2126 editor-picked cocktail bar restaurants across 156 cities.
A cocktail bar is a hospitality format where the drink program is the kitchen. The contemporary cocktail bar emerged from the early-2000s craft revival in New York (Milk and Honey, Pegu Club, Death and Co), London (Match Bar, Milk and Honey London, the Connaught), and Tokyo (the long-standing Ginza tradition centered at bars like Star Bar and High Five). The revival was about returning to pre-Prohibition technique: fresh juice, fresh ice (large clear cubes, hand-cut for stirred drinks; cracked or pebble ice for shaken and tropical), proper jigger measurement, classic specifications for the old canon (Manhattan, Martini, Old Fashioned, Daiquiri, Negroni, Sidecar).
From that base, the format diversified. The classic-revival room (Death and Co, Connaught Bar, Atlas Bar in Singapore) leans deep into vintage technique and a long classic menu. The chef-driven cocktail bar (The Aviary in Chicago, Lyaness in London, Tales and Spirits in Amsterdam) uses kitchen-grade equipment and modernist techniques (clarification, fat-washing, sous-vide infusion, centrifuge). The Japanese cocktail bar tradition (Tender, Star Bar, High Five) treats the bartender as a craftsman whose movements, ice carving, hard shake, and stirring tempo, are the point. The tiki bar tradition, revived by Smuggler's Cove (San Francisco), Trader Sam's, and Three Dots and a Dash (Chicago), works rum-heavy in tropical idiom.
The last decade added two important currents. The first is a low-ABV and zero-proof program: many of the world's best bars now serve drinks at 5 percent or less alcohol, or with no alcohol at all, with the same rigor as their spirit-forward menu. The second is geography: Singapore, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, and Athens have all built bars that compete at the global top tier (Atlas, Manhattan Bar at Regent, Licoreria Limantour, Tres Monos, Coa, BKK Social Club, Le Chamber, The Clumsies). The World's 50 Best Bars list, by 2025, is no longer a London-New York-Tokyo affair.
If the menu is long, tell the bartender what spirit and what flavor profile you want (spirit-forward, citrus-driven, low-ABV, savory, bitter). Most serious bars will design a drink off-menu given those parameters; this is often the best move. If the menu is short and house-specific, order off it; the bartender chose those drinks for a reason. Classics (Martini, Old Fashioned, Negroni, Daiquiri) are tests of a bar's competence; ordering one tells you whether the room is serious.
At Japanese bars, manners matter: don't tap the bar, don't reach across the counter, watch your phone, accept the drink as the bartender places it. At classic-revival rooms (Death and Co, Connaught, Atlas), the menu is the menu and substitutions are limited; the room is designed around its own drink list. Tipping varies by country: 15 to 20 percent in the US; 10 to 12.5 percent or built-in service in the UK; not customary in Japan; varies elsewhere. The rookie mistake is ordering an espresso martini at a serious classic bar; some will roll their eyes, although most will make it well.
The cocktail bar's food program tends to be light: bar snacks (nuts, olives, gildas, popcorn), small bites (sliders, croquetas, tartare on toast), occasionally a fuller small-plates menu. Caviar service has become a wine-bar and cocktail-bar status item at the top tier; potato chips with creme fraiche and caviar is now a serious bar snack at Atlas (Singapore) and Connaught Bar (London). Cigar lounges exist at a small number of luxury bars; ask before ordering. Coffee programs at cocktail bars have improved sharply since 2020.
The World's 50 Best Bars list is the easiest external index. Recent global top-tier rooms: Connaught Bar (London), Tayer + Elementary (London), Lyaness (London), Atlas (Singapore), Manhattan Bar at Regent (Singapore), Jigger and Pony (Singapore), BKK Social Club (Bangkok), Coa (Hong Kong), Licoreria Limantour (Mexico City), Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City), Tres Monos (Buenos Aires), The Clumsies (Athens), Le Chamber (Seoul), Maybe Sammy (Sydney), Caretaker's Cottage (Melbourne), Double Chicken Please (New York), Attaboy (New York), Death and Co (New York/LA/Denver), Bar Benfiddich (Tokyo), High Five (Tokyo), Star Bar (Tokyo), Drink Kong (Rome). Almost every major city now has a global-competitive bar.
The cocktail is an American invention, with the word first defined in print in 1806 ('spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters'). The pre-Prohibition golden age (1860-1920) codified the canonical drinks. Prohibition (1920-33) shut the US bar tradition and exiled American bartenders to London, Cuba, and Paris, where the cocktail evolved. The post-Prohibition US bar mostly forgot the discipline; the modern craft revival traces to the late 1990s (Milk and Honey in NYC, Match Bar in London) and the global publication of Dale DeGroff's The Craft of the Cocktail (2002).
The most ambitious cocktail bar in Aarhus. The apothecary-themed room on Jaegergaardsgade runs a cocktail tasting menu format where each pour is built around.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktail tasting menu
Food: Snacks alongside cocktail menu
The cocktail bar runs its full tasting menu programme until close and late-night bar seating takes walk-ins on a space-available basis. Booking recommended.
Try: Cocktail tasting menu and snacks
Aarhus's open secret of a speakeasy, tucked behind an unmarked door on Fredensgade. Order the house-infused negroni variations. At Fredensgade 17.
Signature drink: House-infused Negroni variations
Food: None
Apothecary Lounge inside Hotel Parq Central on Central Avenue in Albuquerque's EDo runs Prohibition era classics until midnight on the rooftop with a long.
Try: Prohibition era classics and bar plates
Apothecary Lounge inside Hotel Parq Central on Central Avenue in Albuquerque's EDo is the rooftop speakeasy cocktail bar
Signature drink: Prohibition era classics
Food: Hotel lounge snacks
La Cumbre Brewing on Girard Boulevard NE in Albuquerque is the brewery's anchor taproom since 2010, with Project Dank IPA
Signature drink: Project Dank IPA
Food: Food trucks daily
Tales and Spirits on Lijnbaanssteeg is the Amsterdam cocktail boudoir of the old guard, antique cabinets, chandeliers, drinks served in vintage glassware.
Signature drink: Vintage-glass cocktails with house infusions
Food: Snacks and bar plates
Door 74 on Reguliersdwarsstraat is the Amsterdam speakeasy that opened the city's cocktail wave, by reservation only, behind an unmarked door.
Signature drink: Pre-prohibition classics, seasonal menu
Food: No food
Hiding in Plain Sight on Rapenburg is the Amsterdam American-style cocktail bar, big-windowed despite the speakeasy framing, sharp menu, unfussy room.
Signature drink: Seasonal menu, riffs on the Manhattan
Food: No food
Anchorage Brewing Company's taproom on 91st Avenue pours founder Gabe Fletcher's wild ales, barrel-aged Belgian quad and double IPAs, all brewed on site.
Signature drink: Clear Headed barrel-aged Belgian quad
Food: Snacks and food truck pop-ups
The Whale's Tail at Hotel Captain Cook keeps its bar open until 02:00 Fri-Sat, with the Crow's Nest kitchen running small plates and champagne pours to 22:00.
Try: Small plates and by-the-glass champagne
F Street Station has anchored downtown Anchorage since 1944. A scruffy long-bar pub serving Alaska seafood and burgers, with the longest hours downtown.
Signature drink: Cold beer with bar-burger
Food: Alaska seafood and burgers
Bar Burbure in Antwerp on Vlaamsekaai serves cocktails and a 600-bottle wine list built by a Michelin-trained sommelier. The list rotates with the seasons.
Signature drink: Cocktails and a 600-bottle wine list
Food: Small plates and bar snacks
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The cocktail menu changes quarterly; ask for the sommelier's house pour.
De Koninck Antwerp City Brewery on Mechelsesteenweg pours its full Bolleke range from a brewery taproom that has run since 1833 in the same building.
Signature drink: De Koninck Bolleke, brewery-fresh
Food: Brasserie plates, tasting boards
Tip: Brewery tour adds a poured Bolleke at the end. Reservations recommended for weekend tours.
Den Engel in Antwerp is the city's best-known brown cafe, anchoring Grote Markt 3 in a building that runs back to the 14th century. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: De Koninck Bolleke on tap
Food: Bar snacks, brown-cafe nibbles
Tip: Open daily until 01:00 weekdays, 03:00 weekends. Closer to the Stadhuis side, the bar is busier than the back terrace.
Sovereign Remedies on North Market Street is the multilevel apothecary-themed cocktail bar in a historic downtown building. Bar opened 2014, kitchen runs.
Signature drink: Apothecary-inspired seasonal cocktails
Food: Bone marrow, seasonal small plates, pastas
Tip: Reserve a table on Resy. The downstairs bar takes walk-ins for the cocktail menu. Closed Tuesdays.
Sovereign Remedies on North Market Street stays open until 23:00 Fri-Sat for late-night cocktails and the kitchen's late menu.
Try: Bone marrow, late-night cocktails
Tip: Late kitchen kicks in after 21:00. The downstairs bar takes walk-ins for cocktails until close.
Antidote at Chemist Spirits on Coxe Avenue runs three floors of 1920s apothecary-styled cocktail bar above the Chemist gin and rum distillery.
Signature drink: Chemist Crimson Moon gin cocktails
Food: Snack menu, charcuterie
Tip: Top-floor bar takes the views. Tours of the distillery downstairs run weekends; book ahead.
The Clumsies on Praxitelous is the Athens cocktail bar of record, on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2015 from Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis.
Signature drink: Specialty coffee by day, signature cocktails by night
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Specialty coffee runs from 10:00; bookings open six weeks ahead for the back room.
Line in Athens is the second venture from the Clumsies team Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis, ranked No. 8 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2025 in a converted.
Signature drink: Greek-spirits cocktails in a converted gallery
Food: Small plates
Tip: Booking-only after 19:00 Thursday through Saturday; weekday early sittings are easier.
Baba au Rum on Kleitiou has poured tiki and rum-led cocktails in central Athens for over a decade, with 11 consecutive years on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Signature drink: Rum tiki and tropical cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Back bar holds over 400 rums; ask the bartender for the agricole flight to start.
Kimball House in Decatur, Atlanta runs the city's most-awarded cocktail and oyster bar inside a converted 19th-century train station. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Absinthe drip service
Food: Oysters, raw bar
Tip: Sunday Happy Hour 17:00-18:30 runs cheaper oysters and cocktails. The bar takes walk-ins late on weekends.
Ticonderoga Club at Krog Street Market in Atlanta opened 2015 from a team including Greg Best. Located in Inman Park. Order the cuban-style cocktails.
Signature drink: Cuban-style cocktails
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: No reservations; bar seats are first-come. The naval-officers-club aesthetic carries through to the punch service.
The Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points, Atlanta runs 800 bottles and 38 taps of craft beer with a sharp gastropub kitchen since 2008. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Rare-beer flight
Food: Gastropub menu
Tip: Brunch on weekends is the under-the-radar service. The Belgian beer cellar runs rare bottles for the right pour.
Caretaker is a basement cocktail room beneath 40 Customs Street East in Britomart, Auckland. No drinks menu; bartenders mix to mood. Walk-in or text ahead.
Signature drink: Off-menu bespoke cocktails
Food: Snacks and small plates
Caretaker basement room beneath 40 Customs Street East in Britomart, Auckland runs cocktails until 1am Tuesday through Saturday. Late shift is the best.
Try: Off-menu cocktails and snacks
Caretaker on Customs Street East is Auckland's most-loved basement cocktail room. Off-menu drinks, low light, the room you go for the city's best bartenders.
Why locals love it: An unmarked basement cocktail room beneath 40 Customs Street East in Britomart with no menu; bartenders mix to mood. A bartender's-bartender room in Auckland CBD.
Tip: Walk-in or text for a seat; tell the bartender your three favourite spirits and let them work.
The Roosevelt Room in Austin is the West 5th cocktail bar in the downtown Warehouse District, Austin's most-awarded cocktail room with a 150-page.
Signature drink: Original cocktails with a 150-page menu
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: The classics-and-originals menu runs deep enough that asking the bartender to choose is the standard order.
Whisler's in Austin is the East 6th Street cocktail bar with the city's strongest mezcal program, plus Mezcaleria Tobala upstairs serving agave flights.
Signature drink: Mezcal cocktails and a deep agave list
Food: Thai food from Mezcaleria Tobala upstairs
Tip: Walk straight upstairs to Mezcaleria Tobala for the agave list; the downstairs bar runs faster and louder.
Garrison in Austin runs a steakhouse bar program at the Fairmont Austin on Red River, with a five-time Wine Spectator-recognised cellar and a tableside Dirty.
Signature drink: Garrison Dirty Martini, made tableside
Food: Steakhouse menu from the dining room
Tip: The bar takes walk-ins; ask for the tableside Dirty Martini and the seasonal-fruit Old Fashioned variant.
Remington speakeasy from Lane Harlan on West 23rd Street, an unmarked black door; candlelit Amaro flights and classic cocktails, no food, 5pm to late.
Why locals love it: There is no sign and no marker on the Remington rowhouse, just an unmarked door into a candlelit cocktail room that feels a century out of step.
Tip: Look for the unmarked door on 23rd Street; go on a weeknight to land a seat at the bar.
W.C. Harlan in Remington is a candlelit speakeasy behind an unmarked door, Lane Harlan's first bar, pouring seasonal cocktails and a deep amaro list.
Signature drink: Amaro and seasonal cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: There is no sign; look for the unmarked door on 23rd Street, then head inside.
Sugarvale in Mount Vernon is an intimate basement cocktail bar, mixing inventive, balanced drinks with zero pretension off a frequently changing menu.
Signature drink: Inventive seasonal cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: It is small and below street level; arrive early on weekends to land a seat at the bar.
BKK Social Club in Bangkok's Four Seasons Chao Phraya is Philip Bischoff's Argentine-influenced cocktail counter, Asia's 50 Best Bars No. 3 in 2023.
Signature drink: Argentine-inspired Negroni variations
Food: Argentine empanadas and grilled snacks
Tip: Reservations recommended. Walk-in option at the bar counter; the Argentine-inspired Negroni list is the through-line.
Mahaniyom in Bangkok's Si Phraya is Backstage Bar veterans Neung Kanivichaporn and Janz Bhumichitr's ingredient-led cocktail room above restaurant 100.
Signature drink: Resourceful cocktails built around a single ingredient
Food: Northern Thai Isan snacks shared up from 100 Mahaseth
Tip: Reservations advised after 20:00. The Cow build (brandy and red wine with brown butter, blue cheese air and Thai mulberry) is the headline pour.
Vesper in Bangkok's Convent Road is the Italian-aperitivo cocktail counter on the ground floor of an art-deco shophouse, Asia's 50 Best Bars regular.
Signature drink: Negroni and Italian aperitivo classics
Food: Italian aperitivo bites
Tip: Sit at the marble counter for the bartender's view of the Italian-vermouth menu. Open from 16:00 for early aperitivo.
Sips in Barcelona's Eixample is Marc Alvarez and Simone Caporale's Worlds 50 Best No. 1 cocktail bar (2023): a glass cube on Muntaner, tasting-menu drinks.
Signature drink: Ruby Red Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Reservations book 6 weeks ahead. The 8-course cocktail tasting at 110 euros is the order.
Paradiso in Barcelona's Born is the speakeasy through-a-pastrami-shop on Rera Palau: Worlds 50 Best No. 1 in 2022, now book months ahead for cocktail theatre.
Signature drink: Supercool Martini
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Reservations via Instagram or Resy open 4 weeks ahead. No walk-ins; the queue at the door is for the dispatchers.
Two Schmucks in Barcelona's Raval is the Pavel Davydov and Moe Aljaff dive-cocktail bar: low-light, loud music, pickle martinis and a Worlds 50 Best top-10.
Signature drink: Pickle martini
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Walk-up only; queue starts at 22:00. The pickle martini is the order; cash easier than card.
Question Mark on Kralja Petra opposite the Saborna Church is Belgrade's oldest kafana, opened 1826 by Doctor Toma. Rakija pours, Serbian classics.
Signature drink: Sljivovica plum brandy
Food: Cevapi, pljeskavica, sarmi
Bitters Bar hides a courtyard cocktail garden in Lower Dorcol. Bitters and tiki-inspired drinks named for the old pharmacy medicinal mixtures.
Signature drink: Tiki-inspired cocktails, off-menu builds
Food: Bar snacks
Tri Sesira (Three Hats) opened on Skadarska in 1864 in a building whose previous workshop had three pleated hats for trademark. Skadarlija anchor.
