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San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Bekeb sits inside Hotel Live Aqua and ranks among North America's most recognised cocktail bars, landing at #27 on the World's 50 Best North America list in 2024 before moving to #49 in 2025. The programme is female-led and plant-driven, rooting its drinks in Mexican herbalism and contemporary technique. Minimalist design and precise, unhurried service define the room.
Oslo, Norway
Behind an unassuming wooden door on Storgata, Himkok operates across several floors and formats: a draft cocktail bar, a terrace pouring local ciders, a barbershop, and a ground-floor distillery bar where house-made aquavit, gin, and vodka go directly from still to glass. Ranked #6 in Top 500 Bars (2025) and #11 in World's 50 Best Bars (2024), it is one of Scandinavia's most consistently recognised cocktail programmes.
Rome, Italy
Drink Kong has held a position on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2020, placing it in the upper tier of Rome's bar scene and among Italy's most globally recognized cocktail programs. Set across multiple rooms in Celio, the bar runs nightly from 18:30 with a menu format that guides guests by sensation rather than category. A serious destination for those who treat cocktails as a discipline.
London, United Kingdom
Kwant occupies a Mayfair address dressed in hand-painted Polynesian tapa art and retro furnishings, built around a serious collection of vintage spirits and seasonal cocktails. It has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars since 2019, peaking at number six globally in 2020. For London's vintage spirits tier, it remains among the more credentialed addresses in the city.
London, United Kingdom
Ranked #40 in the Top 500 Bars (2025) and a consistent presence in the World's 50 Best Bars since 2019, Lyaness on London's South Bank operates at the upper tier of ingredient-led cocktail bars.
Singapore, Singapore
Manhattan at Conrad Singapore Orchard holds among the more decorated track records in Asian cocktail history, ranking as high as #1 in Asia's 50 Best Bars and #3 globally. Named the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 Best Service winner, the bar frames Golden Age American cocktail culture through a Singaporean lens.
Macau, Macau
Named Tatler Asia's Best Bar of the Year for Macau in 2025 and a fixture on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific list, The St Regis Bar occupies the second floor of The Londoner Macao in Cotai, translating the St Regis New York's formal cocktail tradition into the Pearl River Delta's most awards-dense hospitality corridor. The bar positions itself in the hotel-lobby tier where drinks programming and food pairing receive equal weight alongside the room's considered aesthetics.
Seoul, South Korea
Le Chamber has appeared on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, reaching as high as #17 in 2018 and holding a place in the 2025 ranking at #50. Located one floor below street level on Dosan-daero 55-gil in Gangnam's Cheongdam corridor, it operates in the tier of Seoul bars that shaped the city's international cocktail reputation.
Mexico City, Mexico
Hanky Panky belongs to Mexico City's serious cocktail tier: a speakeasy-format bar with repeated 50 Best recognition, including No. 35 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 and No. 62 on Top 500 Bars 2026. Its identity sits between international cocktail technique and Mexican ingredient culture, making it useful for travelers comparing the city's bar scene beyond restaurant-led nightlife.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Ranked #30 among North America's Best Bars in 2025 by World's 50 Best, Library by the Sea sits at Seven Mile Beach and holds a 4.. It is the strongest argument that the Cayman Islands now belongs in the same conversation as the continent's serious cocktail cities. The back bar's depth and the programme's consistency have earned it back-to-back continental recognition.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Hong Kong's first closed-loop sustainable bar, Penicillin on Hollywood Road has held a place on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2021, reaching #22 in 2022 and #27 in 2025. The bar operates on a zero-waste philosophy that shapes every element of the program, from fermentation to foraging, earning it a place on Tatler's Best 20 Bars Hong Kong 2025 alongside a global ranking of #59 on Top 500 Bars.
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..
Vancouver, Canada
On East Georgia Street in Vancouver's Chinatown-adjacent corridor, Laowai occupies a part of the city where older immigrant food traditions and newer independent restaurant culture have been converging for years. The address places it inside one of Vancouver's more texturally interesting dining neighbourhoods, where sourcing decisions and cultural framing carry as much weight as technique.
Oaxaca, Mexico
Selva reads Oaxaca through the glass: agave, market produce, regional botanicals and a design language that keeps the city’s biodiversity in view. Its North America’s Best Bars run from 2022 to 2025, plus a Top 500 Bars rank of 72 for 2026, places it in Oaxaca’s serious cocktail tier rather than the casual mezcal-stop circuit.
