has been quietly building for years.
Charleston, United States
On King Street's restaurant-dense corridor, Indaco draws a crowd that extends well beyond the neighborhood Italian premise. The bar program operates with the seriousness of a dedicated cocktail room, and the back bar carries the kind of depth that rewards slow drinking. It sits comfortably in Charleston's upper-casual tier, where the room, the glass, and the plate are all expected to perform.
Llansteffan, United Kingdom
On the upper reaches of a Welsh estuary village beneath a Norman castle, Inn at the Sticks operates across pub, restaurant, deli, and wine bar under one slate roof. The menu pulls Welsh staples — cockles, faggots, Perl Las blue cheese — into sharply executed sharing plates, then pivots without warning to Asian sticky pork or whipped feta with chilli crumb. The drinks list matches the kitchen's range of ambition.
Moscow, Russia
Ranked 13th on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2021, Insider Bar on Ulitsa Sretenka has positioned Moscow firmly within the global cocktail conversation. With a 4., it operates in the upper tier of the city's serious drinking culture, drawing both local regulars and internationally minded visitors to one of the capital's more considered bar programs.
Vienna, Austria
Intermezzo Bar sits on Johannesgasse 28 in Vienna's third district, a short walk from the Stadtpark and the city's embassy quarter. The address places it at the edge of the Innere Stadt's formal boundary, where the bar scene runs quieter and more considered than the tourist corridors closer to the Ringstrasse. For travelers oriented toward spirits curation and a measured pace, it is a practical and deliberate choice.
Monterrey, Mexico
A small wine bar in Monterrey's Del Valle neighbourhood, Invino operates with a Coravin preservation system that lets guests taste across the list by the glass without the usual bottle-commitment constraint. The format suits serious wine drinkers who want range over volume. Find it on Río Tamazunchale, a quiet residential stretch that keeps the clientele local and the atmosphere easy.
Osaka, Japan
A Tatler Asia-Pacific Best Bars 2025 listing in Osaka's Chuo Ward, Ista Coffee Element occupies the intersection of barista competition and cocktail craft. The menu fuses coffee-bar precision with bar-program technique, placing it in a small category of hybrid venues where espresso training and spirits knowledge operate at the same level. Located at 2-6-1 Kitakyuhoujimachi, it draws a crowd that takes both sides of that equation seriously.
Makati, Philippines
ITO occupies the ground floor of a Legazpi Village address that has become a reference point for seasonal Filipino cocktail culture in Makati. Named in Tatler Asia-Pacific's Best Bars list and awarded Best Innovation 2025 and Best Service 2026, the bar structures its program around cocktail flights that move through indigenous ingredients by season. The approach places it in a different tier from Makati's broader bar scene.
Tokyo, Japan
A family-owned three-floor wine bar tucked into Shibuya's Dogenzaka slope, Izakaya Vin dissolves the boundary between Japanese izakaya tradition and European wine culture. Its exterior blends into the neighbourhood's bar strip, but the interior operates with a seriousness that separates it from the surrounding foot traffic. For anyone spending a night in Shibuya with a preference for wine over whisky, this is the credible alternative to the city's Ginza-anchored bar circuit.
Chicago, United States
On North Halsted in Lincoln Park, J9 Wine Bar holds a different register from the neighbourhood's more performative dining rooms. A long dark wooden bar sets the tone: low-key, knowledgeable, and genuinely hospitable in a stretch that can skew toward style over substance. It is the kind of wine bar that rewards curiosity over familiarity.
New York City, United States
The address at 26 Bond Street places it among a tier of craft-focused downtown bars that reward regulars over tourists. Daytime and evening service shift the mood considerably, making the timing of your visit a decision worth making deliberately.
Lyon, France
Born from the event company Jaja Power, which Antoine Kochen and Chloé Courbière launched in 2018 to bring food and wine experiences to Lyon, Jaja Bistro opened in 2021 as a natural extension of that mission. Located on Rue Laurencin in the 2nd arrondissement, it sits at the intersection of Lyon's deep bistro tradition and a newer generation of wine-forward neighbourhood dining.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
On the second floor of a Staunton Street address in Central, James Suckling Wine Central occupies a specific position in Hong Kong's wine-bar tier: a programme anchored to the critical reputation of James Suckling, recognised by Star Wine List in 2026. The space draws a crowd that arrives knowing exactly what it wants, which is serious wine with serious provenance in a neighbourhood that rewards both.