Signature drink: Sljivovica, Tamjanika
Food: Cevapi, sarma, gibanica, mixed grill
Schwarze Traube on Muskauer Strasse in Kreuzberg has run a no-menu bespoke cocktail room since 2012; tell the bartender a spirit and a profile and they build.
Signature drink: Bartender's choice cocktail
Food: None
Tip: No menu. Tell the bartender a spirit and a taste profile. Ring the bell, reservations by email; small room, 18 covers.
Velvet on Ganghoferstrasse in Neukoelln is a hyperseasonal cocktail room from a small team that resets the menu every week around foraged Berlin plants.
Signature drink: Foraged-Berlin weekly menu
Food: Snacks only
Tip: The menu rewrites weekly so ask the bartender what is on this week, and skip Tuesday (lab day).
Buck and Breck on Berlin's Brunnenstrasse has run an unmarked speakeasy cocktail bar since 2010; 14 seats around a single bar, classic and pre-Prohibition.
Signature drink: Buck and Breck (Cognac and champagne)
Food: None (drinks only)
Tip: Unmarked door, ring the bell. Reservations only via email; the bar opens at 19:00 with two seatings.
Gure Toki on Plaza Nueva in Bilbao won the Euskal Herria pintxo championship 2016 with Idiazabal cheese soup, oxtail croquettes and cheesecake.
Signature drink: Txakoli, by the glass
Food: Idiazabal cheese soup, oxtail croquettes, Basque cheesecake
Bar El Globo on Calle Diputacion in Bilbao since 1997 anchors the Indautxu pintxo crawl with the canonical txangurro (spider crab) gratin counter.
Signature drink: Txakoli on the counter
Food: Txangurro gratin, anchovy gilda, mushroom volcan
La Vina del Ensanche on Diputacion in Bilbao since 1927 runs three rooms under the third family generation, Joselito Iberian ham the house pintxo.
Signature drink: Spanish wines by the glass
Food: Joselito ham on crystal bread, croquetas de jamon, bonito
The Marble Ring on 41st Street South Avondale Birmingham is an intimate speakeasy entered through a phone booth, with 80 seats and a classic cocktail menu.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: Bar food (Asian Bistro food menu added 2024)
Saturn on 41st Street South in Avondale Birmingham is the 2015 Brian Teasley-founded music venue and bar in the former Cory and Faulkner Hardware building.
Signature drink: Craft beer and shots
Food: Snacks and venue food
Hot and Hot Fish Club Bar at Pepper Place Birmingham runs craft cocktails alongside Chris Hastings's Southern menu, with the chef-counter and bar seats.
Signature drink: House classic cocktails alongside the Hastings tasting menu
Food: Hot and Hot full menu
Nu Lounge Bar in Bologna's Centro Storico is the city's pioneering tiki cocktail bar from Daniele Dalla Pola, with a daily-changing tiki carte and the long.
Signature drink: Mai Tai, Pisco Sour
Food: Snacks, tiki small plates
Tip: Walk-in works; the late-night standing crowd takes over after 22:30. The Mai Tai and the Bolognesi-edition tiki cocktails are the order.
Donkey Speakeasy in Bologna's Centro Storico on the second floor of a dark alley near the Two Towers is the reservation-only speakeasy with the monthly.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned, seasonal signature carte
Food: Snacks, cocktail pairings
Tip: Book via WhatsApp +39 349 1384953; entry is by password supplied with the booking and the room runs late, Sundays open until 04:00.
Moonbow in Bologna's Centro Storico is the speakeasy cocktail bar from Antonio Lai, with a 12-seat bar standing crowd, smoked-and-aged classics.
Signature drink: Smoked Negroni, Penicillin
Food: Snacks
Tip: Book three days ahead online; the bar seats 12 and walk-ins are accepted only before 22:00.
Symbiose Cocktail Bar in Bordeaux's Chartrons is the speakeasy behind the bookshelf at Symbiose, with homemade syrups, forgotten ingredients and a working.
Signature drink: Homemade-syrup signature cocktails
Food: Bistronomic small plates
Tip: No reservations on the cocktail side; arrive 19:00 to claim a stool or stay through dinner for a guaranteed seat.
Point Rouge in Bordeaux's Saint-Croix is the cocktail bar and restaurant in a wing of Chateau Descas, with a menu of around 100 cocktails that walks.
Signature drink: House cocktails across 200 years of history
Food: Tapas and charcuterie
Tip: The lounge upstairs is the calmer drinking room; the kitchen of chef Christophe Girardot is the dinner-only sister.
Vintage Bar in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the Quai Louis XVIII rum bar with over 150 references from around the world, daily happy hour and one.
Signature drink: Aged rum flights
Food: Cheese, charcuterie
Tip: Daily Happy Hour 16:00-20:00; the bartender will build a comparison flight across Caribbean and Reunion rums.
Backbar in Union Square Somerville has poured artful cocktails behind an unmarked door in Boston since 2011. Order the greek mastiha milk punch.
Signature drink: Greek mastiha milk punch
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in only, no reservations. Last call 23:15. Order from the staff-pick chalkboard for the best off-menu drink.
Backbar is cocktail bar with no sign, hidden behind an unmarked door in union square somerville; the field and vine team owns it as of early 2025.
Why locals love it: Cocktail bar with no sign, hidden behind an unmarked door in Union Square Somerville; the Field and Vine team owns it as of early 2025.
Tip: Walk-in only; no reservations. Last call 23:15. Order the obscure-spirits chalkboard for the best off-menu drink.
The Wig Shop has run a speakeasy-style cocktail bar behind a fake wig-shop storefront on Temple Place in Downtown Boston since 2019. 1940s magazine-ad decor.
Signature drink: Absinthe Sazerac
Food: Snacks and bar bites
Tip: Find the unmarked door inside the wig storefront.
The most evocative drinking space in Braga: a 350-year-old arched stone cellar offering vinho verde flights, Douro reds and charcuterie petiscos.
Tip: Order a vinho verde tasting flight of three producers for around €12.
The Braga taproom for Cerveja Letra, one of northern Portugal's most respected craft breweries. Twenty-three taps pour the full brewery range daily.
Try: Craft beer, cheese boards, petiscos
Order: Letra G imperial stout (when available) or the current seasonal IPA alongside the cheese board.
Tip: The last two pours of the night are often seasonals not on the regular menu. Ask the bar team what they are pouring from the specialty taps after 23:00.
The Letraria taproom pours 23 taps of Letra craft beer from €4 a pint, with a petisco menu of house snacks that keeps total spend manageable for any budget.
Try: Draught Letra craft beer with petiscos
Order: A Letra D red ale and a cheese toastie for a full afternoon in the taproom for under €8.
Tip: The Letra A blonde ale is €4-5 on draught and is the benchmark craft beer for the Minho.
Fach Bratislava on Venturska 10 hides four crafts under one roof inside the Mozart house: sourdough bakery, bistro, juice bar and cocktail counter together.
Why locals love it: Four crafts under one roof on Venturska 10 inside the Mozart house, sourdough bakery plus bistro plus juice bar plus cocktail bar.
Tip: The Thursday-to-Saturday dinner service is the kitchen's most ambitious; reserve a counter seat by email.
Mirror Bar inside the Radisson Blu Carlton ranks among World's 50 Best Bars 2025 at number 25, with optical-illusion menus and custom Slovak glassware.
Signature drink: Optical-illusion signature cocktails
Food: Cocktail snacks
Tip: Reserve a corner banquette; the cocktail menu rotates seasonally with custom glassware.
Sky Bar on the 8th floor of Hviezdoslavovo 7 looks across the Old Town and Danube, with over 70 vodkas, a deep wine list and World Class cocktails.
Signature drink: World Class-standard signature cocktails
Food: Tasting menu, sharing plates
Tip: Reserve a window table for sundown; the bar runs to 02:00 on Friday and Saturday.
Cobbler on Browning Street in West End is the cult whisky and rum hideaway. 350-plus whiskies and seasonal cocktails behind a heritage shopfront.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with rare bourbon
Cobbler on Browning Street in West End hides behind an unmarked shopfront. 350-plus whiskies and 130-plus rums in a vintage Queensland workers' cottage.
Why locals love it: Heritage corner shopfront with no sign or visible signage, locals-only password reputation through 350+ whiskies behind the bar
Death & Taxes hides on Burnett Lane in Brisbane CBD. Speakeasy-format bar in a laneway off Adelaide Street, classic cocktails and deep wine list.
Signature drink: Seasonal bartender's choice
't Brugs Beertje on Kemelstraat is the reference beer cafe of Bruges, pouring around 300 Belgian beers with five on draft in a small brown room.
Signature drink: 300 Belgian beers, five on draft
Food: Cheese plates and bar snacks
Tip: Ask the staff to steer you; the list is encyclopedic. The cheese plate soaks up a Trappist.
De Garre hides down the narrowest alley off Breidelstraat in Bruges, pouring its 11% house Tripel van De Garre brewed by Van Steenberge in a snug brick room.
Signature drink: Tripel van De Garre, 11%
Food: Cheese and pâté boards
Order: The house Tripel van De Garre, served with a cube of cheese; the limit is three for good reason.
Tip: The alley is a doorway-wide gap off Breidelstraat; blink and you miss it. Cash and card both work.
Le Trappiste pours beer in a vaulted 13th-century cellar on Kuipersstraat in Bruges: 27 taps and around 150 bottles, heavy on Trappist and abbey styles.
Signature drink: 27 beers on tap, 150 by the bottle
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Closed Wednesday. The downstairs cellar is the room to ask for; the taps rotate often.
Moeder Lambic on Place Fontainas runs 46 taps of Belgian and European craft, plus a 200-bottle cellar leaning hard on lambic. Order the cantillon gueuze.
Signature drink: Cantillon Gueuze
Food: Cheese, charcuterie
Plumette in Brussels Marolles is the intimate 1930s speakeasy on Rue de l Epee with tailor-made cocktails. Open wed-sun 17:00-02:00; reservations advised.
Signature drink: Tailor-made cocktails alongside classics in a 1930s speakeasy room
Food: Cocktail-bar snacks
L'Archiduc in Brussels' Dansaert has been the jazz temple since 1937. Order the classic manhattan. At Rue Antoine Dansaert 6. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Classic Manhattan
Food: Bar snacks
Hop Hooligans Taproom on Jean Louis Calderon, a 10 minute walk from Bucharest's Piața Universității, pours the brewery's latest IPAs and guest taps.
Signature drink: Crowd Control IPA
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Latest brewery releases on rotation; small heated terrace at the front.
Energiea lives in a former print shop on Brezoianu, a contemporary Bucharest pub-bistro with one of the city's best cocktail programs and a courtyard.
Signature drink: Gin and rosemary signature
Food: Small plates and brunch
Tip: The cocktail menu rotates seasonally; brunch runs Sat-Sun Standing room when busy.
SIP Bucharest occupies a former-bank vault on Covaci, the Old Town speakeasy with original steel safe doors as room dividers and a custom mixology bar.
Signature drink: Custom mixology, vault-aged spirits
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Entry through an unmarked door at Covaci 12; phone reservations are the polite way in for first-time visitors.
Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy in the Jewish Quarter is Budapest's original ruin bar, opened in 2002 and at this address since 2004 in an old stove factory.
Signature drink: Pálinka and Hungarian beer
Food: Bar food, street food in inner courtyard
Order: A glass of pálinka with a Dreher beer on the side.
Tip: No reservations, first-come; entry is free, the Sunday farmers' market runs 09:00-14:00.
Mazel Tov on Akacfa in the Jewish Quarter is a Mediterranean ruin garden in an early 1900s courtyard, with mezze, shawarma and live klezmer most nights.
Signature drink: Israeli wine and Hungarian craft beer
Food: Full Mediterranean and Israeli kitchen
Order: An Israeli sauvignon blanc with the mezze plate.
Tip: Open noon to midnight daily; book a week ahead for weekends, glass-roof courtyard fills first.
Boutiq'Bar on Paulay Ede in Terezvaros is one of Budapest's serious cocktail rooms, with classic cocktails poured by a tightly drilled team near the Opera.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails, Hungarian spirits
Food: Snacks
Order: The Old Cuban with a Hungarian pálinka stinger to close.
Tip: Wed 18:00-24:00, Thu 18:00-01:00, Fri-Sat 18:00-02:00; closed Sun, Mon and Tue.
Sebastian Atienza, Charly Aguinsky and Gus Vocke's Palermo Soho corner; #10 on World's 50 Best Bars 2025. Own-label spirits with Argentine producers.
Signature drink: Own-label whiskey, local liqueurs, pet-nat
Food: Snacks
Buenos Aires' top cocktail bar; #10 in the World's 50 Best Bars 2025. Open Tuesday to Saturday until 03:00; standing room at the bar past midnight.
Try: Cocktails and bar snacks
Tato Giovannoni's subterranean cocktail bar behind the cold-room door of a Retiro flower shop. World's 50 Best Bars list; menu themed by immigrant origins.
Signature drink: Princeps gin and tonic with Principe de los Apostoles yerba mate gin
Food: Tapas, grilled meat, fish
Marble + Rye on Genesee Street downtown is the Dimmer-Willmott cocktail program, with seasonal mixed drinks and Buffalo's most considered bar work.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktail program
Food: Dry-aged burger, small plates
Big Ditch Brewing on East Huron Street downtown is the two-level Buffalo brewery taproom, with up to fifteen beers on tap and a full small-plates menu.
Signature drink: Hayburner IPA
Food: Pub plates, sandwiches, small plates
Lucky Day on Pearl Street downtown is the dim-lit Buffalo cocktail bar with a deep whiskey program, leather banquettes and a Prohibition-era room feel.
Signature drink: Whiskey cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Devil Takes a Holiday on St Paul Street across from City Hall Park, an upscale Burlington cocktail lounge with hand-crafted drinks and a chic vintage room.
Signature drink: Hand-crafted seasonal cocktails
Food: Gourmet small bites
Lee Anderson opened Radio Bean in November 2000 in the former Java Love space on North Winooski. Live music every night; Grace Potter and Anais Mitchell.
Signature drink: Local-roaster espresso into evening cocktails
Food: Light bar plates plus the connected C'est Ca French-Japanese kitchen
Open since May 2013 in downtown Winooski; expertly curated craft beer list with rotating draft plus Heady Topper and Focal Banger. Plant-based plates.
Signature drink: Heady Topper and Focal Banger pours, rotating craft taps
Food: Plant-based options alongside American classics
The Cocktail Club in Charleston runs a King Street upstairs cocktail bar above The Macintosh since 2011. Order the brown spirits, classic cocktails.
Signature drink: Brown spirits, classic cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in upstairs entrance. Tuesday to Sunday 17:00-02:00; reservations available on weekends.
Proof in Charleston is The Commonwealth Company's long-running King Street craft cocktail bar, twelve-plus years on Upper King with a tight tiki and mezcal.
Signature drink: Mezcal cocktails, classic tikis
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Walk-up bar; arrive at 17:00 for stools. The mezcal cocktails are the kitchen's strongest run.
Little Jack's Tavern in Charleston has run a King Street tavern since 2015 with a deep cocktail list and the Tavern Burger. Tin-ceiling room, leather booths.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails, draught beer
Food: Tavern burgers, salads
Tip: Walk-in bar seats serve the full menu till midnight. The Tavern Burger sells out by 22:00 weekends.
The Supperland bar in Plaza Midwood pours cocktails from Michelin's 2025 Exceptional Cocktails Award winner Colleen Hughes, inside the converted 1950s.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktails by Colleen Hughes
Food: Modern Southern small plates
Order: Whichever seasonal cocktail Hughes has on the menu that week.
Tip: Walk-in seats at the bar are easier than the dining room. The hidden speakeasy upstairs is reservation-only.
Dot Dot Dot is the members-only speakeasy behind a brown door at Park Road Shopping Center in Charlotte, with a reservation-led cocktail programme.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: Snacks
Order: A classic cocktail done correctly. The list rotates by season.
Tip: Members-only with affordable annual fee. Reservations are two-hour slots; arrive on time.
Dot Dot Dot at Park Road Shopping Center is the members-only Charlotte speakeasy behind a brown door, with classic cocktails done correctly.