Singapore, Singapore
One of Singapore's most decorated cocktail bars, 28 HongKong Street occupies a converted shophouse on 28 Hong Kong St and has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2012. A sustained run of recognition — including a #1 Asia ranking in 2016 — places it among the bars that shaped the city's modern cocktail identity.
New York City, United States
Angel's Share on Grove Street in the West Village operates at the more considered end of New York's wine bar spectrum, earning Opinionated About Dining Casual recognition in 2025. The list leans toward producer-driven selections with a format suited to extended, unhurried drinking. Its 4.,700 reviews signals consistent execution rather than occasional brilliance.
San Francisco, United States
Smuggler's Cove on Gough Street is San Francisco's most decorated rum bar, appearing in the World's 50 Best Bars every year from 2011 to 2016 and. The bar opens daily from 5pm and closes at 1:45am, making it one of the city's later-running serious cocktail destinations.
Athens, Greece
Barro Negro occupies a tight address in central Athens at Ioannou Paparrigopoulou 15, positioning it within walking distance of the city's most discussed contemporary dining rooms. The name — black clay — signals a certain material seriousness, and the venue draws a crowd that treats the meal as a considered sequence rather than a quick cover. Athens diners who track the city's creative end of the market tend to have it on their rotation.
Toronto, Canada
On Queen Street West, Mother has ranked among North America's top bars three consecutive years on the World's 50 Best list, reaching #37 in 2023. The program is built around fermentation, with bar lead Massimo Zitti — 2022 Internationally prominent Canada Bartender of the Year — drawing on ingredients like bee pollen and black garlic. The food earns its own attention, particularly the garlic-and-Parmesan fries and house-made sourdough with miso butter.
New Orleans, United States
A Freret Street institution since 2009, Cure operates out of a converted horse and carriage firehouse and has maintained a position among North America's most recognised bars for over a decade. Its 2025 World's 50 Best North America ranking (#50) confirms continued relevance in a cocktail city that demands more than novelty. For serious drinkers, this is where New Orleans' classic cocktail revival took root.
New York City, United States
Maison Premiere has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list since 2014, operating from a 19th-century New Orleans-inspired room on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. The bar program centers on absinthe and raw shellfish, two categories that reward attention and patience in equal measure. A 4.,900 reviews reflects a following that extends well beyond cocktail enthusiasts.
Bratislava, Slovakia
Inside Bratislava's Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Mirror Bar has climbed from local curiosity to a fixture on the global bar circuit, ranking 46th in the Top 500 Bars (2025) and 62nd in the World's 50 Best Bars (2024). The programme, led by bar ambassadors Stanislav Harcinik and Peter Marcina, fuses classical cocktail structure with theatrical presentation and locally-made glassware, set inside a room designed around forest greens, botanical installations, and a full-size handcrafted tree.
Miami, United States
Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Company has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list since 2017, reaching as high as #21 globally in 2018. Located on 20th Street in Miami Beach, it operates as among the more credentialed cocktail bars in Florida, drawing both local regulars and visiting drinkers who track the North America rankings closely.
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
The bar draws on Mexican botanical and agricultural traditions to build a drinks program that sits well outside the resort-corridor norm, making it a reference point for serious bar culture in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Bangkok, Thailand
Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar occupied Bangkok's top tier of cocktail recognition through 2023 and 2024, reaching #19 and #57 respectively in the World's 50 Best Bars global ranking. Positioned on the second floor of a Bang Rak address, it represents the precision-led, concept-driven school of Thai bartending that has placed Bangkok alongside Singapore and Tokyo as a credible force in Asian cocktail culture.
Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka
Ranked #14 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and #67 globally by World's 50 Best, Smoke & Bitters operates from an unlikely address on Sri Lanka's south coast, turning Hiriketiya's surf-village setting into one of the region's most credentialed cocktail programs. A 4.,100 reviews confirms the bar's hold on visitors who rarely expect to find this level of craft this far from a major city.