Adelaide, Australia
On Peel Street, one of Adelaide's most concentrated blocks for independent drinking, Jennie Wine Bar holds a Star Wine List award for 2026 and positions itself within the city's growing cohort of serious, small-format wine spaces. The focus is on the glass rather than the spectacle, placing it alongside Adelaide's emerging bar culture without competing on the same terms.
Gotland, Sweden
A corner-shop market hall on Visby's cobbled eastern-gate street, Jessens Saluhall & Bar compresses the logic of a Scandinavian saluhall into an intimate neighbourhood format. The bar program runs alongside a curated selection of market goods, making it one of the more considered drinking stops in a city better known for its medieval walls than its cocktail culture. Worth finding before the summer crowds do.
Bergen, Norway
Jest at Vågsallmenningen 6 holds a Star Wine List recognition for 2026, placing it among Bergen's more seriously curated drinking addresses. The bar's central waterfront position puts it inside the city's most active hospitality corridor, where wine and spirits programs have grown considerably more ambitious over the past decade. For visitors focused on bottle depth and curation rather than cocktail theatrics, it merits attention.
Las Vegas, United States
An eastern-inspired steakhouse in downtown Summerlin, JING brings a format also found in Aspen and Denver to Las Vegas's westside residential corridor. The menu draws from Asian culinary traditions applied to American steakhouse conventions, offering an alternative to the Strip's high-volume dining machine. It reads as a neighborhood anchor with cross-market ambitions.
Paris, France
A Star Wine List–recognised bar on Rue de la Croix Nivert in Paris's 15th arrondissement, Jiuba Laurier brings focused wine programming to a neighbourhood more accustomed to local bistros than specialist drink destinations. The 2026 award recognition places it in a select tier of Paris bars where the list does serious work — worth knowing for those tracking the city's westward shift in drinking culture.
Baltimore, United States
A fixture on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore's Fells Point corridor, Johnny Rad's Pizzeria Tavern operates as the kind of neighborhood bar that a mid-size American city does well when it stops trying to be New York. Pizza, cold beer, and a room that feels broken in rather than designed — the appeal is direct and largely undecorated.
Vienna, Austria
Josef cocktailbar occupies a narrow storefront on Sterngasse in Vienna's first district, operating in a city where craft-cocktail programmes now split between high-volume tourist spots and low-key, technique-focused counters. With a minimal footprint and neighbourhood placement, it sits in the latter tier—worth a look if you want something quieter than the rooftop circuit.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Josephine Vinhandel & Bar on Frankrigsgade in Copenhagen's Amager district holds a 2026 Star Wine List award, placing it among Denmark's recognised wine destinations. The format — part wine shop, part bar — positions it in a growing Copenhagen niche where bottle retail and by-the-glass service share the same floor. It operates as a neighbourhood anchor with reach well beyond the postcode.
London, United Kingdom
Josette on Farringdon Road holds a Star Wine List award for 2026, placing it among a selective tier of London venues where the wine program carries as much weight as the kitchen. Located in EC1R, it draws a returning crowd that treats the list as a reason to keep coming back rather than a supporting act to the food.
Clichy, France
Josie par Rosette sits on Rue Victor Méric in Clichy, just north of Paris's 17th arrondissement boundary, and holds a 2026 Star Wine List award — placing it among a selective tier of French venues where the drinks programme drives the editorial conversation. The address puts serious wine and cocktail culture within reach of the capital without the premium that comes with a Paris postcode.
Zürich, Switzerland
Jules Verne Panoramabar occupies a high-floor perch above Uraniastrasse in central Zurich, positioning it among the city's refined drinking venues where altitude and cocktail craft operate in parallel. The bar draws a crowd that comes as much for the skyline as for the glass in hand, making it a reference point in Zurich's after-dark circuit rather than a footnote.
Malmö, Sweden
Julie has earned Star Wine List recognition four times since 2022, placing it among Malmö's most consistently noted addresses for wine. Located on Tegelgårdsgatan in central Malmö, it operates in the quieter, specialist tier of the city's drinking scene — where the list does the talking and the person behind the bar shapes the experience.