Why locals love it: A speakeasy behind a brown door at Park Road Shopping Center; you have to know the triple-dot sign to find it.
Tip: Members-only with an affordable annual fee. Two-hour reservation slots; arrive on time.
Kumiko in Chicago is Julia Momose's West Loop Japanese cocktail bar on Lake Street, with a kaiseki-leaning food menu and a James Beard Outstanding Bar.
Signature drink: Toki highball
Food: Kaiseki-leaning small plates
Tip: Book the chef's-counter omakase pairing if you have a long evening; otherwise the bar Toki highball is the showcase order.
The Office in Chicago is the speakeasy beneath The Aviary on Fulton Market: a 15-seat reservation-only basement room with rare-spirit flights and caviar.
Signature drink: Rare-spirit flights
Food: Caviar service, snacks
Tip: Book six weeks out via the Tock system. The Pappy Van Winkle pour is the room's biggest draw.
The Aviary in Chicago is the Achatz-Kokonas modernist cocktail bar above Next on Fulton Market, with edible-ice cocktails and a service script all its own.
Signature drink: In the Rocks (cracked-ice cocktail)
Food: Small bites with the cocktail menu
Tip: Book the In the Rocks cocktail (cracked-ice presentation tableside); it is the room's defining drink and the value-per-dollar move.
Taproom by Litra on Strada Vasile Alecsandri in Chișinău is Moldova's first craft taproom, pouring 20 local craft taps in a community-rooted American bar.
Signature drink: Litra unfiltered lagers and IPAs on 20 taps
Food: American-style bar food, hot dogs, sandwiches
Beer House on Bulevardul Negruzzi in Chișinău is a five-tap house brewery in an old-timey Moldovan European-style room, the carte sausage, ribs and brewpub.
Signature drink: House craft tap flight (pilsner, dark, light, wheat)
Food: Moldovan brewpub plates, sausages, ribs
Marlène on Strada București 75 in Chișinău is the cocktail bar (2019) inside a restored Moldovan city-house, with a summer terrace and a long menu.
Signature drink: House signature cocktails
Food: Sharing plates and snacks
Sundry and Vice on West 13th Street in OTR is Cincinnati's apothecary-themed cocktail bar with bitters and one of the city's strongest spirits programs.
Signature drink: Apothecary-style cocktails, bitters and tinctures
Food: Snacks
Sundry and Vice on West 13th Street in OTR runs Cincinnati's late-night cocktail program until 2:30am, the apothecary-themed bar with bitters and tinctures.
Try: Cocktails and snacks
Ghost Baby on Republic Street in OTR is Cincinnati's subterranean cocktail-jazz lounge in an 1850s lagering cellar, hidden five stories below Vine Street.
Why locals love it: Buried five stories under Vine Street in a 170-year-old lagering tunnel. Easy to walk past unless you know the location.
Tip: Live jazz sets at 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30. Reservations make a difference.
Velvet Tango Room on Columbus Road in Tremont, Paulius Nasvytis's craft cocktail lounge since 1996, runs scratch pre-Prohibition drinks nightly.
Signature drink: Sazerac, Last Word and other pre-Prohibition classics, every drink built fresh from scratch
Food: Small plates and bar snacks
Velvet Tango Room on Columbus Road in Tremont, Paulius Nasvytis's craft cocktail room since 1996, runs scratch drinks and small plates on weekends to 01:00.
Try: Pre-Prohibition cocktails and small plates
Velvet Tango Room on Columbus Road in Tremont is Paulius Nasvytis's unmarked cocktail room since 1996, with pre-Prohibition drinks and a vintage soundtrack.
Why locals love it: An unmarked 1996 craft cocktail room on an industrial stretch of Columbus Road that you'd never walk past
Tip: Book ahead for a table on Friday or Saturday; every drink is built from scratch, expect a wait between rounds
Little Link on Maastrichter Strasse in Cologne's Belgisches Viertel is an award-winning cocktail bar; named Germany's most innovative bar for seasonal drinks.
ONA MOR on Roonstrasse in Cologne's Kwartier Latäng is listed on Cologne Tourism for craft cocktails and DJ nights in a lively neighbourhood bar room.
Toddy Tapper on Schillingstrasse in Cologne's Agnesviertel is a South Asian-inspired cocktail bar mixing drinks with coconut toddy and tamarind infusions.
Law Bird on South High Street in Columbus is Luke and Annie Williams Pierce's intimate cocktail and natural-wine bar in the Brewery District since 2019.
Signature drink: Rotating seasonal cocktails
Food: Small plates
Denmark on High is the second-floor Short North cocktail lounge above North High Street, with a rotating seasonal menu and immersive cocktail classes.
Signature drink: Design-forward seasonal cocktail menu
Food: Snacks and shareables
The Veritas bar counter on West Gay Street downtown takes walk-in seats facing the open kitchen, with cocktail pairings off the tasting menu.
Signature drink: Cocktails paired with the tasting menu
Food: Tasting menu plates
Ruby in a 1740 townhouse on Nybrogade in Copenhagen is the city's reference cocktail room, opened 2007 with a parliament view, jazz-club basement and bar.
Signature drink: Classic and modern cocktails
Food: Bar snacks, cheese plates
Tip: Open until 02:00. The basement is the quieter room; the upstairs salon takes walk-ins after 22:00.
Lidkoeb on Vesterbrogade in Vesterbro spreads cocktails across three floors and a courtyard garden, with a whisky bar upstairs running flights on Friday.
Signature drink: Reinvented classics, whisky flights
Food: Small bites
Tip: The courtyard takes walk-ups until 22:00. Upstairs whisky bar is reservation-only Friday and Saturday.
Ruby in a 1740 townhouse on Nybrogade in Copenhagen keeps cocktails pouring until 02:00 daily, with bar snacks and a parliament-view second-floor salon.
Try: Cocktails, bar snacks
Tip: Reservations possible until 22:00; after that it's walk-in only and the basement is the quieter room.
Cork's most celebrated natural wine destination, trading from Union Quay with a 400-bottle list focused entirely on organic, biodynamic and natural producers.
Star Wine List's top-rated Cork venue two years running. Run by sommelier-trained Trudy Ahern, it is a hybrid wine shop and evening bar with no kitchen.
Established in 1842 and run by the Moynihan family since 1927, the Long Valley is Cork's most storied bar. The counter is famously long, the decor unchanged.
Saint Valentine on Bryan Street is the most sophisticated late-night option in East Dallas: a craft cocktail bar from two veteran Dallas bartenders open.
Try: Caviar hash browns, miso garlic noodles, craft cocktails
Tip: The goose fat-washed Martini with enoki vermouth is the cocktail to order. The miso noodles are the best late-night food on the menu.
Dallas's most acclaimed cocktail destination: a subterranean lounge beneath The Joule hotel with live DJs, bold creative cocktails, and a World's 50 Best.
Order: Seasonal tasting menu cocktail; house-infused spirit expressions
Tip: Reservations strongly recommended for Fri-Sat. Hotel guests can sometimes walk in earlier.
World's 50 Best Bars-listed subterranean lounge with a compact but precisely chosen wine list that complements its celebrated cocktail program.
Order: House seasonal cocktail; curated by-the-glass red from the sommelier list
Tip: The wine program is secondary to cocktails here but well-chosen. Ask the bartender for the wine of the night rather than scanning the list independently.
Williams and Graham in Denver is Sean Kenyon's Highland speakeasy behind an unmarked bookcase, a James Beard nominee since 2011 and a Front Range cocktail.
Signature drink: Pisco-based and rye-based cocktails
Food: Snacks and shared plates
Death and Co Denver is the Ramble Hotel cocktail bar from the New York original, an Alex Day and David Kaplan operation since 2018 with a hotel-attached.
Signature drink: Modern classics from the NYC playbook
Food: Bar snacks
Cooper Lounge in Denver is the Crawford Hotel's mezzanine bar over Union Station's Great Hall, a destination room with classic cocktails and a view down.
Signature drink: Champagne cocktails and classic martinis
Food: Oysters, caviar and small plates
Standby in The Belt alley off Gratiot serves modern cocktails in downtown Detroit since 2015. Order the house cocktail, often barrel-aged. At 225 Gratiot Ave.
Signature drink: House cocktail, often barrel-aged
Food: Composed small plates
Tip: Entry is from The Belt alley; reservations through OpenTable. World's 50 Best Discovery list.
Cliff Bell's on Park Avenue has poured cocktails in Detroit's downtown since 1935. Reopened 2006 by Paul Howard, it is the city's premier live jazz room.
Signature drink: Classic Manhattan
Food: Steak frites and chophouse classics
Tip: Tickets for the band run separately. The dining room is half the room; cocktails at the bar.
Baker's Keyboard Lounge on Livernois has poured drinks in Detroit since May 1933 and started booking jazz pianists in 1934, the oldest continuously operating.
Signature drink: Old-fashioned
Food: Soul food kitchen alongside
Tip: Only 99 seats; tilted mirrors let the audience watch the pianist's hands.
The Long Hall on South Great George's Street in Dublin 2, a Victorian saloon since 1881 with original mahogany and mirror back-bar, the city's best Guinness.
Signature drink: Guinness
Food: Bar snacks and toasties only
Tip: The bar runs the length of the room; sit on a stool in the back snug to watch the bar staff work. Cash and card.
Grogan's on South William Street in Dublin 2, the artist's pub since the 1970s, the city's reference for a creamy Guinness and a toasted-cheese-and-ham.
Signature drink: Guinness with a ham and cheese toastie
Food: Toasted cheese and ham toasties only
Tip: Cash and card. The front lounge fills with regulars; the back room is the conversation room. Toasties stop at 18:00.
The Cobblestone on King Street North in Smithfield, Dublin 7, Tom Mulligan's family trad music pub, the city's reference for an unplugged session.
Signature drink: Guinness
Food: No food, drinks only
Tip: Nightly trad sessions from 19:00, free entry. The back room is the dedicated session bar; arrive 18:00 for a seat.
Iain McPherson's Panda and Sons on Queen Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened 2013, a speakeasy cocktail bar in a basement disguised as a barber-shop.
Signature drink: Bourbon and Earl Grey Old Fashioned
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: Enter through the barber-shop door at street level. Bookings open 30 days ahead; cocktail menu changes seasonally.
Bramble on Queen Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened 2006 by Mike Aikman and Jas Scott, a basement cocktail bar credited with launching the city's modern.
Signature drink: Off-menu bartender's choice built from the day's fresh produce
Food: No food
Tip: Walk-ins only and the room fills fast after 9pm; ask the bartender for a dealer's-choice rather than the menu.
The Bow Bar on West Bow in Edinburgh Old Town, opened in the 1860s and refurbished in the 1990s as a classic Scottish pub, with 250 single malt whiskies.
Signature drink: A dram of Highland Park 12 and a pint of cask Belhaven
Food: Bar snacks (pies, crisps)
Tip: No cocktails, no music, no kids. Cask ale list rotates daily; ask the bar what is on tonight.
Locale Firenze in Florence's Centro Storico runs the cocktail bar inside the 13th-century Palazzo delle Seggiole, with the Smoked Negroni, a daily-changing.
Signature drink: Negroni Smoked
Food: Small plates from the Michelin kitchen
Order: Negroni Smoked, Aperol Sour, a small plate from the Michelin kitchen menu.
Tip: Open daily 18:00-02:00. Book the front-courtyard table for the Renaissance loggia view.
Atrium Bar at Florence's Four Seasons Hotel sits inside the 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca cloister, with a Negroni programme by Edoardo Sandri.
Signature drink: Negroni and aperitivo plate
Food: Aperitivo plates and small plates
Order: Negroni, the Italian-aperitivo flight, an aperitivo plate of salumi and crostini.
Tip: Open daily 11:00 to midnight. The 15th-century cloister courtyard seats 60 in summer.
Manifattura in Florence's San Pancrazio square is the all-Italian-spirits cocktail bar, every bottle from an Italian producer, every drink a riff.
Signature drink: Italian-spirits-only Negroni
Food: Snacks
Order: The all-Italian Negroni, the Spritz with Cocchi Americano, an Italian-amaro nightcap.
Tip: Open 18:00-02:00 daily. The 30-seat counter is the seat to book a fortnight ahead.
Bar Higuchi in Nakasu-Kawabata is a whisky cocktail bar with a vast bottle collection. iPad menu with transparent pricing, signature Moscow Mules made well.
Signature drink: Rare Japanese whisky
Food: Light bar snacks
Tip: Reservations preferred. Counter only; iPad bilingual menu Standing room when busy.
Bar Sebek is a long-running classic-cocktail counter in Nakasu, profiled in international bar press as one of Fukuoka's reference cocktail rooms.
Signature drink: Bartender's classic cocktail
Food: None
Tip: Reservation only. Counter twelve.
Bar Kurayoshi is one of Nakasu's stalwart classic-cocktail rooms, regularly listed alongside Sebek and Higuchi in Fukuoka cocktail-bar reviews.
Signature drink: Whisky-forward classic cocktails
Food: None
Tip: Reservation only. Counter and one private room.
The Crane Bar on Sea Road Galway is the hub of traditional music; nightly trad sessions on a stage that launched music careers since the 1980s.
Signature drink: Guinness served before and after trad sessions
Food: No food service
Tigh Neachtain on Cross Street Galway is the most ambient trad-session pub in the west; low ceilings, open fire and live music most nights since 1894.
Signature drink: Pint of Guinness in one of Galway's oldest pub interiors
Food: Bar snacks only
Roisin Dubh on Upper Dominick Street is Galway's principal live-music venue; the 400-capacity upstairs room has hosted every major Irish act since the 1990s.
Signature drink: Pint served at the long bar before heading upstairs to the gig room
Food: No food service
Flisak '76 in Gdańsk has run on Chlebnicka since 1976, a Tri-City cocktail-bar institution now under the third generation of the same family.
Signature drink: Polish-spirits classic cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closes 02:00 Friday and Saturday; reservations recommended after 22:00.
Flisak '76 in Gdańsk has run a Chlebnicka cocktail-bar institution since 1976, now under the third generation. At ul. Chlebnicka 9/10. Booking recommended.
Try: Classic cocktails and bar snacks
Tip: Reservations recommended after 22:00 on weekends.
Józef K. in Gdańsk is the Kafka-named Piwna Street cult bar, retro lamps and mismatched books on the walls. Order the strong spirits and herbal infusions.
Signature drink: Strong spirits and herbal infusions
Food: Home-baked cake
Tip: Quieter on weeknights; arrive after 18:00 for the candlelit version.
Jigger's is a subterranean cocktail bar in the Patershol, listed on the World's 50 Best Discovery list. The cellar bar uses seasonal produce and locally.
Order: The house seasonal cocktail: the team rotates the signature list every few months based on what is growing.
Tip: Open from 17:00 Tuesday through Sunday; the back terrace on warm evenings is one of the most evocative drinking spots in Ghent.
Jigger's medieval cellar bar in the Patershol stays open until 03:00 at weekends, serving seasonal cocktails and 500+ spirits in a candlelit setting.
Order: Jigger's seasonal cocktail: specials change monthly with locally foraged ingredients.
Tip: Arrive by 21:00 to guarantee a seat; the bar fills to capacity after 22:00 with no walk-in option on weekends.
Jigger's operates in a medieval Patershol cellar, serving seasonal cocktails and over 500 spirits in a candlelit setting few tourists ever find.
Why locals love it: The unmarked street entrance and no signage: you only find Jigger's by knowing it is there or by following someone who.
Tip: Arrive by 21:00 to guarantee a seat; the bar fills to capacity after 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays with no walk-in option.
Ego Distillers occupies a dramatic former engine room at Gamlestadens Fabriker, producing aquavit and gin on-site and serving tastings and cocktails.
Order: ['Ego aquavit neat', 'Gin and tonic with house gin', 'Aquavit tasting flight']
Stigbergets Bryggan is the riverside tap bar for one of Sweden's finest craft breweries, pouring the full Stigbergets range in a converted industrial space.
Order: ['Stigbergets West Coast IPA', 'Seasonal release', 'Kellerbier lager']
Beerbliotek's Kungssten taproom on Varholmsgatan pours the brewery's bookish range of IPAs, sours and lagers directly from the source, with rotating guest.
Order: ['Sour of the season', 'New England IPA', 'Lager and pretzel']
Bodegas Castaneda in Granada is the 1953 Calle Almireceros taberna, defining the citys free-tapa tradition with house vermut and Alpujarran cured meats.
