Results
Quito, Ecuador
El Bar at Casa Gangotena gives Quito’s cocktail scene a strong Ecuadorian argument: national celebrations, regional ingredients, and bar technique treated as cultural interpretation rather than garnish. Its Fiesta menu draws from Andean cacao, Amazonian spices, coastal palo santo resin, and the September corn harvest, making it a sharp choice for travelers who want Ecuador in the glass rather than another international hotel-bar template.
Dublin, Ireland
Ely Wine Bar on Ely Place has held Star Wine List recognition in 2023, 2024, and 2026, placing it among Dublin's most consistently acknowledged wine venues. Set in a Georgian townhouse in Dublin 2, it operates in a tier of wine-led spaces that prioritise list depth over cocktail-forward formats. For anyone planning a wine-focused evening in the city, it represents one of the more considered options south of the Liffey.
Melbourne, Australia
Enoteca Boccaccio is a first-floor wine-focused dining room on Burke Road in Balwyn, recognised by Star Wine List in 2024, 2025, and 2026 — three consecutive years of acknowledgment that places it among Melbourne's most consistently noted wine destinations outside the inner city. The room rewards those who treat the list as seriously as the kitchen.
Dublin, Ireland
Frank's on Camden Street Lower has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2023 and 2026, placing it among a select tier of Dublin venues where the drinks list is taken as seriously as the room itself. On a stretch defined by casual bars and late-night traffic, Frank's operates at a different register — a reference point for wine-led drinking in the city's south inner city.
Kyoto, Japan
A Star Wine List–recognised bar on Kyoto's Kamo River corridor, FUL occupies the ground floor of Forum Nishikiyamachi and draws a repeat clientele that values a thoughtful wine and drinks program over the tourist circuit. It sits in a small tier of Kyoto drinking addresses where the list, not the spectacle, anchors loyalty.
Madrid, Spain
Ganz Wine Bar on Calle de Almadén occupies a corner of central Madrid where the ritual of drinking well has been taken seriously for years. A 2026 Star Wine List award places it among Spain's most respected wine-focused bars, operating in a city that increasingly treats the bar counter as a place for considered choices rather than convenience pours. The list here rewards the curious drinker.
Umeå, Sweden
Harlequin occupies a central address on Rådhusesplanaden in Umeå and has earned Star Wine List recognition in both 2023 and 2026, placing it among Sweden's more seriously considered wine and drinks destinations outside the major cities. The bar operates in a northern Swedish scene that rewards specificity, and its back-to-back accolades suggest a drinks programme with genuine depth and consistency.
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.
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.
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.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
On Hollywood Road in Central, La Cabane has earned Star Wine List recognition four times across 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2026, placing it among Hong Kong's most consistently validated wine destinations. The address puts it in the middle of one of the city's most concentrated corridors for serious drinking, where the bar's wine focus sets it apart from the cocktail-forward rooms nearby.
New York City, United States
La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels on Centre Street has held Star Wine List recognition every year from 2023 through 2026, placing it among New York City's most consistently credentialed wine bars. The SoHo address situates it within a neighbourhood that has moved steadily upmarket, and the French-rooted concept brings a European idiom of natural and artisanal wine to a city that has made room for exactly that approach.
Oslo, Norway
Lasarett Vinbar has held Star Wine List recognition every year from 2023 through 2026, placing it among Oslo's most consistently awarded wine bars. Located on Torshovgata 15 in the Torshov district, it occupies a quieter residential stretch that sits apart from the city's more central drinking circuits. For those tracking Norway's natural and fine wine scene, it is a regular reference point.
Osaka, Japan
Le Chat Noir occupies a fourth-floor address in Higashishinsaibashi, Osaka's most concentrated stretch of serious bar culture, and holds consecutive Star Wine List recognition for 2025 and 2026. The bar positions itself at the intersection of wine depth and considered food pairings, a format that remains relatively rare in a city more associated with spirits-led counter drinking.