New York City, United States
June Wine Bar has anchored Carroll Gardens' natural wine scene since its early days as a neighborhood-first bottle shop with pours. Located at 231 Court St in Brooklyn, it operates in a tier of low-intervention wine bars where the floor staff's knowledge carries as much weight as the list itself. A recent addition to the team has given the program fresh momentum.
Vancouver, Canada
June is a bar in Vancouver that draws a loyal local following for its considered approach to cocktails and atmosphere. Situated within a city bar scene that increasingly rewards craft and consistency over novelty, June occupies the quieter, more deliberate end of Vancouver's drinking culture. Repeat visitors tend to return for the room as much as the glass.
Singapore, Singapore
Ranked #207 in the Top 500 Bars 2025, Jungle Ballroom occupies a shophouse on Duxton Hill, one of Singapore's most concentrated stretches of independent bars. The address puts it in direct company with some of the city's most recognised cocktail programs, and the recognition signals a bar operating well above neighbourhood novelty.
Taipei, Taiwan
A wine-forward bistro in Taipei's Xinyi District, Justin's Wine & Bistro has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026, placing it among Taiwan's most credentialed wine destinations. The address on Lane 32, Yixian Road positions it within one of the city's most active dining corridors, drawing a crowd that treats wine selection as seriously as the food it accompanies.
Aarhus, Denmark
A modern wine bar on Vestergade in central Aarhus, Jysk Vin Vinbar separates itself from the city's busier drinking spots through deliberate design: lounge chairs, focused spotlights, and semi-transparent fabric walls that carve the room into something between private and communal. It belongs to a small tier of Danish wine bars where atmosphere is the primary argument, and the selection follows from that same considered logic.
Spring Valley, United States
Kabuto Edomae Sushi occupies a quiet stretch of West Spring Mountain Road, where Las Vegas's most serious Japanese dining corridor thins out into something more considered. The room rewards those who know to look for it: a counter-driven format built around the Edomae tradition, positioned well above the Strip's theatrical sushi operations in both approach and expectation.
Budapest, Hungary
Kadarka Bar sits on Király utca in Budapest's VII District, holding a 2026 Star Wine List award that places it among the Hungarian capital's more credentialled wine bar addresses. The focus is on Hungarian and regional Central European wines, served in a compact space where the drinks programme and food menu are designed to work in close conversation with each other.
Berlin, Germany
The sixth floor of KaDeWe, Berlin's storied luxury department store on Tauentzienstraße, houses one of the city's most singular spots for champagne. Set among one of Europe's largest gourmet food halls, the Champagne Bar draws a mix of shopping-fatigued West Berlin regulars and visitors with a taste for fizz without formality. Arrive mid-afternoon to avoid the weekend rush.
New York City, United States
South African wines occupy a rare position on New York City wine lists — and Kaia Wine Bar on the Upper East Side has spent years correcting that absence. Founded by South African native Suzaan Hauptfleisch, the bar at 1446 1st Ave gives Cape winemaking traditions a dedicated platform in a city that has historically overlooked them, drawing a loyal crowd that returns for the depth of the list rather than novelty.
San Francisco, United States
KAIYŌ Rooftop occupies the twelfth floor of 701 3rd St in San Francisco's SoMa district, positioning itself among the city's refined bar venues with views that frame the Bay and Oracle Park. The address places it at the edge of the Mission Bay development corridor, a neighbourhood that has shifted considerably over the past decade from light industry to hospitality and tech. Book ahead where possible; rooftop capacity in this tier rarely allows walk-in flexibility on weekends.
Vilnius, Lithuania
A neighbourhood wine bar that arrived with Paupys, one of Vilnius's most deliberate urban regeneration projects, Kalba žmonės draws a crowd that values atmosphere over spectacle. Run by veteran hospitality operator Mantas Žemaitis, it occupies a confident position in the city's growing natural wine and low-intervention bar scene — the kind of place that fills up on a Tuesday without advertising.
Reykjavík, Iceland
On Laugavegur, Reykjavik's main commercial artery, Kaldi Bar/Café occupies a position that has made it a fixture of the city's casual drinking scene. The bar trades on Kaldi's domestic brewing credentials, giving it a specific identity within a Reykjavik bar circuit that otherwise skews toward imported lager and cocktail formats. A reliable address for Icelandic craft beer without the tourist-facing theatrics of the old town.