Signature drink: House vermut on tap
Food: Free tapas with every drink
Tip: Stand at the marble bar for the free tapas; sit at a table and the menu shifts to a la carte.
Bohemia Jazz Cafe on Plaza de los Lobos in Granada is the cocktails-and-jazz room with a piano centrepiece and live sets at 22:00 every night.
Signature drink: Gin-tonic with house dry vermouth bitter
Food: Desserts and small plates only
Tip: Limited seating; arrive before 21:30 to claim a seat for the live jazz set.
La Tabernilla del Darro by Plaza Nueva in Granada is the canned-fish and garage-vermouth abaceria with natural wines and Iberian boards below the Alhambra.
Signature drink: Garage vermouth and natural wines by the glass
Food: Iberian charcuterie, smoked fish and canned conservas
Tip: Closed Mondays; Resy booking helps for the small dining room but the bar takes walk-ins on garage-vermouth pours.
Vault and Vator is downtown Greenville's first speakeasy: cocktails inspired by the Golden Age of mixology, an unmarked entrance, hand-shaken every order.
Signature drink: Pre-Prohibition cocktail menu
Food: Bar snacks
Vault and Vator runs late cocktails seven nights a week in the West End: pre-Prohibition mixology, hand-crafted bar bites until close every single evening.
Try: Pre-Prohibition cocktails and bar snacks
The Press Room runs a modern speakeasy on East Broad attached to the AC Hotel: hand-crafted cocktails, low lighting, intimate room. Book parties over four.
Signature drink: Hand-crafted cocktails
Food: Bar bites
El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara is the Calle Marsella cocktail bar, a Colonia Americana favourite on the World 50 Best Bars Discovery list for agave drinks.
Signature drink: Agave-spirit cocktails
Food: Snacks
La Fuente in Guadalajara is the Centro Historico cantina since 1921, the Tapatio botana bar pouring tequila with free snacks at lunch and afternoon hours.
Signature drink: Tequila and free botanas
Food: Botana cantina snacks
El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara is the Calle Marsella late-night cocktail bar, a Colonia Americana 50 Best Discovery room for agave drinks until 02:00.
Try: Agave-spirit cocktails
Le Lion Bar de Paris on Rathausstrasse in Hamburg's Altstadt is Joerg Meyer's classic cocktail room since 2007 and the cradle of the 2008 Gin Basil Smash.
Signature drink: Gin Basil Smash
Food: Canapes and champagne
Tip: Ring the buzzer at Rathausstrasse 3; dress code smart. The Gin Basil Smash is the house pour.
Christiansen's Fine Drinks on Pinnasberg in Hamburg's St Pauli has poured classic cocktails since 1997, with over 850 spirits including 250 whiskies.
Signature drink: Rum and whiskey-led classics
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Closed Sundays. Weekend nights run until 04:00; weekday nights close at 02:00.
The Boilerman Bar at the 25hours Hotel Altes Hafenamt in Hamburg's HafenCity runs a rum and highball programme, with the entrance on Ueberseeboulevard near U.
Signature drink: Highballs and long drinks
Food: Snacks and tapas
Tip: Bar manager Jonas Buchsein leads the highball list, on the team since 2022 and bar manager since the late-2025 refresh. Walk-in seats available most nights.
Workshop14 in Hanoi is bartender Rich McDonough's minimal Tay Ho room, ranked No 83 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 and winner of the Campari One To Watch Award.
Signature drink: Hyper-modern mixology by Rich McDonough
Food: Bar snacks
Order: The bartender's seasonal menu of technique-rich cocktails; trust the bar and ask for off-menu.
Tip: A traditional wooden gate leads to a stripped-back room. 14 seats; reservations recommended.
Nê Cocktail Bar in Hanoi is Pham Tien Tiep's award-winning room on Tong Duy Tan, ranked No 76 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2021 for cocktails like the flaming pho.
Signature drink: Pho cocktail with spice-infused gin
Food: Bar snacks
Order: The Pho cocktail: spice-infused gin lit with three tiers of flame; or the Lockdown!
Tip: Stage for live music several nights a week. Cocktails average $11; reservations recommended for groups.
The Bia Hoi Corner in Hanoi is the pavement crossroads of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen, where unpasteurised fresh draft pours at 10,000-15,000 VND per glass.
Signature drink: Fresh draft bia hoi at 10,000-15,000 VND per glass
Food: Grilled snacks, peanuts, dried squid
Order: A fresh bia hoi at the cheapest corner stall; dried squid with chilli salt from passing snack vendors.
Tip: Crowd starts at dusk and spills across both streets by 19:00. Cash only; cheapest beer in any Asian capital.
The Bull and the Firm in Kallio runs a kitchen and a cocktail bar in one room, so dinner slides into late drinks, a rare proper late kitchen in the area.
Try: A la carte plates and cocktails
Tip: Order food before the kitchen winds down, then stay at the bar for cocktails. One of Kallio's better late-evening rooms.
Liberty or Death on Erottajankatu is one of Helsinki's most ambitious cocktail bars, with a seasonal menu built on fresh and unusual ingredients.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktails with fresh and exotic ingredients
Food: Snacks
Tip: Sit at the bar and ask the team to steer you. The menu shifts with the seasons, so trust the bartender's pick.
Trillby & Chadwick is a hidden Kruununhaka cocktail bar styled as a 1900s detective agency, with no sign, just a buzzer, and drinks built to order.
Signature drink: Bespoke cocktails in a 1900s detective-agency setting
Food: None
Tip: Look for the unmarked door and ring the buzzer. Cocktails run around 17 euros; reserve, as the room is tiny.
Bar Leone on Bridges Street in Central is Lorenzo Antinori's Roman aperitivo bar, ranked No. 1 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2025, with cocktails poured.
Signature drink: Olive oil Martini and Negroni Sbagliato
Food: Cicchetti, focaccia, tramezzini
Tip: No reservations; arrive at 18:00 sharp on a weeknight or queue for an hour after 19:30.
COA on Shin Hing Street in Central is Jay Khan's agave bar, ranked No. 38 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2025 with a deep cellar of tequila, mezcal.
Signature drink: Tequila and mezcal flights, agave forward cocktails
Food: Mexican small plates
Tip: Sit at the counter and ask Jay or the team to walk you through the agave flight; the small bites are surprisingly proper.
Argo on the lobby floor of Four Seasons Hong Kong is one of the city's most decorated hotel bars, ranked No. 11 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 with laser.
Signature drink: Single ingredient seasonal cocktails
Food: Hotel bar snacks
Tip: Book the private glass room for a small group; the seasonal menu rotates around one ingredient family at a time.
Bar Leather Apron in Downtown Honolulu is Justin and Tom Park's intimate cocktail bar on the TOPA Financial Center mezzanine, the 2023 James Beard winner.
Signature drink: Old fashioned
Food: Small plates
Tip: Reservations highly recommended; walk-ins welcomed by availability. Open Wednesday to Saturday 17:00 to midnight.
Lewers Lounge at the Halekulani in Waikiki Honolulu is the seven-nights-a-week jazz cocktail bar where Hawaiian-grown ingredients meet Chet Baker and Ella.
Signature drink: Smoke Rings (Sam Cooke)
Food: Lewers burger, poke chips
Tip: Live light jazz Tuesday to Saturday 20:30 to midnight; Sunday and Monday 20:00-22:30. Smart casual.
House Without a Key at the Halekulani in Waikiki Honolulu pours sunset cocktails under a 130-year-old kiawe tree with Hawaiian entertainment.
Signature drink: Mai Tai
Food: Hawaiian small plates
Tip: Sunset hula starts 17:30. Bar tables walk-in only; the Kawehewehe blue curacao cocktail is the new house move.
Refuge in Houston is Bobby Heugel's late-night cocktail apartment on Westheimer Road, above Anvil, with reservations-only stirred cocktails and a snack menu.
Try: Stirred whiskey cocktails and bar snacks
Tip: Reservations only via website. Late slot at 22:00 is the post-dinner option after Bludorn or March.
Refuge in Houston is Bobby Heugel's reservation-only cocktail apartment above Anvil on Westheimer, with a four-stool bar, stirred cocktails and a slow-paced.
Signature drink: Stirred Manhattans and Negroni variations
Food: Tasting menu of bar snacks
Tip: Reservations only via the website. Two seatings a night. The price is steep; the cocktails are the city's most precise.
Anvil Bar & Refuge in Houston is Bobby Heugel's Montrose cocktail bar on Westheimer since 2009, the city's modern cocktail-bar template with the Brave.
Signature drink: Brave (gin, mezcal, lemon, jalapeño honey)
Food: Snacks
Tip: Order off the 100-cocktail wall list at the back. The Brave is the house drink; the 9th Ward Daiquiri is the next pick.
The Inferno Room on Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square, Indianapolis is the city's home for tiki and exotic cocktails. Six nights a week, 21-plus only.
Signature drink: Tiki cocktails and rum flights
Food: Tiki bar snacks
Workingman's Friend on North Belmont in Haughville, Indianapolis is a 1918 lunch counter dive bar. Macedonian-origin, cash only, the West Side standard.
Signature drink: Beer and a smash burger
Food: Smash double cheeseburgers and fries
The Ball & Biscuit on Mass Ave in Indianapolis runs the city's most-decorated craft cocktail program with a deep American whiskey list and back bar.
Signature drink: Pre-Prohibition classics and original cocktails
Food: Snack plates and shareables
Mikla Bar atop the Marmara Pera, Mehmet Gürs's rooftop terrace pouring a 450-label wine list and Anatolian-spirit cocktails over the Golden Horn from 18:00.
Signature drink: Anatolian-spirit cocktails, Turkish wine flights
Food: Bar snacks from the Mikla kitchen
Kavanoz on Tekkeci Sokak in Arnavutköy, a florist-fronted cocktail room with a tree-shaded back garden, the upper-Bosphorus answer to Beyoğlu craft bars.
Signature drink: Seasonal-syrup cocktails and Turkish-spirit twists
Food: Small plates and bar snacks
Geyik on Akarsu Yokuşu flips from a third-wave roastery to a cocktail bar after dark, the work of Turkish barista champion Serkan İpekli and Yağmur Engin.
Signature drink: Barista-mixologist signature cocktails
Food: Snacks and pastries
Swordfish Tom's in Kansas City's Crossroads is an intimate, speakeasy-inspired cocktail bar with no beer, no wine, no food, just premium spirits and crafted.
Signature drink: The Wise Sage cocktail
Food: No food, premium cocktails only
Tip: Reservations recommended; the door is unmarked. The Wise Sage is the bar's signature pour.
KC Bier Co. on 79th and Wornall in Kansas City's Waldo has run authentic German lagers since 2014. Order the german lagers, helles, dunkel. At 310 W 79th St.
Signature drink: German lagers, helles, dunkel
Food: German-style snacks, pretzels
Tip: The Biergarten runs in warm weather only. New Lenexa location opens late 2026.
Tom's Town Distilling on Main in Kansas City's Crossroads is downtown's first legal distillery since Prohibition, founded 2015. At 1701 Main St.
Signature drink: Botanical Gin cocktails
Food: Small plates
Tip: Mon 16:00-20:00, Tue to Thu 16:00-22:00, Fri 16:00-24:00, Sat 12:00-24:00. Tours by appointment.
The bar at the Smithwick's Experience pours a complimentary Smithwick's Red Ale at the end of every tour on the city's 13th-century brewing site.
Signature drink: Smithwick's Original Red Ale on draft
Food: No food; complimentary pint with tour
Kyteler's Inn on St Kieran's Street traces brewing roots to 1324 and curates over 90 Irish whiskey expressions, traditional music nightly in high season.
Signature drink: Kyteler's own-brand Irish whiskey
Food: Full Irish pub food menu
Louie's on Patrick Street is a Parisian-inspired cafe bar with natural wines, small plates from Thursday to Saturday, and leather banquettes from noon.
Signature drink: Natural wine by the glass
Food: Small plates Thursday through Saturday evenings
Brother Wolf on West Jackson, Aaron Thompson and Jessica King's Italian aperitivo bar below Osteria Stella, anchors the Old City's cocktail tier with amari.
Signature drink: Italian aperitivo cocktails and amari
Food: Light bites and snacks
Tip: Sister venue Osteria Stella is upstairs; pair the aperitivo with the Italian dinner for a one-stop Old City night.
The Public House on West Magnolia, the no-TV no-live-music neighborhood bar, runs a serious cocktail program and a tight Southern-inflected food menu.
Signature drink: Craft cocktails and small wine list
Food: Southern-inspired bar plates
Tip: Walk-up only; the bar opens at 16:00, the kitchen runs the full night menu.
Boyd's Jig and Reel on South Central, the Old City Scottish session pub, holds one of the largest single-malt Scotch lists in the world with live Celtic.
Signature drink: Single-malt Scotch whisky
Food: Scottish gastropub
Tip: Sunday and Monday Scottish music jam sessions are the most authentic windows; the whisky list runs over 1,000 bottles.
Mercy Brown in Kraków is the city's most editorial speakeasy: unmarked door on Straszewskiego, candlelit cellar, classic cocktails and Polish whiskey.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with Polish whiskey
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Walk-up policy: ring the bell and ask for the table. Closed Monday and Tuesday; opens Wednesday through Saturday from 19:00.
Alchemia on Kraków's Plac Nowy in Kazimierz has run candle-lit, antique-furniture rooms since 1999. Order the polish vodka shots. At ul. Estery 5.
Signature drink: Polish vodka shots
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Five rooms across two floors; the back-room piano is the better seat after 22:00.
Piwnica pod Baranami on Kraków's Rynek Główny is the cabaret cellar that ran the city's literary-cabaret scene since 1956. Order the polish vodka.
Signature drink: Polish vodka
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Saturday cabaret nights need booking ahead. The cellar room is also open as a regular bar most weeknights.
A speakeasy cocktail bar in a Nakagyo machiya in Kyoto, opened by ex-Saint Germain bartender Yamada-san. Counter seats nine; reservations strongly advised.
Signature drink: Smoked old fashioned
Food: Snacks
The on-brewery tap room of Kyoto Beer Lab on the Takase-gawa in Shimogyo. Eight house taps, pizzas from a wood oven, riverside terrace seating in summer.
Signature drink: House IPA
Food: Pizza and snacks
Bar Rocking Chair's late-night cocktail counter in Nakagyo, Kyoto, open until 02:00. Smoked old fashioned and a single-malt back-bar, nine seats.
Try: Smoked old fashioned
Herbs and Rye in Las Vegas is the West Sahara speakeasy since 2009, a classic-cocktail bar and late-night steakhouse with the half-price happy hour.
Signature drink: Classic-era cocktails by era (1800s, 1900s, 1920s)
Food: Late-night steakhouse menu
Tip: Happy hour daily 17:00-20:00 runs all classic cocktails and steaks at half price; the only happy hour late enough for the swing shift.
Velveteen Rabbit in Las Vegas is the Arts District craft-cocktail and beer bar on South Main since 2013, a vintage-furniture room with seasonal cocktail.
Signature drink: Seasonal house cocktail with fresh produce
Food: Snacks and small bites
Tip: Magic hour daily 17:00-19:00 runs $6 punch and house wine; the patio runs first-come.
Atomic Liquors in Las Vegas is the city's oldest freestanding bar since 1952, a Fremont East dive with 20 rotating draft beers and the upstairs Atomic.
Signature drink: Atomic shot and beer
Food: Atomic Kitchen upstairs
Tip: Holds the oldest tavern license in Las Vegas; the streetside patio overlooks Fremont East and runs from open until close.
Lady Bee at Av Pedro de Osma 205 in Barranco Lima is the husband-and-wife bar at No.13 on World's 50 Best Bars 2025, the Michter's Art of Hospitality winner.
Signature drink: Honey-bee themed pisco and gin cocktails
Food: Snacks pairing the cocktail menu
Order: The signature White Lady and Bee's Knees riffs, paired with the seasonal snack flight.
Tip: Lady Bee moved to a larger Barranco premises July 2025; reservation recommended.
Carnaval at Av Pardo y Aliaga 662 in San Isidro Lima is the Peruvian temple cocktail bar founded 2018, an Ice Room programme and 70 cocktail menu.
Signature drink: Carnaval (Beefeater 24, pineapple chartreuse, lime, witbier)
Food: Snacks and Peruvian small plates
Order: The Carnaval signature, plus a pisco-base off the special menu.