Taipei, Taiwan
Le Wine Bar by Burgundy Cave has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026, placing it among a small group of wine-focused venues in Taipei that hold sustained industry credentials. Located on Chengde Road in Datong District, it operates as a specialist wine bar format in a city where cocktail culture tends to dominate the premium drinking conversation. For visitors prioritising the wine list over spirit-led programmes, it represents a deliberate and well-regarded choice.
Reims, France
Positioned on Place du Forum in central Reims, Le Wine Bar by Le Vintage has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2024 and 2026, placing it among the more serious wine-bar formats in a city that runs on Champagne. The program reads as a deliberate counterpoint to the region's house-dominated sparkling culture, with a broader still-wine focus that rewards guests willing to look past the bubbles.
Paris, France
A wine bar on Rue des Tournelles in Paris's 4th arrondissement, Les Amoureuses has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2024 and 2026, placing it among the city's most consistently cited specialist wine addresses. The Marais location positions it within one of Paris's most wine-literate neighbourhoods, where the bar format has steadily displaced the traditional cave à manger as the preferred format for serious bottle exploration.
Macau, China
Named Tatler's Best New Bar in its debut year on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list, Long Bar operates inside Raffles at Galaxy Macau as an intimate speakeasy format where the cocktail program draws on Macau's layered Portuguese and Chinese heritage. The format places it in a specialist tier above the resort lounge circuit, competing with Macau's leading hotel bars on programme depth rather than scale.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
LQV Wan Chai brings serious wine bar culture to one of Hong Kong's most storied neighbourhoods, earning Star Wine List recognition in both 2024 and 2026. Positioned on Swatow Street, it sits within Wan Chai's layered hospitality scene and draws a crowd that comes specifically for the list. Two consecutive awards signal a program that earns its place in the city's upper wine tier.
Cape Town, South Africa
On Harrington Street in District Six, Lunacy holds a 2026 Star Wine List award, placing it among Cape Town's recognised bars for drinks programme quality. The address sits in one of the city's most historically charged neighbourhoods, where a wave of independent venues has taken root over the past decade. Expect a drinks-led offer with enough editorial weight to justify the accolade.
Cork, Ireland
MacCurtain Street's wine cellar has earned Star Wine List recognition three consecutive years running, from 2024 through 2026, placing it among Ireland's most consistently awarded wine destinations. Located in Cork's Victorian Quarter, it occupies the kind of address where serious drinkers return not out of novelty but out of habit. The list is the draw; the neighbourhood is the reason it works.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Positioned where Central's coffee culture meets serious wine programming, mato coffee wine in Nan Fung Place operates across two distinct registers — daytime espresso bar and evening wine destination. Twice recognised by Star Wine List, in 2024 and 2026, it occupies a small but deliberate niche inside Hong Kong's increasingly sophisticated drinks scene.
Madrid, Spain
A wine bar on Calle de Gutenberg in Madrid's Retiro district, Micasita Bar à Vin has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026, placing it among a select tier of Spanish venues where the wine program carries serious editorial weight. The format is bar à vin rather than restaurant, which means the list does more structural work than the kitchen — and rewards guests who arrive with curiosity rather than a fixed order in mind.
Helsinki, Finland
Minne Champagne & Wine sits on Helsinki's Esplanadi, one of the city's most architecturally deliberate addresses, and has held Star Wine List recognition for three consecutive years (2024, 2025, 2026). The bar operates in a specialist tier of the Finnish wine scene where list depth and format discipline carry more weight than breadth of offering. For visitors already familiar with Helsinki's cocktail circuit, Minne represents the wine-focused counterpoint.
Bangkok, Thailand
Mod Kaew Wine Bar has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026, placing it among Bangkok's most seriously regarded wine destinations. Located on Soi Sueksa Wittaya off Sathon Soi 12 in Bang Rak, it operates in a neighbourhood that has quietly become one of the city's more concentrated pockets of considered drinking. For wine-focused evenings in Bangkok, the recognition is hard to argue with.