Philadelphia, United States
Kampar Kongsi is a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Bar in Philadelphia, PA.
Tbilisi, Georgia
A candlelit natural wine bar positioned steps from the Georgian Chancellery on Pavle Ingorokva Street, Kancellaria arrives at a moment when Tbilisi's wine scene is drawing serious international attention. The format pairs European food with a natural wine selection inside an intimate, low-lit interior, placing it squarely within the city's growing cohort of specialist wine-focused rooms.
Taipei, Taiwan
A 13-seat cocktail bar tucked into Da'an District's residential backstreets, Kashoku brings Japanese-style bar craftsmanship to Taipei in a format that rewards patience over impulse. Named to Tatler Asia-Pacific's Best Bars list for 2025, it operates in the intimate, vinyl-soundtracked register that defines the city's most considered drinking spaces.
Stockholm, Sweden
Kasten occupies the Fredrikshovsgatan 4 address in Östermalm that longtime Stockholm diners will recognise from Eriks Bakficka, now operating under the Jim & Jacob restaurant group. The bistro format to the right and the broader room to the left mark a considered reinvention of a well-worn neighbourhood address. For visitors exploring Stockholm's mid-tier dining scene, Kasten represents continuity through change at one of Östermalm's more storied corners.
Columbus, United States
Katalina's in Harrison West occupies a low-key corner of one of Columbus's most character-driven neighbourhoods, drawing a loyal local crowd to its relaxed, food-forward space at 1105 Pennsylvania Ave. The drinks program here reflects the broader shift in mid-sized American cities toward creative, produce-driven cocktails that sit comfortably alongside serious brunch and lunch plates. It is the kind of place that rewards the unhurried visitor.
Seoul, South Korea
A Cheongdong address that appeared twice on Asia's 50 Best Bars list in 2017 and 2018, Keepers is among the bar programs that helped establish Seoul's cocktail credentials on the regional stage. Located in Gangnam's Cheongdam neighbourhood, it holds a 4..
New York City, United States
Positioned on one of Greenwich Village's most storied blocks, Kees at 1 Cornelia Street brings a focused approach to modern cocktail classics alongside snacks, earning Star Wine List recognition in 2026.
Baku, Azerbaijan
On a quiet street near Baku's Old Town, Kefli operates as a wine bar that has earned a following among those who pay attention. The atmosphere reads as relaxed and unassuming, but the drinks programme carries a seriousness that puts it in a different tier from the city's more obvious options. It rewards the effort of finding it.
Placentia, United States
Esquire selected Kelly’s Korner Tavern in Placentia for its 2026 Best Bars in America list.
Blofield, United Kingdom
A roadside village pub on Norwich's eastern edge that earns its detour through serious cooking rather than cosmetic charm. The Hogg family's kitchen leans into honest British ingredients, from Swannington Farm to Fork meat to local Norfolk produce, with a drinks list that pulls Brixton Ales and Aspall cider alongside gluggable wines. Easy to miss on the Yarmouth Road; harder to forget once you've sat down.
London, United Kingdom
Kioku Sake Bar occupies the ground floor of The OWO, the former Old War Office on Whitehall, where a Japanese approach to sake and hospitality meets one of London's most architecturally weighted addresses. The bar draws on local British ingredients filtered through a Japanese sensibility, positioning it within a small tier of London drinking rooms that treat provenance and ritual with equal seriousness.
Sydney, Australia
A former mechanic's garage in Turramurra has become the upper North Shore's most credible drinking address, delivering CBD-calibre bar craft against a backdrop of leafy suburban calm. Kipling's Garage Bar represents a genuine shift in where serious cocktail culture operates in Sydney, pulling the conversation well north of the harbour.
Melbourne, Australia
Kirk's Wine Bar on Hardware Lane sits inside Melbourne's European pavement café tradition with the ease of somewhere that's never tried too hard. The wine pours freely, the food lands exactly when you need it, and the corner position on one of the CBD's most animated pedestrian laneways makes it easy to lose an afternoon without noticing.
Paris, France
Ranked #450 in the Top 500 Bars (2025), Kissproof occupies a corner of Belleville that Paris's cocktail circuit has taken notice of without fully colonising. The bar sits on Rue de Belleville in the 20th arrondissement, outside the concentrated bar districts of the Marais or Saint-Germain, which is precisely what gives it a different register from the capital's more appointment-driven destinations.