Tip: Closed Sundays; reservation strongly recommended weekends Standing room when busy.
Bar Ingles at Calle Los Eucaliptos 590 in San Isidro Lima is the Country Club Lima Hotel's near-century-old wood-panelled bar, the canonical pisco sour pour.
Signature drink: Pisco sour Country Club style
Food: Sandwiches and small plates from the hotel kitchen
Order: The Country Club pisco sour, often cited as Lima's best, with a butifarra to share.
Tip: No reservations Thursday to Saturday; arrive before 19:00 for a seat at the marble bar.
Toca da Raposa in Lisbon's Principe Real: Constanca Cordeiro's 30-seat fox-themed bar, Portuguese spirits and honey-olive-oil drinks from local farms.
Signature drink: Cocktails built around Portuguese ingredients, honey and olive oil
Food: Snacks
Red Frog in Lisbon's Avenida da Liberdade: a doorbell-and-password speakeasy, on the World's 50 Best Bars list, all-night sours and old fashioneds.
Signature drink: Bespoke whisky sour, after the doorbell
Food: Snacks
Pavilhao Chines in Lisbon's Principe Real: a 1901 grocery turned curio bar, five rooms packed with vintage uniforms, dolls and chandeliers, ring the bell.
Signature drink: Old fashioned in a leather-bound room
Food: Snacks
TaBar's wine bar inside the Rog complex is the city's sharpest natural-wine room, 150-kilometre radius organic and biodynamic bottles with foraged tapas.
Signature drink: 150-kilometre radius natural wine
Food: Slovenian tapas
Wine Bar Suklje on the embankment runs a 500-label list chosen by a young oenologist generation, paired with small plates till late. A TableJourney pick.
Signature drink: Bela Krajina natural pour
Food: Small plates
Tektonik runs the city's leading craft beer taproom, caps every half-litre at 5 euros and runs guided brewery tours Friday afternoons. A TableJourney pick.
Signature drink: House IPA
Food: Snacks
Agostino Perrone's hotel cocktail bar inside The Connaught in Mayfair London, opened 2008, runs the trolley-poured Connaught Martini and has topped.
Signature drink: Connaught Martini (trolley-poured)
Food: Hotel snacks
Tip: The trolley-Martini is the marquee order; £24 a glass. Book a fortnight ahead through the hotel; jacket required after 19:00.
Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr Lyan)'s cocktail bar inside the Sea Containers hotel on the South Bank in London, opened 2019, runs an ingredient-driven menu.
Signature drink: Whatever Mr Lyan ingredient feature is on the menu
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: Walk-up at the bar most weeknights; weekend tables book a week ahead. Six house ingredients drive the menu each season.
Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston's two-floor cocktail bar on Old Compton Street in Soho London, opened 2016, runs an upstairs Irish-coffee bar.
Signature drink: Irish coffee at the upstairs bar
Food: Snacks upstairs, late kitchen downstairs
Tip: Upstairs takes walk-ins from 17:30. The basement runs to 02:00 with a deeper whiskey list. The Borough sibling has the same kitchen.
Old Lightning in Venice, Los Angeles is a hidden whiskey bar behind Scopa with rare bourbons and pre-Prohibition spirits. Order the vintage bourbon flights.
Signature drink: Vintage bourbon flights
Food: None
Thunderbolt in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles is a Mathew Biancaniello cocktail room with frozen rotations and one of the city's best martinis.
Signature drink: Frozen mai tai
Food: Bar snacks, pickled things
Bar Flores in Echo Park, Los Angeles is Othon Nolasco's mezcal and tequila room serving Latin-leaning cocktails and a small dinner plate menu.
Signature drink: Tepache margarita
Food: Small Mexican plates
Doc Crow's on West Main in Louisville pours from a 2,700-bourbon library on Whiskey Row, the city's deepest bourbon list paired with smoked brisket and a raw.
Signature drink: Kentucky bourbon flights
Food: Smoked brisket, raw oysters
Tip: Walk-in for the bar. The Whiskey Wednesday flight runs four pours for $24.
Michter's Fort Nelson on West Main runs a working distillery and bar inside an 1890 Whiskey Row building, the brand's Louisville home with The Bar at Fort.
Signature drink: Michter's bourbon flights, classic cocktails
Food: Cocktail bar bites
Tip: Tours bookable online. The Bar at Fort Nelson takes walk-ins after 17:00.
Angel's Envy on East Main in Louisville runs distillery tours with a tasting bar called The Finishing Room, the brand's downtown home pouring port-finished.
Signature drink: Angel's Envy port-finished bourbon
Food: Tasting plates
Tip: Tours run every 15 minutes; book online. The Finishing Room takes walk-ins for tastings.
L'Antiquaire in Lyon's 1er on Rue Hippolyte Flandrin is the classic-cocktail bar that anchors the city's late evening, with old-fashioneds and a mahogany bar.
Try: Bar snacks with classic cocktails
Tip: Walk-in only; arrive at 19:00 for a seat before the room fills. Closed Sunday.
Bar Sauvage in Lyon's 7e on Rue Montesquieu is the speakeasy cocktail bar open until 02:00 on weekends, with classic cocktails and cheese boards served.
Try: Cheese boards and bar snacks
Tip: Ring the bell to enter; book a booth ahead by Instagram DM for Fri-Sat.
La Baguette Magique in Vieux Lyon is the late-night speakeasy behind a bakery facade where three magicians run cocktails and magic shows past midnight.
Try: Signature cocktails with live magic shows
The Old Fashioned on North Pinckney, the Wisconsin-tavern flagship on Capitol Square, pours hundreds of Wisconsin beers and the brandy Old Fashioned standard.
Signature drink: Brandy Old Fashioned sweet, the city's standard
Food: Wisconsin supper club menu, fish fry, cheese curds
The Coopers Tavern on West Mifflin off Capitol Square is the city's craft-beer-and-Wisconsin-pub flagship with a fish fry, sausages and serious tap list.
Signature drink: Wisconsin craft beer with a fish fry
Food: Gastropub menu, mussels, sausages, fish fry
Gib's Bar on Williamson Street, the small craft-cocktail bar in a converted Marquette house with couches and an upstairs lounge, runs classic cocktails.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned, Negroni and classic cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Salmon Guru on Calle Echegaray in Madrid is Diego Cabrera's neon-lit cocktail room (2017), the World's 50 Best Bars regular with tiki-style drinks.
Signature drink: Tikki-style cocktails by Diego Cabrera
Food: Small plates
Tip: Closed Mondays. Book the back-room tasting flight (4 cocktails for 40 euros) three days ahead; bar takes walk-ins.
1862 Dry Bar on Calle del Pez in Madrid's Malasana is the speakeasy-style cocktail room since 2014, named for Jerry Thomas's 1862 bartender's guide.
Signature drink: Classic Sazerac and Daiquiri
Food: Snacks
Tip: Walk-in but the room is small (35 seats). Closed Sundays. The classic Sazerac (14 euros) is the headline order.
Azotea del Circulo on Calle de Alcala in Madrid's Centro is the rooftop of the 1926 Circulo de Bellas Artes art club, with 360-degree views over Gran Via.
Signature drink: Gin tonic
Food: Tapas, small plates
Tip: Entry fee 5 euros. Open daily 11:00-02:00. The sunset slot (19:30) is the busiest; book on Tickets.com to skip the queue.
Joe and Daniel Schofield's Art Deco cocktail bar on the corner of Sunlight House, Manchester. Top 50 Cocktail Bars list since opening. Walk-ins welcome.
Signature drink: Old fashioned
Food: Bar snacks
Northern Quarter craft beer pub in Manchester since 2011. Eighteen keg, seven cask lines, hundreds of bottles, RateBeer's top Manchester bar most years.
Signature drink: Rotating taps
Food: Bar snacks
Brick-lined Manchester speakeasy on Jackson's Row off Albert Square. Hip-hop soundtrack, vegan-friendly cocktails, sustainable in-house ingredients.
Signature drink: Vegan signature cocktails
Food: Small plates
Le Churchill Bar at Marrakech's La Mamounia, a black-marble Pullman-style room by Patrick Jouin, is the city's most refined cocktail bar; jacket required.
Signature drink: Sir Winston Churchill cocktail
Food: Bar snacks, oysters
Tip: Elegant attire required. The marjoram in the Sir Winston comes from the Mamounia garden behind the bar.
Barometre on Rue Moulay Ali is Morocco's first mixology bar; a Gueliz basement speakeasy in Marrakech with rotating cocktails, infusions, small plates.
Signature drink: Rotating speakeasy of the month
Food: Mediterranean small plates
Tip: Closed Sundays. No reservations; line forms outside the unmarked door before 19:00 on weekends.
El Fenn's rooftop bar in Marrakech medina, 1300m2 with Koutoubia and Atlas views, serves cocktails, light meals and tapas; non-residents welcome till 23:00.
Signature drink: Koutoubia sunset spritz
Food: Tapas, light meals
Tip: Book a chaise for sunset; non-residents pay a 100 DH minimum spend on busy weekends.
Carry Nation in Marseille's 6e is a hidden speakeasy named for the hatchet-wielding temperance activist, prohibition-era cocktails behind a door you.
Signature drink: Prohibition-era cocktails
Food: Small bar snacks
Tip: Open Wed-Sun 19:00-02:00; check the website for the entry procedure.
Carry Nation in Marseille's 6e is the hidden speakeasy named for the hatchet-wielding temperance activist, prohibition-era cocktails until 2am from Wednesday.
Try: Prohibition-era cocktails and bar snacks
Tip: Check the bar website for the entry procedure; closed Monday and Tuesday.
La Caravelle in Marseille's 2e hangs over the Vieux Port on the first floor of the Hotel Belle-Vue since the 1920s, the most coveted balcony in the city.
Signature drink: Pastis at sunset on the balcony
Food: Aperitif tapas and Provencal small plates
Tip: Open daily 7am-2am; jazz concerts Wednesday and Friday October.
Black Pearl on Brunswick Street has been named among the world's best bars: serious craft cocktails in a Fitzroy corner pub built around technique above.
Signature drink: Seasonal bartender's choice cocktail
Bar Americano fits 10 people in a CBD laneway and does not take bookings: the Negroni standard for Melbourne and a lesson in what a small bar.
Signature drink: Americano on tap
Above Board in Collingwood seats 8 at a U-shaped counter and serves rotating seasonal cocktails from a hidden room accessed via Chopper Lane.
Signature drink: Classic Martini with house-clarified brine
Earnestine and Hazel's on South Main downtown Memphis is the city's defining dive, a former brothel and pharmacy with a jukebox, Soul Burgers and ghost lore.
Signature drink: Soul Burger and a beer
Food: Soul burgers
Tip: The Soul Burger is the bar food order. The upstairs is where the ghosts are said to live.
Loflin Yard on West Carolina Avenue in downtown Memphis is a two-acre beer garden with three outdoor bars, fire pits, a creek and house-smoked BBQ on long.
Signature drink: Mojito on draft
Food: House-smoked BBQ and small plates
Tip: The yard runs live music weekends. Game nights and big groups fill the firepit seats first.
Mr. Handy's Blues Hall on Beale Street in Memphis is the only original juke joint left on the strip, a tiny no-frills room with live blues and Beale's rawest.
Signature drink: Beer
Food: None
Tip: Tipping the band keeps the music going. The room holds maybe 40 people. Get there early.
Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City is the Juarez Amberes Street cocktail temple ranked No. 1 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024 and No. 2 in 2025.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned
Food: Bar snacks
Licoreria Limantour in Mexico City is the Roma Norte cocktail flagship on Avenida Alvaro Obregon, one of the World's 50 Best Bars regulars since 2014.
Signature drink: Margarita Al Pastor
Food: Snacks
Hanky Panky in Mexico City is the Juarez speakeasy on Turin Street ranked among the World's 50 Best Bars, opened in 2016 by Walter Meyenberg with bartender.
Signature drink: Classic and original cocktails
Food: Snacks
Cafe La Trova in Miami's Little Havana is Julio Cabrera and Michelle Bernstein's Cuban bar at 971 SW 8th Street, a regular on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Signature drink: Cabrera-style daiquiri
Food: Cuban classics by Michelle Bernstein
Tip: Live music nightly; the bar pours classic Havana daiquiris with the Cabrera technique. The kitchen plates Michelle Bernstein's croquetas.
Sweet Liberty in Miami Beach is John Lermayer's 2015 cocktail bar at 237 20th Street, Collins Park, with a 10-year run as a James Beard semifinalist and Best.
Signature drink: Pina colada
Food: Snacks, oysters, late-night
Tip: Daily 4pm to 6am happy hour is the long pour; pina colada is the order even at midnight.
Broken Shaker in Miami Beach is the Freehand Hotel garden bar at 2727 Indian Creek Drive, a James Beard semifinalist running seasonal cocktails from a tiny.
Signature drink: Garden-driven seasonal cocktails
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: The patio is the room; arrive at sunset. Cocktails change weekly with the back garden's herbs.
MAG Cafe at the Naviglio Grande has shaped Milan's cocktail scene since 2011, the bar with the antique Argentine pharmacy counter where Flavio Angiolillo.
Signature drink: House Negroni with Campari and house-infused vermuth
Food: Light lunches, pastry, aperitivo snacks
Ceresio 7 American Bar on the 4th floor of the Dsquared2 building runs two outdoor pools and a 360-degree skyline terrace. Located in Isola.
Signature drink: Franciacorta Spritz with seasonal bitter liqueur
Food: Cocktail snacks and aperitivo plates
Nottingham Forest on Viale Piave is the city's longest-running experimental cocktail bar, open since 1986 in the same room. Located in Porta Venezia.
Signature drink: Boscobel Ramos Fizz with nitrogen foam
Food: None
Bryant's Cocktail Lounge on South 9th Street in Lincoln Village has poured no-menu cocktails since 1938 with dealer's-choice service and signature pink.
Signature drink: Bryant's Pink Squirrel
Food: No food
Bryant's Cocktail Lounge on South 9th Street in Lincoln Village has poured no-menu cocktails since 1938 with dealer's-choice service and signature pink.
Why locals love it: A no-menu Lincoln Village cocktail lounge with dealer's-choice service since 1938 most tourists skip.
Tip: Tell the bartender what spirits and flavors you like and let them build your cocktail tonight.
Boone and Crockett on South Water Street in Walker's Point is a craft cocktail bar with a deep brandy Old Fashioned program, vegan snacks and a small natural.
Signature drink: Wisconsin Old Fashioned
Food: Vegan bar snacks
Marvel Bar in the basement of the old Bachelor Farmer space has poured Minneapolis's defining cocktails since 2011. Order the oliveto martini.
Signature drink: Oliveto martini
Food: None
Parlour in the basement of Borough on Washington Avenue has poured cocktails in Minneapolis since 2014. Order the parlour burger and cocktail.
Signature drink: Parlour burger and cocktail
Food: Burgers
Monte Carlo on 3rd Avenue North has run a Warehouse District classic cocktail bar in Minneapolis since 1906. Long mahogany bar, Manhattans, steak frites.
Signature drink: Manhattan
Food: American
Ekaa Bar runs a five-part cocktail flight that mirrors the tasting menu's progression. Bartender-led, paired with a small chef snack across the long evening.
Signature drink: Ekaa house cocktail flight (5 part)
Food: Niyati Rao snack tasting
Order: Cocktail flight with the snack pairing.
Tip: Bar walk-ins accepted before 21:00; later, full reservation needed.
Slink and Bardot in a refurbished colonial bungalow in Worli runs French cocktail classics through a modern bar program. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Signature drink: French aperitif cocktails and bottle list
Food: Modern French small plates
Order: A French 75 and the tete de cochon snack.
Tip: Sun terrace seats are walk-in; the room books for dinner. Cash and card both accepted.
The Bombay Canteen bar runs a cocktail program that draws on Indian spices, herbs and regional liqueurs (kokum, jaggery. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Signature drink: Spiced gin and tonics, regional liqueurs
Food: Bombay Canteen small plates
Order: A kokum gin and tonic with the eggs kejriwal.
Tip: Bar counter is walk-in; the restaurant tables book a week ahead.
Charles Schumann's Schumann's Bar on Munich's Odeonsplatz is the city's classic American bar; the room transitions from restaurant to cocktail hour around.