Adelaide, Australia
Recognised by Star Wine List in both 2024 and 2026, Mother Vine occupies a corner of Adelaide's East End bar precinct on Vardon Avenue that has become one of the city's more serious wine-focused drinking addresses. The dual award signals a wine program with enough depth and consistency to attract sustained critical attention, placing it in a distinct tier among Adelaide's bar options.
Madrid, Spain
Muñeca Brava has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026, placing it among Madrid's most consistently awarded bars for its wine program. Located in the Retiro district on Calle de Gutenberg, it operates in a neighbourhood that rewards serious drinkers willing to look beyond the obvious. For those tracking Spain's wine bar scene, this is a reliable reference point.
Helsinki, Finland
Muru Wine Bar on Lönnrotinkatu has held a Star Wine List award for four consecutive years, placing it among Helsinki's most consistently recognised wine destinations. The format leans toward the specialist end of the city's bar scene, where list depth and wine-led programming matter more than cocktail theatrics. It sits in the Punavuori neighbourhood, close to several of Helsinki's better independent drinking addresses.
London, United Kingdom
Newcomer Wines has held a Star Wine List award every year from 2021 through 2026, making it one of Dalston's most consistently recognised drinking destinations. Positioned on Dalston Lane in east London, the bar sits inside a neighbourhood that has become a reference point for independent wine and drinks culture. Five consecutive annual recognitions signal a programme with genuine depth and staying power.
Berlin, Germany
Nomi Weinbar on Audre-Lorde-Straße in Kreuzberg has earned Star Wine List recognition twice — in 2023 and 2026 — placing it among a small cohort of Berlin wine bars where the list is the main event. The format is intimate and wine-forward, pitched at drinkers who treat the glass as seriously as the kitchen.
Stavanger, Norway
Norvald Vinbar on Øvre Holmegate holds three consecutive Star Wine List recognitions (2023, 2024, 2026), placing it among Norway's more consistently recognised wine bars. Located on Stavanger's most colourful street, the bar operates in a city with a serious drinking culture and a wine programme that punches above its coastal-town context.
Oslo, Norway
Oh Dear sits on Holmens gate in Oslo's Aker Brygge-adjacent district, operating as a wine bar that has earned Star Wine List recognition in both 2023 and 2026. The double award places it alongside a small cohort of Norwegian wine destinations taken seriously by the trade. For visitors building an Oslo wine itinerary, it earns a considered stop.
Singapore, Singapore
Park 90 has held Star Wine List recognition every year from 2023 through 2026, placing it among Singapore's most consistently awarded wine destinations. Located at 1 Cuscaden Road in the Orchard fringe, the bar occupies a part of the city where hotel-adjacent drinking has historically been underestimated. Four consecutive years of external validation suggest that reputation is no longer warranted.
Paris, France
Pétard is a wine-focused address on Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud in Paris's 11th arrondissement, recognised by Star Wine List in both 2025 and 2026. Its consecutive awards place it firmly within the city's specialist wine bar tier, where list depth and curation matter more than kitchen ambition. A reference point for serious wine drinking in one of Paris's most active neighbourhoods for independent hospitality.
Dublin, Ireland
Piglet Wine Bar occupies a compact space on Cow's Lane in Temple Bar, holding three consecutive Star Wine List awards (2023, 2024, 2026). The bar operates squarely within Dublin's shift toward specialist, wine-first drinking venues, where the food programme is built to complement the glass rather than compete with it. A precise, low-fuss address for anyone who treats wine as the main event.
Vienna, Austria
A Margaretenstraße wine pub that has earned Star Wine List recognition twice over, in 2022 and 2026, Pub Klemo operates in the quieter, neighbourhood-rooted tier of Vienna's drinking scene. Located in the fifth district, it sits at some distance from the tourist-circuit bars of the first, drawing a local crowd to a format built around serious wine selection rather than spectacle.