Seoul, South Korea
Alice Cheongdam has appeared on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, reaching #11 in 2016 and #13 in 2025, making it among the more consistently recognised cocktail bars in the region. Located in the basement of a Cheongdam-dong address, the bar draws on an Alice in Wonderland concept that shapes both its spatial design and its drinks program. Open until 2am on weekdays and 3am on weekends, it runs deep into Seoul's night.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Florería Atlantico is Buenos Aires drinking culture at its internationally recognised end: a cocktail bar whose programme draws on migration, Indigenous influence, and Argentina’s Atlantic-facing history. Its long run on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, including #46 in 2024 and #90 in 2025, makes it a reference point for visitors comparing the city’s serious cocktail rooms.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Coley in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, has held a place on Asia's Best Bars rankings continuously since 2018, reaching as high as #27 on the World's 50 Best Asia's list. The bar operates at the intersection of cocktail craft and culinary thinking, drawing ingredients from the region's produce to blur the boundary between drink and food. Tatler Asia named it among the stronger 20 Bars in Asia-Pacific for 2025 and 2026.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Three X Co has held a place on Asia's Best Bars list since 2021, reaching #15 in the 2025 rankings while adding Tatler Asia's Best Service recognition for 2026.
Berlin, Germany
Wax On sits on Weserstrasse in Neukölln, one of Berlin's most competitive bar corridors, and has climbed to #57 on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2025 after reaching #29 in 2023. The bar pairs a technical cocktail programme with a food offer calibrated to extend the session rather than just fill the gap between drinks.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Reka sits in Bukit Damansara's quiet residential belt, operating as one of Kuala Lumpur's most-awarded cocktail bars without the central-district foot traffic of its peers. Named to the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific list with three separate badges, including Best Innovation (2026) and Best Design (2025), it also holds a place in Asia's 50 Best Bars (ranked 41st in 2024, 47th in 2025) and Top 500 Bars. Its program centres on Asian-inflected, sustainability-driven mixology.
Bangkok, Thailand
Named Tatler Asia's Best New Bar for 2025 and ranked fifth in Asia's 50 Best Bars the same year, Dry Wave Cocktail Studio operates from the second floor of SODALITY on Thonglor Soi 13, positioning nature as its primary creative framework. Under bar lead Palm Suphawit Muttaratan, the studio has moved quickly from newcomer to one of Bangkok's most closely watched bar programs, drawing attention across the Asia-Pacific circuit within its first year of recognition.
Rome, Italy
Ranked #37 in Top 500 Bars and #58 in the World's 50 Best Bars for 2025, Freni e Frizioni has become one of Rome's most consistently recognised drinking destinations. Set in Trastevere, it draws a loyal nightly crowd from aperitivo hour through to the early morning. Its trajectory across three consecutive years in the 50 Best rankings signals a bar that has moved well past cult-local status.
Sydney, Australia
Maybe Sammy gives Sydney's cocktail scene a rare thing: grand-hotel polish without grand-hotel stiffness. Its theatre-led drinks programme, pink-jacketed service style, and repeated World's 50 Best Bars recognition place it in the city's international cocktail bracket rather than the casual bar lane.
New York City, United States
Please Don't Tell (PDT) entered the New York cocktail conversation in 2007 through a phone booth hidden inside a hot dog counter on St. Marks Place, and it spent the next several years at the summit of the World's 50 Best Bars rankings, reaching No. 1 in 2011.
Oslo, Norway
On Karl Johans gate, Oslo's main boulevard, Svanen occupies a central position in a city whose dining scene has undergone one of the more consequential shifts in Northern Europe over the past two decades. A practical first stop for understanding how the city eats beyond its celebrated tasting-menu circuit.
Paris, France
Ranked #18 on Top 500 Bars and #39 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024, Bar Nouveau brings the Art Nouveau movement to life across two floors at 5 Rue des Haudriettes in the Marais. A six-cocktail menu split between pre-industrial and modern techniques mirrors the bar's two-level design philosophy. No reservations are taken, so arriving at the 3pm opening is the practical strategy for securing a seat.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
On Hollywood Road in Central, Quinary has anchored Hong Kong's serious cocktail scene since 2012. Named to the World's 50 Best Bars list every year from 2013 through 2021, and ranked among Asia's Best Bars consistently through 2025, it sits in a peer tier defined by technical precision and longevity rather than novelty.