Signature drink: Negroni, Swimming Pool
Food: Bar snacks, daytime carte
Tip: Closed Saturdays; the smaller Camparino next door and the upstairs Fleurs du Mal are quieter rooms.
Zephyr Bar in Munich's Glockenbach since 2011 runs Lukas Motejzik's experimental cocktail programme; the room won Mixology Bar Team of the Year 2025.
Signature drink: Chai and Peach Smash; experimental seasonal house drinks
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk in early or be queued; the bar's house creations rotate seasonally.
Bar Gabányi on Munich's Beethovenplatz is Stefan Gabanyi's speakeasy-style cocktail room since 2012; a deep whisky collection and live piano on weekend.
Signature drink: Whisky cocktails, classic American bar drinks
Food: Bar snacks, hearty bar food
Tip: Open Wed-Sun only; the latest opening is Friday and Saturday at 05:00.
La Negrita Cantina on the corner of Calle 62 and 49 in Mérida's Santa Ana opened in 1917, with live trova, codzitos, sikil-pak and over fifty mezcal labels.
Signature drink: Mezcal and trova
Food: Yucatecan botanas
Picheta's rooftop bar in Mérida's Centro looks straight at the Cathedral and Plaza Grande, the kitchen's contemporary Yucatecan plates running until 01:00.
Signature drink: Mezcal-and-cathedral-view cocktail
Food: Yucatecan tasting plates
Catrín 47's bar on the Calle 47 culinary corridor in Mérida pours mezcal flights and Mexican-spirit cocktails under chef Alfredo Villanueva's mural walls.
Signature drink: Mezcal flights
Food: Modern Mexican small plates
L'Ebbrezza di Noe in Naples' Chiaia pours natural wines from 400 Italian and Campanian growers plus a modest cocktail list, the city's strongest cellar.
Signature drink: Aperol spritz with Falanghina base
Food: Cheese, charcuterie, Campanian small plates
Tip: Closed Sunday. Book a fortnight ahead for the cellar room; cheese boards run 16 euros.
Barril in Naples' Chiaia is the cocktail-and-wine bar with a daily-changing small-plates carte and an Aperol-cetriolo spritz as house signature.
Signature drink: Aperol-cetriolo spritz, mezcal negroni
Food: Modern small plates, salumi
Tip: Open daily; the late-night kitchen runs to 01:00. Cocktails 12 euros, wine by the glass from 6 euros.
Gran Caffè Gambrinus on Piazza Trieste e Trento in Naples (1860) is the city's most-storied cafe-bar with a marble counter aperitivo, Aperol spritz.
Signature drink: Aperol spritz, americano caffe corretto
Food: Sweet pastries, light savouries
Tip: Standing counter prices are one-third of the seated terrace. The terrace gets the Piazza del Plebiscito view.
The New York-born Attaboy opened its East Nashville McFerrin Avenue outpost in 2018: no menu, no cocktail list, bartenders build drinks to your spec.
Signature drink: Bartender's choice (no menu)
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Doors at 17:00 Sunday to Thursday, 16:00 Friday and Saturday. Press the buzzer to enter; first-come-first-served bar.
Strategic Hospitality's Patterson House cocktail bar reopened in May 2025 on the fifth floor of the Bill Voorhees Building in Nashville. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Bacon Old Fashioned
Food: Light snacks
Tip: Entrance is on Paseo Pl. behind the building; reservations recommended on weekends.
Pearl Diver on Gallatin Avenue in East Nashville is a multi-time Spirited Awards Best US Cocktail Bar honoree and tiki-style room with a deep rum programme.
Signature drink: Tiki classics
Food: Bar snacks and brunch
Tip: Reopened March 2026 with weekend brunch service, greatest hits cocktail list and a refreshed food menu.
Jewel of the South in New Orleans is Chris Hannah's St Louis Street cocktail temple in an 1830s Creole cottage, four-time North America's 50 Best South USA.
Signature drink: Brandy Crusta
Food: Full dinner menu upstairs
Tip: The brandy crusta was invented by Joseph Santini in New Orleans circa 1850; this is the canonical version.
Cure in New Orleans is the Freret Street cocktail bar in a 1907 firehouse from Neal Bodenheimer, on the North America's 50 Best Bars list since 2018.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktail menu
Food: Small plates and bar food
Tip: Cure prints a seasonal menu but the regular order is to tell the bartender what you like and what you don't.
French 75 Bar in New Orleans is Chris Hannah's longtime cocktail room beside Arnaud's on Bienville Street, with the canonical French 75 cocktail.
Signature drink: French 75
Food: Bar snacks; Arnaud's kitchen next door
Tip: Order the French 75 with cognac, not gin; the older Cazenave-era recipe is the house standard.
Attaboy on Eldridge has poured bartender-choice cocktails in the Lower East Side, New York City since 2013. No menu, no door bell, ring for entry.
Signature drink: Penicillin
Food: None
Tip: Ring the unmarked grey door. Order by mood and base spirit; the bar does the rest. Cash, card, no reservations.
Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry's three-floor Financial District bar in New York City sits high in the World's 50 Best list. Order the irish coffee.
Signature drink: Irish Coffee
Food: Pub food and oysters
Tip: The downstairs Taproom takes walk-ins; the Parlor upstairs needs a booking. Order Irish Coffee at the Taproom counter.
Double Chicken Please on Allen Street has run the city's most ambitious flavour-led cocktail program in New York City since 2020. Located in Lower East Side.
Signature drink: Cold Pizza
Food: Fried chicken sandwiches
Tip: Front Room walk-in; Coop in the back takes reservations on Resy. The Cold Pizza is the showpiece, the Pina Colada the runner-up.
Cave de la Tour on Rue de la Tour has poured Bellet and Provence wines since 1947, fourth generation Gazan family room and the world petits farcis.
Signature drink: Bellet white
Food: Petits farcis and Nicoise snacks
Le Bar des Oiseaux on Rue Saint Vincent in Vieux Nice runs a Decanter-listed natural wine room with thoughtfully curated French growers and Mediterranean.
Signature drink: Natural wine by the glass
Food: Mediterranean small plates
Moon Bar Aston on the seventh floor of Hotel Aston La Scala runs the Nice rooftop with the city's most cited view, panoramic over Vieux Nice and Mont Boron.
Signature drink: Sunset cocktail
Food: Bar bites and tapas
Ordinaire on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt has poured natural wine since Bradford Taylor opened it in 2013. Bistro plates, daily until 21:00.
Signature drink: Natural wine by the glass
Food: Bistro plates, cheese, charcuterie
Ramen Shop's College Avenue cocktail bar runs original cocktails and highballs with the East Bay's tightest spirit selection from St. George Distillery.
Signature drink: Yuzu Gold Rush
Food: Ramen, izakaya small plates
Ghost Town's Adeline taproom in West Oakland is one of the best craft beer rooms in the East Bay. Hop-forward beers, dog-friendly, with rotating food trucks.
Signature drink: Ghost Town IPA
Food: Snacks, food trucks
Mezcaloteca on Reforma is the appointment-only library tasting room with 100-plus family-producer mezcals, opened in 2010 to educate palates on traditional.
Signature drink: Five-mezcal educational flight
Food: Water and dry snacks
Selva on Macedonio Alcala is on the 50 Best Discovery list, a creative cocktail bar with Oaxacan-ingredient drinks and mezcals from small distilleries.
Signature drink: Selva cocktail with mezcal, hoja santa and Oaxacan cheese
Food: Bar snacks
In Situ on Vicente Guerrero is Ulises Torrentera's mezcaleria with 180-plus mezcals and the author often behind the bar pouring on his own flights all night.
Signature drink: Ulises Torrentera-curated flight
Food: Bar snacks
Hanson's Shoe Repair in downtown Orlando is a rooftop tiki speakeasy hidden behind a Prohibition-style shoe-repair facade on East Pine Street, daily password.
Why locals love it: A rooftop tiki speakeasy hidden behind a Prohibition-style shoe-repair facade on East Pine Street, with a daily Instagram password to enter.
Tip: Follow @hansonsshoeshop on Instagram for that day's magic word before you go.
Hanson's Shoe Repair on East Pine Street downtown is the rooftop tiki speakeasy with a daily Instagram password, behind a Prohibition-style storefront.
Signature drink: Pearl Diver, Painkiller and rotating tiki classics
Food: Snacks and bar bites
Hanson's Shoe Repair rooftop tiki speakeasy on East Pine Street runs until 02:00 Tuesday through Saturday, with rotating tiki classics and a daily password.
Try: Tiki cocktails and bar snacks
Asia's 50 Best Bars-ranked Osaka cocktail bar by Ryu Fujii, experimenting with Japanese ferments and distillates in a discreet Umeda basement under Osaka.
Signature drink: Seasonal Japanese fermentation cocktail
A ten-seat Amerikamura cocktail bar near Triangle Park where bartenders craft bespoke drinks to each guest taste from house-made syrups with no fixed menu.
Signature drink: Bespoke seasonal infusion cocktail
Amerikamura flagship basement electronic venue hosting Tokyo and international DJs on a Funktion-One sound system; open from 22:00 Thursday to Saturday.
Signature drink: Ghost signature sour
Himkok on Storgata in central Oslo is the Norwegian distillery bar with house-distilled aquavit, gin and vodka, on the World's 50 Best Bars every year.
Signature drink: Norwegian aquavit cocktails
Food: Snacks
Territoriet on Markveien at the foot of Grunerlokka opened in 2014 with 100-plus wines by the glass, now a neighbourhood institution and one of the deepest.
Signature drink: 100-plus wines by the glass
Food: Snacks and small plates
Fuglen on Universitetsgata turns from coffee bar to cocktail room past 18:00, with a tight Nordic-spirits cocktail list and 1963 mid-century furniture pieces.
Signature drink: Aquavit Sour
Food: Bar snacks
Bocum Mixology on Via dei Cassari in Palermo's Vucciria is the city's senior cocktail bar, Gambero Rosso's Sicily benchmark, deep Sicilian-spirits list.
Signature drink: Frangiflutti (Marsala-based cocktail)
Food: Sicilian sharing plates, panini, charcuterie
Tip: Aperitivo from 18:00. Frangiflutti is the house cocktail; the upstairs lounge is the seat to book.
Botteghe Colletti on Via Alessandro Paternostro in Palermo's Vucciria runs a small-room natural-wine bar with a Sicilian-only list. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Catarratto by the glass
Food: Cicchetti, charcuterie, cheese
Tip: Closed Monday. The fortnightly winemaker visits are worth the seat; check Instagram for the calendar.
Antico Caffe Spinnato's pedestrian terrace on Via Principe di Belmonte in Palermo's Politeama is the city's senior cafe-bar for aperitivo, drawing the local.
Signature drink: Aperol spritz, Sicilian wines by the glass
Food: Aperitivo plates, charcuterie
Tip: The pedestrian terrace fills first in summer. Aperol spritz and Sicilian wines by the glass.
Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris is Colin Field's classic-cocktail temple. Open 18:00-02:00. No standing; book a 19:00 seat for the calmer first hour.
Signature drink: Serendipity (mint, Calvados, Champagne)
Food: Snacks
Tip: Open 18:00-02:00. No standing; book a 19:00 seat for the calmer first hour.
Little Red Door in Paris's 3e Marais runs a menu themed around the chemistry of plants, with custom-distilled spirits. Order the plant-based menu.
Signature drink: Plant-based menu
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reservations from 18:00. The Sunday bar manager's pick at €15 is the cheapest cocktail in the room.
Le Syndicat in Paris's 10e mixes cocktails using only French spirits, a rule the bar has kept since opening in 2014. The graffitied facade hides 18 seats.
Signature drink: All-French-spirits cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: No reservations. Arrive at 19:00 for stools or after 23:00 once the early crowd shifts elsewhere.
Hop Sing Laundromat in Philadelphia is the unmarked Chinatown speakeasy on Race Street since 2012, with 1,000-plus rare spirits, strict house rules.
Signature drink: Whichever rare-spirits cocktail Lee Won mixes that night
Food: No food
Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia is the Rittenhouse 16th Street Belgian beer bar since 1997 from Tom Peters and Fergus Carey, with 200-plus Belgian and craft.
Signature drink: Sour Bruges (mussel-and-Belgian-beer combo)
Food: Belgian bistro menu
Hop Sing Laundromat in Philadelphia is the unmarked Chinatown speakeasy on Race Street, open Friday and Saturday past midnight with 1,000-plus rare spirits.
Try: Rare-spirits cocktails
Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour in the historic Luhrs Building is Ross Simon's downtown cocktail lounge, open since 2014 with a book-length drinks menu.
Signature drink: Globally inspired cocktail menu
Food: Asian-leaning bar bites
Order: Whatever themed cocktail is on the current illustrated menu; the list reads like a book.
Tip: The 160-seat room fills on weekends; the upstairs lounge is the quieter perch.
UnderTow on Indian School Road is an immersive below-deck tiki bar in the Century Grand building, an Arcadia rum room on the World's 50 Best Discovery list.
Signature drink: Rum-forward tiki cocktails
Food: Tiki snacks
Order: A rum-forward tiki cocktail served in the ship's-hold room.
Tip: Reservations only and timed seatings; the room is built like a ship's hold below Sip Coffee.
Little Rituals is an award-winning cocktail bar on the fourth-floor terrace of the downtown Phoenix Marriott, pouring seasonal drinks with a city-view patio.
Signature drink: Seasonal craft cocktails
Food: Small plates
Order: A seasonal cocktail on the open-air fourth-floor terrace.
Tip: Take the hotel elevator to the fourth floor; the terrace is the seat at sunset.
Hidden Harbor on Shady Avenue in Squirrel Hill is a nationally-ranked tiki bar in Pittsburgh. Over 600 rums and house-made tropical cocktails.
Signature drink: Rum tiki cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: One of the country's best tiki bars. Go for the rum list and the elaborate exotic drinks.
The horseshoe bar at Fet-Fisk on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield is one of Pittsburgh's best perches. Snaps, low-intervention wine and oysters at the counter.
Signature drink: Snaps and low-intervention wine
Food: Nordic snacks
Tip: The bar stays open later than the kitchen. A great spot for oysters and a glass solo.
Acacia on East Carson Street in the South Side is a low-lit cocktail bar in Pittsburgh. A calmer corner of the bar strip built for conversation.
Signature drink: Custom cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: A quieter spot on a rowdy strip. Tell the bartender what you like and let them build it.
Cat and Mouse opened in 2015 as the first craft beer bar in Kapana. 150+ Belgian, German, Czech, Spanish and Bulgarian beers, distinctive design.
Signature drink: Bulgarian craft beer
Food: Snacks, charcuterie
Hopium is Pelta Brewing's Kapana taproom. Ten Bulgarian craft taps and 50+ bottles and cans, late hours Friday and Saturday, takeout sales for the road.
Signature drink: Pelta Brewing house beers
Food: Snacks
Hopium's Pelta taproom runs Friday and Saturday to 02:00 in Kapana. Ten Bulgarian craft taps, 50+ bottles, retail for the road, packed past midnight.
Try: Pelta house IPAs and stouts plus bar bites
Portland's whiskey library and membership lounge on SW Alder, with 1,500+ bottles on rolling library ladders, leather wingbacks and cart-pulled cocktail.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with library-pour bourbon
Food: Charcuterie and small plates
Tip: Members reserve ahead. Non-members enter via the standby line at 17:00 (or Mon-Wed walk-ins more reliable).
Heather Lawless's SE Clinton Street cocktail bar in Portland, with classic spec martinis, Pacific oysters on the half-shell and a relocated 2024 dining room.
Signature drink: Martini paired with Pacific oysters
Food: Seafood and oysters
Tip: Oyster happy hour 16:00-17:30 weekdays. The bar walks in; the dining room books on Resy.
Portland's whisky library on SW Alder is open until midnight nightly, with 1,500+ bottles on rolling library ladders, leather wingbacks and bar-cart cocktail.
Try: Bourbon flight and charcuterie
Tip: Members reserve ahead. The standby line starts at 17:00; midnight is the late bourbon-flight slot.
Portland Hunt + Alpine Club on Market Street, since 2013 from Andrew and Briana Volk, is Portland's defining craft cocktail room with aquavit and smorrebrod.
Signature drink: Scandinavian-influenced cocktails, aquavit Bloody Mary
Food: Smorrebrod, Scandinavian small plates
Tip: Wednesday to Sunday from 16:00. Bar seats walk in; weekend evenings fill by 19:00.