Oslo, Norway
Radegast has held a Star Wine List award in three separate years — 2020, 2022, and 2026 — making it one of Oslo's most consistently recognised wine bars. Located on Nordre gate in the Grünerløkka district, the bar occupies a stretch of the city where specialist wine culture has taken firm root. For those tracking Norway's serious wine scene, Radegast is a reliable reference point.
San Juan, Philippines
Raion sits on the third floor of The Corner House in Addition Hills, San Juan City, operating inside Metro Manila's fast-moving experimental cocktail scene. Named Tatler Asia-Pacific's Best New Bar for 2025 and placed on the Tatler Best 20 Bars Philippines list for 2026, it draws drinkers who treat the glass as a starting point rather than a destination. Reach them at +63 967 173 2804 or on Instagram at @raion.mnl.
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Positioned at the corner of Ryneveld and Van Riebeeck Streets in central Stellenbosch, Simon Wine Emporium has earned Star Wine List recognition twice — in 2022 and 2026 — placing it among the Winelands' most consistently regarded wine retail and tasting destinations. For visitors building a serious itinerary around South African wine, it represents a credentialed starting point in the town's centre.
Barcelona, Spain
Sin Mala Uva has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026, placing it among Barcelona's most credentialed wine-focused addresses. Located on Carrer de Provença in the Eixample, it operates in a city where serious wine bars are outnumbered by cocktail rooms and restaurant wine lists. Two consecutive years of industry recognition signal a program with consistent depth rather than novelty.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Soirée occupies a floor of Zaha Hadid's Opus tower in Business Bay, earning Star Wine List recognition in three consecutive years — 2024, 2025, and 2026. The bar's position inside the ME Dubai hotel places it within Business Bay's premium hospitality corridor, where wine programming and architectural theatre converge in a format that rewards advance planning.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Located on the seventh floor of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Central, SOMM Hong Kong is one of the city's most decorated wine bars, holding Star Wine List recognition in both 2023 and 2026. The address places it squarely among Hong Kong's serious drinking establishments, where the list depth and curatorial discipline matter as much as the setting.
Trondheim, Norway
Spontan at Fjordgata 1 has held a Star Wine List award every year from 2023 through 2026, placing it among the most consistently recognised wine bars in Norway. Situated on Trondheim's waterfront, it represents the city's shift toward serious, programme-driven wine venues. For travellers planning around a seasonal visit to the Trøndelag coast, it belongs at the top of the planning list.
Munich, Germany
Sticks & Stones Wine Bar on Clemensstraße has earned Star Wine List recognition three consecutive years — 2024, 2025, and 2026 — placing it among Munich's most consistently acknowledged wine destinations. Located in the Schwabing district, it represents the quieter, list-driven side of the city's bar culture, where what's in the glass takes precedence over the room's spectacle.
Antwerp, Belgium
Ta-nnin has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2023, 2024, and 2026, placing it among Antwerp's most credentialed wine-focused addresses. Located on Volkstraat in the city's Zuid district, it operates in a tier defined by serious list curation and hospitality depth rather than broad accessibility. For visitors building a wine-led itinerary through Belgium, it belongs in the same conversation as the country's leading specialist bars.
Bergen, Norway
TempoTempo holds back-to-back Star Wine List recognition (2024 and 2026), placing it among Bergen's more seriously curated wine bars at Domkirkegaten 6A. The programme draws the kind of crowd that arrives with a specific producer in mind rather than a general thirst, and the room rewards that intention. Peer bars in Bergen's growing natural and fine-wine scene treat it as a reference point.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Terroiristen has held Star Wine List recognition every year from 2020 through 2026, making it one of the most consistently awarded wine bars on Jægersborggade, Nørrebro's most characterful street. The programme leans on wines that speak to place and process, paired with a food offering built to complement rather than compete. Five consecutive awards confirm this is not an accidental list.