Syracuse, United States
A fixture on West Fayette Street in downtown Syracuse, Kitty Hoyne's Irish Pub carries the weight of the American Irish pub tradition with a straightforwardness that feels increasingly rare in a bar scene pivoting toward craft cocktail theater. It occupies the kind of space where the architecture does the storytelling, and the draw is more about continuity than novelty.
Vienna, Austria
Ranked among the leading 500 Bars globally (No. 385, 2025), Kleinod Bar occupies a discreet address on Singerstraße in Vienna's First District, where the city's tradition of refined drinking culture meets a quieter, more considered register. The bar operates in an upper tier of Vienna's cocktail scene, a reference point for occasions that call for precision over spectacle.
Oslo, Norway
A Star Wine List-recognised bar at Vulkan 9 in Oslo's Grünerløkka-adjacent food district, Klink. operates at the intersection of serious wine programming and neighbourhood accessibility. Oslo's natural wine and specialist wine bar scene has grown sharply in recent years, and Klink. sits within that movement as one of the capital's credentialled options for list depth and glass-poured discovery.
Millcreek, United States
Kobe Sushi sits on Wasatch Boulevard in Millcreek, Utah, occupying a stretch of the east-side corridor where suburban dining expectations and serious Japanese technique occasionally converge. The restaurant draws a neighborhood following that extends well beyond the immediate zip code, positioning it within a small tier of Salt Lake Valley Japanese spots where the food does more work than the decor. Booking ahead is advisable, particularly on weekends.
Jakarta, Indonesia
Koda operates on a Dealer's Choice format inside a quietly appointed bar off Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, where the bartender builds your drink from a declared base spirit, mood, and style rather than a fixed menu. Seasonal cocktails draw on local Indonesian ingredients, and the room's warm wood tones and banquette seating make it one of Jakarta's more considered spots for an unhurried evening at the bar.
Barbaresco, Italy
A Japanese-owned wine bar on Barbaresco's central piazza, Koki Wine Bar is the natural recovery point after a hike through the Langhe vineyards from Alba. Owner Koki Sato brings an outsider's precision to one of Piedmont's most territorial wine cultures, making this small bar an unexpectedly considered stop in a village that most visitors pass through rather than pause in.
Kyoto, Japan
Komorebino occupies the ground floor of the Hanami Kaikan building in Higashiyama, Kyoto's most preserved historic ward. A double Star Wine List recipient in both 2025 and 2026, it holds a position among the city's more wine-serious drinking establishments. For visitors approaching Kyoto's bar scene with a focus on the glass rather than the pour, it merits attention.
San Francisco, United States
The name signals an influence rooted in Pacific and Hawaiian street-food culture, translated into a bar format on 3rd Street that draws a loyal local following.
Belgrade, Serbia
A Dalmatian-coast outpost in Belgrade's Stari Grad district, Konoba & Wine Bar Tata Mata brings Adriatic seafood and regional wine to a city more associated with grilled meats and rakija. The wine bar format places it in a growing Belgrade niche where coastal Dalmatian traditions meet the Serbian capital's appetite for sit-down drinking culture. Worth knowing for those working through the city's emerging wine bar circuit.
Kojsko, Slovenia
You cross from Italy into Slovenia on foot to reach Konvin, an outdoor wine bar sitting among the vineyards of Goriška Brda. The format is deliberately spare: a small shop, a patio, and an outdoor kitchen, all surrounded by the vines that produce the wines poured here. It is one of the more geographically arresting drinking experiences in the western Balkans.
Rørvik, Norway
Kork Vinbar & Scene in Rørvik holds a 2026 Star Wine List award, placing it in credentialed company on Norway's coastal wine bar circuit. On a stretch of the Trøndelag coast where serious wine programming is rare, this address on Strandgata reads as the kind of venue that earns recognition precisely because it operates somewhere the competition is thin and the commitment has to be real.
Whitley Bay, United Kingdom
A natural wine shop, deli and bar on the Whitley Bay seafront strip, Kork occupies a format that remains genuinely rare on the North East coast: drop-in, low-pressure, and stocked with producers that most regional wine lists ignore. Come for a glass and something from the counter, and leave with a bottle you hadn't planned on buying.