Blyth and Burrows on Exchange Street runs a vintage-inspired cocktail bar with a hidden speakeasy (Broken Dram) accessed via the alley behind the building.
Signature drink: Vintage-inspired craft cocktails
Food: Snacks, small plates
Tip: Mon-Tue 16:00-23:00; Wed-Fri 16:00-24:00; Sat 12:00-24:00; Sun 12:00-23:00. Walk in for the upstairs bar.
Novare Res Bier Cafe in Canal Plaza, since 2008 from Eric Michaud, is Portland's Belgian-and-craft-beer destination with a courtyard patio open all summer.
Signature drink: Rotating taps of rare Belgian and Maine craft beer
Food: Charcuterie, pretzels, sandwiches
Tip: The courtyard patio opens through summer. Bottle list is the city's deepest; ask staff for current rarities.
The Royal Cocktail Club on Rua da Fabrica in Porto is a dark-wood cocktail room with a Portuguese-spirit-led menu, including a Negroni built on Tres Tigres.
Signature drink: Portuguese-spirit Negroni
Food: Snacks and petiscos
Mirajazz on the Escadas do Caminho Novo in Porto's Miragaia is a rooftop wine and jazz bar reached up a steep stone stair, with 24 wines by the glass.
Signature drink: Douro red by the glass
Food: Petiscos and small plates
Vinologia on Rua de Sao Joao in Porto's Ribeira is a French-run port-only tasting room with around 200 references from small Douro producers.
Signature drink: Tawny port flight by small producers
Food: Cheese and charcuterie boards
Dram on Stary Rynek 92 in Poznań is a cocktail bar, kitchen and live-music room with a Wroniecka-street entrance, run by bar manager Damian Dylewski.
Signature drink: Quarterly seasonal cocktail menu by bar manager Damian Dylewski
Food: Signature cuisine, plated dinner menu
Tip: Live music starts around 20:00; book a side table over a bar seat if you want the kitchen menu to land in proper order.
Piwna Stopa on Szewska 7 in Poznań pours 16 rotating taps and over 200 bottled beers, with a Czech-tavern interior, a beer-garden in summer and pulled-pork.
Signature drink: Rotating 16 taps of Polish craft and a 200-bottle reserve
Food: Hot dogs and pulled-pork sandwiches
Tip: The summer garden takes barbecue events; check the tap list online before the visit to time a small-brewery showcase.
Vandal Cafe on Strusia 9 in Łazarz, Poznań pours speciality coffee by day and craft beer plus wine by night, with vintage-meets-houseplant interiors.
Signature drink: Freshpresso, espresso with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Food: Cakes, vegan plates, daytime brunch
Tip: The freshpresso, espresso with fresh grapefruit juice, is the house signature; ask for it before defaulting to the bar list.
Hemingway Bar in the Old Town is Prague's serious cocktail destination, holding the city's largest absinthe collection and over 200 rums in a corner-room.
Signature drink: Absinthe cocktail with rum reduction
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reserve ahead; the bartenders do classic cocktails better than anyone in the city.
Hemingway Bar near Charles Bridge runs serious classical cocktails until 01:00 daily, with 200 rums and the city's biggest absinthe collection.
Try: Cocktails, light bar snacks
Tip: Reserve before 22:00; standing room dries up before midnight.
BeerGeek Bar in Vinohrady runs 32 changing taps of Czech and international craft beer. Order the 32 changing taps of craft beer. At Vinohradska 1342/62.
Signature drink: 32 changing taps of craft beer
Food: Snacks, sausages
Tip: The Sibeeria stout is the house pour; trip across to Slavikova for the shop.
The Eddy on Eddy Street, open since 2012, is the city's reference craft cocktail bar. Classic and creative cocktails, cheese, charcuterie, oysters.
Signature drink: Spicy Siesta
Food: Charcuterie, cheese and oysters
The Hot Club has been the family-run Providence River waterfront bar near Hasbro Hospital for nearly 40 years. Cheap drinks; the 20:30 neon flash.
Signature drink: Cold can of Narragansett
Food: Bar snacks: fries, fried pickles, burgers
Ogie's Trailer Park on Westminster pairs trailer-park decor (AstroTurf, lava lamps) with a tiki-leaning patio; frozen drinks, wing night, trivia.
Signature drink: Frozen tiki cocktail
Food: American comfort food, wings
Kaffibarinn on Bergstadastraeti has anchored Reykjavik nightlife since 1993, a cafe by day that turns into the city's most packed DJ bar by midnight.
Signature drink: Beer and DJ nights
Food: Snacks
Tip: Part-owned over the years by Damon Albarn. Queues form after 23:00 at weekends, so arrive early.
Slippbarinn on Myrargata was Reykjavik's first cocktail bar, a harbourside room at the Marina hotel mixing inventive drinks with a long daily happy hour.
Signature drink: Cocktail of the Month
Food: Bar food and burgers
Tip: The rotating Cocktail of the Month is the order. Happy hour runs 15:00-18:00 every day by the harbour.
Rontgen on Hverfisgata is a two-floor wine, beer and cocktail bar above Dill, a Reykjavik room of candles, art and compiled low-intervention wines that won.
Signature drink: Curated low-intervention wines and draft beer
Food: Bar menu from Hosilo
Tip: Bar menu from Hosilo runs Tuesday to Saturday until 21:00. Happy hour weekdays 16:00-20:00.
The Jasper on West Cary in Carytown is Richmond's no-pretense cocktail bar. Mattias Hagglund, Thomas Leggett, Brandon Peck and Kevin Liu opened it January.
Signature drink: Bartender's choice cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
The Jasper in Carytown is open until 2 am every day. Mattias Hagglund's cocktail bar carries Richmond's late-night drinking room; bartender's choice.
Order: Bartender's choice cocktail.
Tip: The bar is the seat; the snack menu runs late.
Rappahannock's bar on Grace pours Virginia sparkling and East Coast whites with Croxton family oysters. Marble counter, no reservation needed.
Signature drink: Virginia sparkling, oyster shooter
Food: Oysters, crab cake, crudo
Labietis Culture Taproom is the original labietis taproom on the old von stricka brewery grounds, tucked behind the riga beer district on a residential block.
Why locals love it: The original Labietis taproom on the old von Stricka brewery grounds, tucked behind the Riga Beer District on a residential block.
Tip: The pagan-themed beers rotate weekly; ask for the foraged-ingredient seasonals not on the regular menu board.
Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs is Old Town's deepest cellar bar, 32 taps of Latvian beer and cider with live folk music five nights a week and Wednesday dancing.
Signature drink: Latvian craft beer and cider
Food: Latvian pub food
Order: A four-beer Latvian craft flight; the cellar pours small breweries you won't see elsewhere.
Tip: Open until 04:00 on Saturday; the cellar acoustics mean folk music nights book up.
Skyline Bar sits on the 26th floor of the Radisson Blu Latvija on Elizabetes, the city's most-cited rooftop view with cocktails and Asian-leaning bar food.
Signature drink: Signature cocktails with Asian-cuisine snacks
Food: Asian small plates
Order: A signature cocktail at sunset with a small plate from the Asian-fusion menu.
Tip: Sunday brunch with live music; DJ sets Friday and Saturday from 21:00. The lift queue moves slow on summer nights.
Patrick Pistolesi's Drink Kong in Rome's Monti district is the Tokyo-style cocktail bar with signature highballs, the city's strongest cocktail list.
Signature drink: Tokyo-style highballs, signature cocktails
Food: Asian small plates, ramen late
Tip: Open daily 19:00-04:00. Book the cocktail bar four days ahead; ramen kitchen runs from 22:00.
The Jerry Thomas Project in Rome's Centro Storico is the city's original speakeasy, with a 1930s-era classic cocktail carte and a daily password posted.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails, prohibition-era
Food: Small snacks
Tip: Members or guests; check the daily password on the website. Book a fortnight ahead.
Court at Palazzo Manfredi in Rome is the rooftop cocktail bar with a direct view of the Colosseum from every seat, the signature classic-cocktail carte.
Signature drink: Negroni, signature cocktails
Food: Aperitivo plates, full dinner carte
Tip: Open daily 18:00-24:00. Book the rooftop terrace four weeks ahead; sunset slots sell out first.
Rotterdam's theatrical speakeasy operating until 3am Thursday to Saturday, with a hidden bookcase entrance, tableside cocktail service, and a rare-spirits.
Rotterdam's finest genever proeflokaal (tasting room), stocking over 100 Dutch and Belgian genevers in a tiled interior that has survived since the late 19th.
The anchor of Rotterdam's most famous bar street since 1973, well-regarded for craft Dutch beers, late-night energy, and free live music every weekend.
The Snug on 15th Street in midtown Sacramento is the city's best-known speakeasy-style cocktail bar, among the West Coast's strongest classic-cocktail rooms.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails, vintage spirits
Food: Bar snacks
The bar at Camden Spit & Larder on Capitol Mall, downtown Sacramento, is Oliver Ridgeway's Michelin Recommended brasserie bar, a London-style spirits list.
Signature drink: Negroni service and British-style spirits
Food: Bar snacks and charcuterie
The Shady Lady Saloon on R Street, downtown Sacramento, runs a 1920s speakeasy aesthetic with craft cocktails, a kitchen and weeknight live music.
Signature drink: Classic and seasonal craft cocktails
Food: Gourmet pub-style kitchen
Water Witch on West 900 South, Sean Neves, Scott Gardner and Matt Pfohl's Central 9th cocktail bar, was a 2025 James Beard Outstanding Bar finalist.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktails
Food: Bar Nohm Korean izakaya next door
Water Witch on West 900 South, Sean Neves, Scott Gardner and Matt Pfohl's Central 9th cocktail bar, was a 2025 James Beard finalist for Outstanding Bar.
Why locals love it: James Beard 2025 finalist hidden in the Central 9th industrial blocks, easily missed if you don't know the address.
Tip: Bar Nohm Korean izakaya next door shares the same back hallway; weeknights run quieter.
Post Office Place on West Market Street next to Takashi, Tamara Gibo and Takashi's cocktail bar in the historic post office building, runs craft pours.
Signature drink: Craft cocktails
Food: Light snacks
Pastiche pours playful European-leaning cocktails from a 1920s cottage in Dignowity Hill, a quiet east-side bar with charcuterie boards and real charm.
Signature drink: Reimagined European classics
Food: Charcuterie and bistro snacks
Tip: The cottage setting on a quiet street is half the charm. Order a riff on a European classic and a charcuterie board.
The Modernist near the Pearl runs without a menu; tell the bartender a spirit and a mood. It was named San Antonio's best cocktail bar in 2025.
Signature drink: Made-to-taste classics, no menu
Food: Snacks
Tip: There is no menu; tell the bartender a spirit and a mood. Named San Antonio's best cocktail bar in 2025.
Sternewirth is the bar inside Hotel Emma at the Pearl, set beneath the old brewery's restored cast-iron tanks, one of the most evocative rooms in the city.
Signature drink: Cocktails under the brewhouse tanks
Food: Bar snacks from Hotel Emma
Tip: Come for the room as much as the drink; the converted brewhouse is spectacular. Snacks come from the Emma kitchen.
False Idol tiki speakeasy in Little Italy, San Diego, the CH Projects hideaway behind Craft and Commerce running classic Don the Beachcomber recipes with rum.
Signature drink: Don's Special Daiquiri, classic and modern tiki
Food: Polynesian-inflected bar snacks from Craft and Commerce
False Idol tiki speakeasy in Little Italy, San Diego, classic Don the Beachcomber rum cocktails until 2am Fri-Sat behind a hidden door at Craft and Commerce.
Try: Don's Special Daiquiri, classic tiki, Polynesian snacks
Noble Experiment speakeasy in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, hidden behind a wall of beer kegs at Neighborhood, with a pre-Prohibition cocktail program from CH.
Signature drink: Bartender's Choice from a pre-Prohibition spirit cellar
Food: Cocktail snacks from Neighborhood next door
Trick Dog in San Francisco is Bon Vivants' Mission cocktail bar with a twice-yearly themed menu (Pantone chips, IKEA catalogue, mural maps) and a long bar.
Signature drink: Theme-menu cocktails (changes twice a year)
Food: American snack menu, burgers
Tip: Walk in before 19:00 or after 22:30; bar seats are first-come and turn over fast.
ABV in San Francisco is Todd Smith and Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud's Mission cocktail bar with a Bywater on the menu since 2014 and the city's best bar burger.
Signature drink: Bywater (rye, falernum, chartreuse, allspice)
Food: Bar snacks, burger, daily specials
Tip: Sit at the bar back-bar to watch the build; the upstairs Over Proof tasting room is by appointment.
True Laurel in San Francisco is Lazy Bear's sister cocktail bar in the Mission, with Nick Roush's spec sheets and a regular World's 50 Best Bars nomination.
Signature drink: Honeydew daiquiri
Food: Snack menu from Lazy Bear kitchen
Tip: The honeydew daiquiri only runs in melon season (July to September); ask the bar whether it is pouring tonight.
Ganbara's ground-floor counter on San Jeronimo in San Sebastian's Old Town pours Txakoli alongside the autumn setas pintxo and the spider-crab plate.
Signature drink: Txakoli with the autumn setas
Food: Mushrooms, spider crab, pintxos
Tip: October to December for peak mushroom season; the counter is busy from 13:00.
La Cuchara de San Telmo on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian, open since 1999, pairs the made-to-order pintxos with a Rioja-leaning by-the-glass list.
Signature drink: Half-bottle of Rioja with the carrillera
Food: Modern Basque made-to-order pintxos
Tip: The carrillera with a Rioja red is the canonical Cuchara order. Queue early.
Borda Berri on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian cooks hot made-to-order pintxos off a tight blackboard menu, with a Txakoli pour and a single house red.
Signature drink: Txakoli with the risotto de Idiazabal
Food: Hot made-to-order pintxos
Tip: No counter display; read the blackboard. Closed Sundays Standing room when busy.
Secreto Lounge is Santa Fe's most awarded cocktail room; the smoked sage margarita and garden-to-glass program live inside Hotel St. Francis one block off.
Signature drink: Smoked sage margarita
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Rowley brews farmhouse sours and saisons in a small Maclovia Street facility; the gastropub plates farm-to-table dinners alongside the tank lineup.
Signature drink: House saisons and Belgian-style sours
Food: Farm-to-table gastropub plates
Tonic is the city's serious-cocktail room, an art deco intimate space pouring liquor-and-house-syrup seasonal classics on East Water Street.
Signature drink: Seasonal craft cocktail menu
Food: Curated bar bites: charcuterie, conserva, artisan cheese
Nikka Whisky's Hokkaido flagship in Susukino, pouring rare expressions of Taketsuru, Yoichi and Miyagikyo from the company's own cellar warehouse.
Signature drink: Taketsuru Pure Malt flight
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Reservations via Nikka site; the Yoichi single-cask flights need a week's notice.
Founded late 1950s by mixologist Tatsuro Yamazaki, Bar Yamazaki is one of Japan's classic Susukino cocktail bars; the Emperor's Imperial Prize landed in 1993.
Signature drink: Sapporo (signature vodka-based cocktail)
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Counter only; order the signature Sapporo cocktail to start.
A Susukino sake bar stocking nearly 300 Hokkaido-produced sake bottles. Otokoyama, Kunimare and Chitosetsuru pour by the glass alongside cellar-only labels.
Signature drink: Otokoyama junmai daiginjo
Food: Hokkaido seafood small plates
Tip: Flight of three Hokkaido junmais is the easy intro; closed Sundays.
Pivnica HS in Sarajevo's Sarajevska Pivara is the only room serving the brewery's unfiltered draught, with 400 seats across vaulted halls beside the museum.
Signature drink: Unfiltered Sarajevsko Pivo light and dark
Food: Mixed grill, sausages, roast pork
Tip: The back room is the locals' sit; the unfiltered light is the order.
Kawa on Dzenetica cikma in Sarajevo runs evenings as a Centar cocktail room, with espresso martini, Bosnian wine and a garden through the summer.
Signature drink: Specialty espresso martini and Balkan-led cocktails
Food: Coffee, small bites
Tip: Sunday closed; the garden after 19:00 is the spot for an espresso martini.
Caffe Tito by Wilson's Walkway is Sarajevo's Yugoslav-era bar with Tito portraits, military memorabilia in the yard, kids playground and unplugged concerts.