Kinsale, Ireland
The Black Pig has held Star Wine List recognition in both 2024 and 2026, placing it among a small tier of Irish venues where the wine and spirits programme carries as much weight as the food. Located on Lower O'Connell Street in Kinsale, it operates within one of Ireland's most serious small-town dining and drinking scenes, drawing visitors who come specifically for depth of list rather than novelty.
Dunedin, New Zealand
The Cellar Dunedin, located at 4 Hanover Street in central Dunedin, holds a 2026 Star Wine List award, placing it among New Zealand's recognised wine-focused venues. In a city where the drinking culture skews toward craft beer and student-oriented bars, a wine-anchored address at this level occupies a distinct position. It is the kind of place that draws those who come to Dunedin specifically for something more considered.
Perth, Australia
On St Georges Terrace, Perth's central business spine, The Heritage Wine Bar & Restaurant has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition from 2021 through 2026, placing it among the more consistently awarded wine venues on the Western Australian circuit. Four consecutive cycles of recognition signal a list with genuine depth and editorial discipline, not a curated shelf assembled for appearance.
Stockholm, Sweden
The Sparrow on Birger Jarlsgatan has earned Star Wine List recognition three times — in 2020, 2024, and 2026 — placing it among Stockholm's most consistently regarded wine-focused bars. Sitting on one of the city's principal dining and drinking corridors, it occupies a tier where the wine list is the editorial statement, not an afterthought.
Sydney, Australia
A Woollahra wine destination that has earned Star Wine List recognition twice — in 2021 and 2026 — The Wine Library at 18 Oxford Street sits at the quieter, more considered end of Sydney's drinking scene. The format prioritises depth of selection over volume, drawing a clientele that arrives with a specific bottle in mind or leaves having discovered one they hadn't considered before.
Stockholm, Sweden
Consecutive Star Wine List recognition in 2025 and 2026 places The Winery Hotel in Solna among Stockholm's more seriously curated wine destinations. Set on Rosenborgsgatan 20, the property sits at the intersection of hotel hospitality and wine-focused programming — a combination that positions it differently from the city's standalone bars and restaurants. For travellers who weight the cellar as heavily as the room, it earns close attention.
Tallinn, Estonia
Time to Wine Kopli 6 has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition from 2023 through 2026, placing it among Tallinn's most consistently regarded wine venues. Located on Kopli street in the city's post-industrial northern edge, it operates in a format where the wine list does the talking. A focused destination for those who treat the glass as the main event.
Tallinn, Estonia
Recognised by Star Wine List four consecutive years from 2023 through 2026, Time to Wine Rotermanni sits at the serious end of Tallinn's wine bar scene, occupying a converted industrial address in the Rotermanni quarter. It positions itself among a small peer set of Baltic wine destinations where list depth and service knowledge carry more weight than cocktail theatre.
Riga, Latvia
Among Riga's wine-focused venues, Truff Le Pig at Antonijas iela 11 positions itself in the specialist tier, earning Star Wine List recognition in both 2023 and 2026. The double award places it alongside a narrow peer set where the wine program carries the editorial weight. For visitors comparing options in the Centrs district, it signals a list with genuine depth rather than a decorative supplement to food.
Waterford, Ireland
UNioN Wine, Bar & Kitchen on Waterford's The Mall has earned Star Wine List recognition three consecutive times — 2023, 2024, and 2026 — placing it among Ireland's most consistently awarded wine-focused bars. The format blends a thoughtful wine list with a kitchen and bar programme in a city that has historically been underserved by that kind of specialist attention.
Copenhagen, Denmark
On Vesterbro's Istedgade strip, v.Lo Winebar has earned Star Wine List recognition four consecutive years — 2022 through 2026 — placing it among Denmark's most consistently decorated wine bars. The format is deliberately intimate, the focus squarely on the glass rather than the kitchen, and the address puts serious wine drinking in one of Copenhagen's most lived-in neighbourhoods.