Austin, United States
Nickel City is an East Austin dive bar on E 11th Street that has earned back-to-back placement on World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars (#70, 2025) and Top 500 Bars (#406, 2025). Its no-frills format, strong drinks program, and neighbourhood credibility have made it one of the more closely watched bars on the Austin circuit for those who value substance over spectacle.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A modern, functional oasis with refined classics
Tokyo, Japan
Bar Trench in Ebisu has held a place on Asia's 50 Best Bars list continuously since 2016, reaching as high as #16 in 2018 and appearing on the World's 50 Best Bars in 2025. The bar draws a devoted following for its spirits-forward approach and the depth of its back bar.
Seoul, South Korea
Soko occupies a quiet address in Seoul's Yongsan District, positioning itself within a city where occasion dining has become increasingly codified and competitive. With sparse public data and a deliberately low profile, it represents a tier of Seoul restaurants where discovery still precedes reputation. Plan accordingly, and research current details before visiting.
Shanghai, China
Speak Low has placed on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, reaching as high as #10 globally in 2017. Spread across three floors of a former French Concession shophouse on Fuxing Middle Road, it remains among the more consistently recognised cocktail bars in Asia-Pacific, appearing on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list and holding a 4..
Toronto, Canada
Behind a whitewashed-brick gallery façade on Dundas West, Cry Baby Gallery conceals a golden-lit bar with a curved counter and a drinks list that earns its ranking at #68 on World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars 2025. The whisky, agave, and amari selection runs deeper than the room's art-gallery aesthetic suggests, and the cocktail program rewards the curious. Plan ahead: the room is small and word has spread.
Paris, France
Little Red Door has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2013, reaching as high as sixth globally. Tucked into Rue Charlot in the Haut-Marais, it functions as a serious cocktail address that has shaped how Paris thinks about bar culture — drawing a neighbourhood crowd as readily as international visitors.
Honolulu, United States
Bar Leather Apron holds a James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar (2023) and a position on North America's 50 Best Bars list, making it one decorated cocktail program in Hawaii. Located in downtown Honolulu on Fort Street, it operates in a city where serious bar culture has historically been overshadowed by resort hospitality — and consistently punches above that context.
Tirana, Albania
Ranked #39 in the Top 500 Bars (2025) and #86 in the World's 50 Best Bars (2023), Nouvelle Vague has placed Tirana on the global cocktail map through a programme built around native Albanian ingredients and local spirits, particularly raki. The current menu, Origin'al, draws on forgotten culinary traditions and collaborations with small producers across Albania, translating heritage into technically precise, story-driven serves.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tres Monos sits at #7 on the World's 50 Best Bars list (2024), yet its Palermo address, graffiti-covered walls, and neon-lit interior read closer to a neighbourhood dive than a global cocktail destination. The bar's depth comes from serious local sourcing — including own-label spirits produced with Argentine grains and herbs — and a social training programme that puts community at the centre of its operation.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Bird sits on Frederiksberg's Gl. It occupies a tier of Copenhagen bars that competes internationally rather than locally, placing it alongside the city's most credentialed drinking rooms. For visitors tracking the Danish cocktail scene's rise on the global stage, it is a reference point.
Mexico City, Mexico
Café de Nadie has ranked inside the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars every year from 2022 to 2025, peaking at #15 in 2022. Located in Roma Norte on Chihuahua 135, the bar operates in one of Mexico City's most competitive cocktail corridors. Its sustained award presence over four consecutive years positions it among the more consistently recognised bars on the continent.
Jakarta, Indonesia
Named Asia's 12th Best Bar for 2025 and a Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific Best Design winner, Modernhaus on Jl. Senopati operates at the upper tier of Jakarta's bar scene. The Kebayoran Baru address places it inside South Jakarta's most design-conscious dining corridor, where the drinks programme and its accompanying food offer are built to work in close conversation with each other.
Shanghai, China
Sober Company on Yandang Road ranked on Asia's 50 Best Bars from 2017-2022, returned to the extended Asia list at #92 in 2024 and #81 in 2025, and peaked at #5 in Asia and #39 globally in 2021. Located in Huangpu, it represents the serious, technically driven tier of Shanghai's cocktail scene — a bar that has sustained international recognition long enough to anchor conversations about where Chinese bartending stands on the global stage.
Lima, Peru
Carnaval belongs to Lima’s serious cocktail conversation: a bar treated by Opinionated About Dining as part of the city’s dining culture rather than as an after-hours add-on. Aaron Diaz’s name gives the project a clear authorial line, but the larger point is Lima’s shift toward drinks programs with the structure, pacing, and recognition usually reserved for restaurants.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Gokan brings Japanese mixology to Central's Ice House Street with a program serious enough to earn placement at #33 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and #70 globally in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings. Named Tatler's Best New Bar Hong Kong 2025, it occupies a specific niche in Hong Kong's bar scene where Japanese sensory philosophy and technical precision meet one of Asia's most competitive cocktail markets.