Tallinn, Estonia
A wine bar on Rataskaevu street in Tallinn's Old Town, Veino has held Star Wine List recognition in 2024, 2025, and 2026, placing it among the consistently awarded wine destinations in the Baltic region. The list draws from serious European producers and the format rewards slow, unhurried exploration. It is a reference point for anyone building an itinerary around what Tallinn's wine culture has quietly become.
London, United Kingdom
Veraison Wines on Camberwell Church Street has earned Star Wine List recognition in both 2023 and 2026, placing it among London's more credentialled neighbourhood wine bars. The format leans toward serious list-building over atmosphere theatrics, making it a reference point for south London's quietly growing wine culture. For those tracking the city's shift away from central bar districts, Veraison is a useful marker.
Girona, Spain
On Girona's Plaça del Vi, VII has earned recognition from Star Wine List 2026, placing it among Spain's better-regarded bars for its drinks programme. The address puts it at the social centre of the old city, where the square's medieval arcades frame an evening that leans toward serious wine and considered pours rather than volume drinking.
Vilnius, Lithuania
Vistide has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2024 and 2026, placing it among Vilnius's most credentialed wine-focused addresses. Located on Raugyklos gatvė in the city's Old Town fringe, it operates in a city where the bar and wine bar scene has matured considerably over the past decade. For travellers who take their glass seriously, this is a reference point in the Lithuanian capital.
Vilnius, Lithuania
Vyno Vieta on Naugarduko Street holds two Star Wine List awards (2024 and 2026), placing it among the more consistently recognised wine destinations in Vilnius. The programme reflects a city drinking culture that has shifted decisively toward serious European wine in recent years. Visit for depth of list rather than spectacle.
Sydney, Australia
A Marrickville wine bar that has earned Star Wine List recognition in both 2021 and 2026, Where's Nick operates on the quieter, more deliberate end of Sydney's inner-west drinking scene. The address on Marrickville Road places it inside one of Sydney's most food-serious neighbourhoods, where the ritual of a well-chosen glass matters as much as the food on the plate.
Busan, South Korea
Wine Vin occupies the 12th floor of a Suyeong-gu building along Millak Waterfront, bringing a focused wine program to a Busan neighbourhood better known for its seafood restaurants and waterfront bars. Recognised by Star Wine List in 2026, the bar positions itself in the upper tier of South Korea's growing specialist wine bar scene.
Taipei, Taiwan
Wu earned Tatler Best New Bar Asia-Pacific 2024 in its debut year, operating from a low-profile address on Guangfu South Road in Taipei's Xinyi district. The bar anchors its program in classic technique, positioning itself at the serious end of Taipei's increasingly competitive cocktail scene. Booking ahead is advised given its recognition and intimate format.
Singapore, Singapore
D.Bespoke on Bukit Pasoh Road has appeared in Asia's 50 Best Bars every year from 2016 to 2021, reaching as high as #13 on the regional list. The bar's back bar depth and spirits-led approach place it among Singapore's most serious drinking destinations, drawing a crowd that comes to explore rather than simply order. Located in the Tanjong Pagar conservation district, it sits within walking distance of several other bars that define the city's cocktail identity.
Rüdesheim, Germany
A Star Wine List-recognised address on Steingasse in the heart of Rüdesheim am Rhein, Weingasthaus Breuer's sits at the intersection of Rheingau wine culture and the kind of informal hospitality the region does better than almost anywhere in Germany. For visitors working through the wine towns of the Rhine, it functions as both a reliable pour and a grounding introduction to what makes this stretch of river distinct.
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm's Tomtebogatan wine bar built its identity around amber and orange wines, with a list broad enough to cover natural, conventional, and everything between. The name is a direct reference to the amber hue that oxidative skin-contact wines leave in the glass. A neighbourhood anchor in Vasastan with a wine-forward programme that rewards slow evenings.
Boston, United States
Equal Measure on Beacon Street holds a rare position in Boston's cocktail scene: a neighbourhood bar with serious international credentials, ranked No. 81 on the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list in 2025. It draws a 4.7-star rating from Google reviewers while staying rooted in the Fenway corridor, operating at a register that feels more lived-in than performative.
Singapore, Singapore
No Sleep Club on Keong Saik Road has tracked one of Singapore's sharpest award trajectories in recent bar history, moving from Asia's 50 Best #15 in 2022 to a global ranking of #26 in the same year before settling at #60 in 2024. The bar sits in the Tanjong Pagar conservation district, where the city's cocktail scene has matured well beyond novelty formats into technically precise, atmosphere-led programs.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Birch Restaurant sits within The Ritz-Carlton's Limestone House in DIFC, operating at the intersection of a serious wine programme and considered food pairing. A 2026 Star Wine List award signals where the kitchen's priorities lie: the glass and the plate are treated as equal partners. For Dubai's wine-forward dining segment, it occupies a specific and relatively uncrowded position.
Palm Beach, United States
HMF, The Breakers reads Palm Beach through a grand-hotel cocktail lens: midcentury lounge codes, Flagler-era scale, and drinks built for ceremony rather than speed. The draw is the cocktail program, especially the Debutante with kiwi, avocado, and tequila, the Railcar #91 Sidecar riff, and a Champagne-led section suited to celebratory nights.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Mius belongs to Hong Kong’s newer cocktail tier: compact, city-facing, and judged less by spectacle than by how precisely a bar can make sourcing, technique, and mood feel coherent. Its 2026 Tales Spirited Awards Top 10 Nominee citation for Best New International Cocktail Bar places it in the international conversation early, which matters in a city where serious drinking rooms are already densely contested.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Montana sits in Central’s dense cocktail corridor, where Hong Kong’s bar culture has moved beyond hotel lounges into smaller, sharper rooms with international awards scrutiny. Its 2026 Tales Spirited Awards Top 10 Nominee placement for Best New International Cocktail Bar puts it in the city’s newer export class rather than the nostalgia-led end of the scene.
Tucson, United States
Owls Club occupies a distinct position in Tucson's downtown drinking scene, where the city's more considered cocktail programs have begun to carve out space alongside the neighbourhood's historic venues. Located at 236 S Scott Ave, it draws a crowd that treats the bar as a destination rather than a stop, with an atmosphere that rewards lingering and a format built around the arc of an evening rather than the efficiency of a round.
St Louis, United States
On Manchester Avenue in St. Louis's The Grove neighborhood, Platypus occupies a stretch of the city's most concentrated bar and dining corridor. The address at 4501 Manchester places it within a few blocks of the independent venues that have defined The Grove's reputation as St. Louis's most consistently interesting after-dark destination. Arrive with time to settle in and stay through multiple rounds.
San Francisco, United States
Prelude, The Jay brings a Southern lens to San Francisco dining, but the sharper editorial story is the bar: Franco Bilbaeno’s cocktail program follows New Orleans and broader Southern references while letting Bay Area technique cut through. Expect a food-first audience, with drinks serious enough to shape the meal rather than trail behind it.
New York City, United States
Avenue occupies a specific position in New York City's cocktail conversation: a program built around technical precision and a well-considered drinks list, set against a room that takes its atmosphere seriously. For visitors tracing the city's bar circuit, it belongs in the same itinerary as the Lower East Side's more celebrated counters, but with a distinct register of its own.
Chicago, United States
Z Bar, The Peninsula reads as Chicago hotel-bar culture at its polished end: a sixth-floor lounge where the skyline is part of the format, not decoration. The cocktail programme leans on globally sourced spices, a tequila drink built with lemongrass, Thai chile and makrut lime leaf, weekend brunch Bloody Mary service, and a vintage spirits cellar with bottles reaching back nearly a century.