Naples, Italy
Open daily from 18:00 to 03:00, the bar occupies a space that blurs antique-cabinet atmosphere with serious drink-making credentials, positioning it at the upper tier of Southern Italy's bar scene.
London, United Kingdom
Three Sheets on Kingsland Road has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars list six consecutive times, peaking at #16 in 2019. Located in Dalston, east London, the bar holds a 4., technically precise tier of London cocktail culture. Booking ahead is advisable, particularly on weekends.
London, United Kingdom
Waltz occupies a quietly deliberate address on Scrutton Street in Shoreditch's eastern fringe, where EC2A's tech-corridor offices give way to a more considered after-dark scene. The bar sits in the tier of London drinking rooms defined less by spectacle than by what's in the glass and how it's framed — a useful reference point for anyone tracking where serious wine and drink curation has landed in east London.
Shanghai, China
Coa Shanghai brings the agave-forward cocktail tradition of its Hong Kong sibling to Huangpu, earning placement on Asia's Best Bars 2025 and a ranking of #85 on World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars. The programme centres on tequila and mezcal, placing it within a small but growing cohort of spirits-specialist bars redefining Shanghai's cocktail scene. Named on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list, it is one of the city's most recognised agave destinations.
Portland, United States
The room draws a loyal crowd that returns for depth of selection and a programme built around serious Scotch without the library-scale spectacle of larger Portland whisky venues.
Manila, Philippines
On Legazpi Street in Makati, The Curator has held a place in Asia's Best Bars rankings every year since 2016, peaking at #16 and sitting at #78 in 2025. Open from early morning through the small hours most nights, it operates as both a serious coffee address and a recognised cocktail bar — a dual identity that reflects its role in the neighbourhood rather than a single-category pitch.
Bangkok, Thailand
Opium occupies a century-old shophouse in Samphanthawong, Bangkok's former opium-smoking district, and has built one of the city's most critically recognised bar programs from that charged address. Named to Asia's 50 Best Bars at number 43 and the World's 50 Best Bars at number 92 in 2025, it draws serious cocktail drinkers who value historical weight alongside what's in the glass.
Mexico City, Mexico
Brujas has held a position in the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars rankings for three consecutive years, peaking at #45 in 2024 before settling at #65 in 2025. Located in Santa Cruz Xochitepec, it sits outside the well-worn circuit of Roma and Condesa bar crawls, drawing guests willing to make the trip for a programme that has sustained serious international attention.
Cardiff, United Kingdom
Ranked #306 in the Top 500 Bars 2025, Lab 22 occupies a narrow slot in Cardiff's cocktail scene where Welsh ingredients, interactive formats, and a deliberately intimate atmosphere converge. Caroline Street is not the obvious address for serious bar craft, which makes the programme here all the more deliberate. For the UK's regional bar circuit, this is one of the more considered entries.
Johannesburg, South Africa
Sin + Tax has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list in both 2023 and 2024, and ranks #195 on the Top 500 Bars global index for 2025, placing it firmly among Johannesburg's most recognised drinking destinations. Located at the corner of Bolton and Jan Smuts Avenue, the bar draws a crowd that takes its drinks seriously without taking itself too seriously. The food programme runs alongside the cocktail list with enough intention to make the pairing worth your attention.
Hamburg, Germany
Once a consistent presence in the World's 50 Best Bars top 25, Le Lion Bar de Paris at Rathausstraße 3 sits at the serious end of Hamburg's cocktail spectrum. The room leans toward old-world discretion rather than theatrical spectacle, placing it in a category of European bars that treat the drink as the central proposition.
Mexico City, Mexico
Rayo sits inside a Roma Norte mansion and operates at the summit tier of Mexico City's bar scene, ranking #5 in North America and #87 globally on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2024. The programme draws on the Aztec mythology of Mayáhuel, channelling it into technically precise cocktails built entirely from Mexican-made spirits and ingredients. A rooftop laboratory format and 4..
Chicago, United States
The Aviary sits at the intersection of cocktail theatre and serious bar food in Chicago's Fulton Market district. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 5pm, it operates at a level where reservations are not optional.
Bangkok, Thailand
Firefly at Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok occupies a specific position in the city's hotel-bar tier: art deco interiors layered with Thai artistic references, a cocktail programme recognised by Asia's Best Bars (no. 82, 2025) and Tatler Best Bars Thailand 2025, and a Lumphini address that draws both hotel guests and Bangkok's more deliberate bar crowd. It ranks among the stronger cases for the upscale hotel-bar format in Southeast Asia.
Tokyo, Japan
Punch Room at Edition Tokyo sits on the second floor of the Tokyo Edition Ginza, ranked #36 among Asia's Best Bars in 2025 and #262 in the Top 500 Bars globally. The bar operates within the international Punch Room format — centred on communal punch bowls and a considered drinks program — positioned inside one of Ginza's most closely watched hotel openings. For serious bar travellers in Tokyo, it belongs on the same itinerary as the neighbourhood's established craft counters.
Singapore, Singapore
On Amoy Street in Singapore's Tanjong Pagar conservation district, Stay Gold Flamingo runs an American- and Japanese-inspired cocktail program that has earned Asia's Best Bars recognition in consecutive years, including a #32 ranking in 2023 and #63 in 2024. The bar occupies a shophouse format that divides neatly between early-evening approachability and late-night intensity, making its award trajectory one of the more closely watched in the regional scene.
Taichung, Taiwan
Ranked #20 in Asia and #74 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Vender has become the reference point for serious cocktail craft in Taichung. Located in the West District, it has climbed steadily through Asia's rankings over three consecutive years, placing Taiwan's second city firmly on the international bar circuit. For anyone tracing the arc of Taiwan's cocktail scene beyond Taipei, this is a necessary stop.
Seoul, South Korea
Charles H. brings hotel-bar polish to Seoul’s craft-cocktail scene, with Keith Motsi attached and 2026 recognition from Opinionated About Dining’s Asia Recommended list. The appeal is less about speakeasy theatre than about a serious drinks program inside a major luxury hotel, useful for travellers who want Seoul cocktail culture with international-standard service cues.
Barcelona, Spain
One of Barcelona's most enduring cocktail addresses, Dry Martini on Carrer d'Aribau has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings for over a decade. The room itself — dark timber, leather seating, white-jacketed staff — reads like a mid-century European bar that never needed reinventing. The martini program is the anchor, but the broader list and the precision of service are what keep serious drinkers returning.
New York City, United States
A SoHo dive bar reborn as a serious cocktail destination, Milady's at 160 Prince Street carries decades of neighbourhood history into a program that earned it a spot at #44 on North America's Best Bars in 2024. The bar holds a 4.. It is the rare place where institutional memory and technical ambition occupy the same room.
Manchester, United Kingdom
Ranked #95 on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2023 and #224 in the Top 500 Bars for 2025, Schofield's occupies a handsome corner of Sunlight House in central Manchester, positioning itself among the UK's most credentialled cocktail addresses.
Kyoto, Japan
Bee's Knees has held a position in Asia's Best Bars top 80 every year since 2020, peaking at #18 in 2021 — a sustained record that places it among the more consistently recognised cocktail bars in the region. Operating from Nakagyo Ward in central Kyoto, it runs Tuesday through Saturday from 6pm until 3am, making it one of the city's more serious late-night drinking destinations.
Los Angeles, United States
On Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz, Vandell occupies a stretch of the city where neighbourhood dining has quietly grown more ambitious over the past decade.
Singapore, Singapore
A New York cocktail institution transplanted to Singapore's Amoy Street conservation district, Employees Only has accumulated consistent Asia's 50 Best Bars recognition since 2017 — peaking at #17 — while maintaining the after-hours energy that defined the original. The bar occupies a shophouse format that channels the same low-lit, high-craft atmosphere the brand built its reputation on, placing it squarely in Singapore's upper tier of serious cocktail programs.
Toronto, Canada
Civil Works landed at #55 on North America's Best Bars 2025, and the ranking reflects a bar that plays against type: hotel-lounge scale and finish, but with a menu rooted in juvenile wit and technically serious cocktail craft. From Jell-O shots built on Fernet and Coke to beach-inspired originals, it occupies a specific niche in Toronto's bar scene — ambitious programming dressed in a party-bar sensibility.