Signature drink: Sarajevsko Pivo and rakija
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Riverside terrace by the tank exhibit; weekend evenings get live music.
Lone Wolf Lounge is on lincoln street in residential starland; georgia's only 2025 james beard outstanding bar semifinalist hides in plain sight.
Why locals love it: On Lincoln Street in residential Starland; Georgia's only 2025 James Beard Outstanding Bar semifinalist hides in plain sight.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Arrive by 22:00 on Friday or Saturday for a seat at the bar.
Artillery opened 2016 in an 1896 Georgia Hussars armory on Bull, with a tile-ceilinged Venetian-Gothic interior, leather menus, call-light cocktail service.
Signature drink: Seasonal craft cocktails
Food: Snacks and small bites
Andrew Ripley and Tom Worley's Lone Wolf on Lincoln in Starland: a 2025 James Beard Outstanding Bar semifinalist, Georgia's only. Craft cocktails on tap.
Signature drink: Craft cocktails, tiki specials
Food: Eclectic small-plate menu
Canon in Seattle's Capitol Hill is Jamie Boudreau's whiskey bar since 2011: 4000 labels, America's largest spirits collection, and a tight kitchen that runs.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with 4000 whiskey choices
Food: Snacks and small plates
The Walrus and the Carpenter bar in Seattle's Ballard is the marble counter at Renee Erickson's oyster room: walk-in seating, the city's best happy hour.
Signature drink: Muscadet by the glass with oysters
Food: Oysters, steak tartare, lardo
L'Oursin in Seattle is the small French bar between Capitol Hill and the Central District: natural wines by the glass, classic French cocktails.
Signature drink: Pastis with house orgeat
Food: Oysters, charcuterie, cassoulet
Zest ranked No. 2 Asia's 50 Best Bars and No. 16 World's 50 Best Bars 2025, serving Korean seasonal cocktails sourced from contract farms in Gangnam.
Signature drink: Korean ingredient-driven omakase cocktails
Food: Snacks paired to cocktail menu
Sanullim 1992 in Hapjeong is a speakeasy dedicated to Korean traditional spirits: single-variety soju, cheongju, and artisanal makgeolli by the pour.
Signature drink: Andong soju flight with seasonal dried fruit
Food: Traditional Korean drinking snacks (anju)
Damotori is the definitive makgeolli bar in Seoul, stocking over 40 varieties of the unfiltered rice wine from producers across Korea and presenting them.
Signature drink: 12-glass makgeolli sampler tray
Food: Korean pajeon (green onion pancakes) and fried snacks
Bar Garlochi on Calle Boteros in Seville is the kitsch-religious dive bar that Miguel Fragoso opened on June 15, 1978, with church incense, religious statues.
Signature drink: Sangre de Cristo
Food: None, drinks only
Tip: Open daily 21:00-03:00. Cash only. The Sangre de Cristo is the house drink; the place fills with locals after midnight.
La Terraza del EME atop the EME Catedral Hotel in Seville is the city's headline rooftop bar, with the closest cocktail-side view of the Giralda.
Signature drink: Gin tonic with Cathedral view
Food: Tapas and Sevillian small plates
Tip: Open daily 11:00-01:30. Reserve a table at the Argote Alto level for the best Cathedral view; cocktails run 15 euros.
T de Triana on Calle Betis in Seville's Triana is the Andalusian tavern hosting the Flamenco Esencia troupe under Maria La Serrana, with a 34-seat.
Signature drink: Tinto with the late-night flamenco set
Food: Flamenco performance bar with simple Spanish plates
Tip: Open daily 20:00-02:00. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get a seat; the flamenco-with-tapas format includes an explanatory English set on selected nights.
Signature drink: The Garibaldi or seasonal signature cocktail
Tip: Open from 6pm daily; Wednesday to Saturday until 2am. Book ahead for weekend evenings. The counter seats are coveted for watching the team work.
Signature drink: Lah cocktail (from 2026 Singlish menu)
Tip: Open from 5pm daily. The bar is in the CHIJMES/Bugis neighbourhood; pairs well with dinner at a nearby table before drinks here.
Signature drink: House Atlas Gin Martini
Tip: A full hotel-bar experience; dress smart. The gin tower display alone justifies the visit. Ranked on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024 at No.43.
MoNIKa's Wine Bar on Ban Mladenova in Split's Old Town pours wines from the family's Zrnovnica estate alongside Dalmatian cheese and prsut boards in a small.
Signature drink: Croatian wine flight by the glass
Food: Paski sir and prsut boards with home-baked bread
Order: Monika's wine flight with the paski sir and prsut board.
Tip: The room is small; book ahead for the evening sitting or arrive at 17:00 when the bar opens for the night service.
Leopold's Delicatessen Bar on Poljana Tina Ujevica in Split is the pioneering craft-beer bar in the Old Town, with the city's deepest Croatian draught list.
Signature drink: Croatian craft IPA flight
Food: Charcuterie boards
Order: Tasting flight of Croatian-only craft draughts.
Tip: Order the half-pour flight; the bar fills early in summer and the small terrace is hard to land after 21:00.
Marvlvs Library Jazz Bar on Papaliceva in Split is the city's after-dinner jazz room, tucked inside Diocletian Palace with low light and short cocktail menus.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with rakija accent
Food: Snacks
Order: Old Fashioned with the house Croatian whiskey.
Tip: Sit in the back room for the music; the front bar is the after-dinner queue for a drink before the late sitting.
Ted Kilgore's Lafayette Square bar started the modern St. Louis cocktail movement, and its barrooms still set the city's drinking standard today.
Signature drink: Classic and original cocktails
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: The front Bullock Room is louder; the back bar is for serious cocktails. Order a classic and watch the technique.
A Central West End rum bar, Yellowbelly pours island-inspired tiki cocktails and coastal small plates in a bright beachy room. The city's tropical-drink hub.
Signature drink: Rum tiki cocktails
Food: Island-inspired small plates
Tip: The signature Yellowbelly and the rum-heavy tiki list are the orders. Brunch and patio seating round it out.
A Benton Park cocktail bar with a clever, accessible list, Small Change does top-notch drinks at fair prices, and turns into a Christmas pop-up each winter.
Signature drink: Affordable craft cocktails
Food: Light snacks
Tip: The cocktails punch above the price; the winter Miracle pop-up is a season highlight. Cosy and walk-in friendly.
Tjoget on Hornsbruksgatan in Stockholm's Hornstull is the World's 50 Best Bars regular; a metallic-bar room with North African and Middle Eastern influences.
Signature drink: Beets by Tjoget
Food: Mediterranean small plates, charcuterie
Tip: Three-room marketplace with Linje Tio (dining), Bisou Bisou (champagne) and the cocktail bar; arrive 18:00 to claim a counter seat.
Pharmarium on Stortorget in Stockholm's Gamla Stan occupies the city's first public pharmacy from the 17th century; alchemy-themed cocktails served.
Signature drink: Bitter-and-tincture cocktails in vintage beakers
Food: Small plates, charcuterie
Tip: Best for the apothecary-themed program; the seated counter is the spot for the bartender-led flight.
Tjoget on Hornsbruksgatan in Stockholm's Hornstull runs a late kitchen until 01:00 Wednesday to Saturday; cocktail bar and small plates after dinner-service.
Try: Mediterranean small plates and cocktails
Tip: Last food order 00:00; cocktails until 01:00. The walk-in counter clears first.
Madame C on Rue des Soeurs is a Belle Epoque cocktail bar and intimate restaurant, with a signature menu by 2023 world cocktail champion Lucas Gacitua-Petit.
Signature drink: Signature cocktails by Lucas Gacitua-Petit
Food: Refined small plates
Jeannette et les Cycleux on Rue des Tonneliers is a loud, fun cocktail bar with a long list of drinks and milkshakes, busy from afternoon late.
Signature drink: Cocktails and marshmallow milkshakes
Food: Snacks
Les Aviateurs on Rue des Soeurs has poured classic cocktails since 1984, a late-opening institution behind the cathedral with an aviation theme.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: None
Maybe Sammy on Harrington Street, The Rocks, Sydney. Italian-American mid-century cocktail bar, longstanding presence on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Signature drink: Sammy's Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Twenty-seat mezcaleria on Council Place, Sydney CBD. On the World's 50 Best Bars extended list; rare agave-distilled spirits. Daily 4pm-2am, walk-ins only.
Signature drink: Mezcal flight
Food: Mexican snacks
Whisky basement on Clarence Street, Sydney CBD. Over 1,000 bottles on the back wall; the bartenders dress in arm-bands and braces. Mon-Sat from 5pm.
Signature drink: Whisky flight of three
Food: Snacks
Indulge in Da'an keeps its cocktail bar open until 02:00 with Aki Wang's tea-infused Asia's 50 Best Bars builds. Late-night kitchen menu continues.
Try: Tea-infused cocktails and Taiwanese small plates
Tip: Closed Mondays. Counter walk-ins; tables by reservation Kitchen close differs from bar close.
Indulge is Aki Wang's Asia's 50 Best regular in Da'an, ranked 11 in 2023. Cocktails weave native Taiwan teas, fruits and aged spirits through the menu.
Signature drink: Cocktails infused with Taiwan teas and native ingredients
Food: Modern Taiwanese small plates
Order: House cocktail flight with the night's tea infusion.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Counter walk-ins; tables by reservation through FunNow.
Bar Mood is Nick Wu's elegant cocktail bar in Da'an, opened September 2017, Asia's 50 Best Bars regular ranking 72 in 2025. Taiwanese and Japanese whisky.
Signature drink: Ingredient-driven Taiwanese cocktails
Food: Snacks
Order: Whatever the bartenders are running through their ingredient menu that month.
Tip: Open 18:00-01:00 daily. Reservation by Instagram DM; small bar room.
Põhjala Tap Room in Noblessner is Estonia's largest craft brewery taproom with 24 taps, a Texas-style barbecue kitchen and a sauna in the back of the room.
Signature drink: Põhjala Öö imperial porter on tap
Food: Texas-style barbecue
Fotografiska's rooftop bar above the photography museum mixes cocktails with honey from in-house beehives and herbs from the rooftop garden.
Signature drink: Rooftop-honey cocktail
Food: Nordic small plates
Sigmund Freud Bar on Sauna in the Old Town is a 2016-opened cocktail room with Freud-shaped ceramics, listed in 50 Best Discovery for its drinks list.
Signature drink: Freud-themed signature cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tanto on North Florida Avenue runs a creative Latin-inflected cocktail program with mezcal, agave spirits and a small-plates menu of Latin American bites.
Signature drink: Mezcal Negroni
Food: Latin small plates
Bar Below 1208 sits underneath Bern's Steakhouse and runs creative cocktails using the Bern's cellar inventory, with vintage vermouth and rare amari.
Signature drink: Aged Manhattan with Bern's wine vermouth
Food: Bar snacks
Rome and Fig in North Hyde Park runs a cocktail bar alongside the Mediterranean restaurant, with seasonal cocktails and an aperitivo program.
Signature drink: Negroni Sbagliato
Food: Mediterranean small plates
Purovoku Project earned a 50 Best Discovery recognition, making it one of the most decorated cocktail bars in Greece. At Karipi 3. Booking recommended.
Le Cercle De Salonique pours cocktails in a restored neoclassical mansion on Vasileos Irakleiou. Cocktail bar, neoclassical mansion. At Vasileos Irakleiou 7.
Super Ioulios transitions from morning specialty coffee to natural wine bar at 6pm. Natural wine bar, coffee. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Bar High Five in Tokyo's Ginza is Hidetsugu Ueno's basement cocktail counter, World's 50 Best Bars 2011-2023. Hand-cut ice, custom drinks to your taste.
Signature drink: Custom-made spec to your preference
Food: Replenished complimentary snacks
Tip: Cover charge is 1,000 yen with snacks. Open Mon-Sat from 17:00, closed Sundays and national holidays; arrive early for a seat at the counter.
SG Club in Tokyo's Jinnan is Shingo Gokan's two-floor cocktail bar, Asia's 50 Best No. 9 in 2023. Order the showa-era cocktails on the two floors.
Signature drink: Showa-era cocktails on the two floors
Food: Tapas-style bites and snacks
Tip: Reservations advised for Friday and Saturday. The sip floor is the quieter calmer counter.
Gen Yamamoto in Tokyo's Azabu-Juban serves an eight-seat seasonal cocktail tasting flight only. Four or six courses of seasonal-ingredient cocktails, no food.
Signature drink: Seasonal tasting flight of cocktails
Food: No food
Tip: Two seatings nightly; phone or email reservation only. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Strict no-phone policy at the counter.
Bar Raval on College runs vermouth on tap and Spanish bar snacks from a mahogany Art Nouveau counter since 2015, Grant van Gameren's room the Michelin Bib.
Signature drink: Vermouth on tap, manzanilla sherry
Food: Pintxos and Spanish snacks
Order: A vermouth on the rocks with a slice of jamon iberico.
Tip: Walk-ins only. Arrive before 17:30 for an easy stool. Open from 09:00 for the coffee crowd.
Bar Pompette on College Street is the aperitif bar above Pompette since 2018, North America's 50 Best Bars ranked #8 in 2026 with a low-ABV cocktail program.
Order: The signature Pompette Spritz or whatever the bar is pouring on draft.
Tip: Reservations through Tock. The downstairs Pompette is the restaurant; bar is upstairs.
Civil Liberties on Bloor at Ossington runs a no-menu speakeasy since 2014, bartenders mixing drinks to your taste in an industrial-vibe back room.
Signature drink: Dealers' choice, bartender-led
Food: Bar snacks only
Order: Tell the bartender three flavours you like and let them mix.
Tip: No menu by design. The door at 878 has no signage; ring the bell. Late nights until 02:00.
Chez Tonton on Place Saint-Pierre is the legendary student bar with a square-terrace crowd, tapas plates from 18:00 and the canonical pastis pour.
Signature drink: Pastis tonton
Food: Tapas from 18:00-22:00
Tip: Lines pile up Friday from 19:30; the pastis tonton with anchovy tapas is the canonical first-round order.
Le Mandala on Rue des Amidonniers is Toulouse's longest-running jazz bar, with live jazz sets six nights a week, cocktails and a small back-of-room kitchen.
Signature drink: Cocktails and beer
Food: Small plates
Tip: Live jazz sets six nights at 21:30 and 23:30; the cocktails plus charcuterie plate is the canonical evening pair.
Mama Shelter Toulouse Rooftop on Boulevard Lazare Carnot is a planted hotel rooftop with frozen margaritas, sunset views over the Canal du Midi.
Signature drink: Frozen margarita
Food: Small plates
Tip: Sunset to midnight is the busier service; the frozen margarita and the bao bun pair is the canonical summer order.
The Owls Club on South Scott in downtown Tucson is a Food and Wine Top 10 US Bars 2026 cocktail room set inside a former funeral home in the Armory Park area.
Signature drink: Whiskey-forward house cocktails
Food: Snacks and small plates
Hotel Congress Tap Room on East Congress in Tucson opened with the hotel in 1919, one of the oldest continuously operating bars in Arizona, open until 2 a.m.
Signature drink: Tap Room house old fashioned
Food: Cup Cafe shared menu
Reilly Underground on East Pennington in downtown Tucson is the basement cocktail club beneath the pizzeria, with Italian-leaning drinks nightly.
Signature drink: Italian-inspired cocktails and house amari
Food: Pizza and salumi from upstairs
Bar Cavour on the upper floor of Del Cambio in Turin pours a Negroni and an aperitivo in dark teal-and-velvet rooms. Listed on the 50 Best Discovery list.
Signature drink: Negroni and Turin-classics cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Affini in Turin's San Salvario is a modern vermouth bar making its own bitters and house vermouth. Aperitivo plates, late crowds, low-light Liberty wood.
Signature drink: House vermouth on tap; spritz
Food: Aperitivo plates and small dishes
Smile Tree on Piazza della Consolata in Turin's Quadrilatero is a small modern cocktail bar from Dennis Zoppi, fermentation, smoking. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Fermentation and smoke-driven craft cocktails
Food: Snacks
The longest beer list in Utrecht: 200 Belgian bottles and 20 draught lines in a canal-side werfkelder. Open until 04:00 on weekends. A city institution.
Signature drink: Delirium Tremens on draught, 200-bottle cellar list
Food: Belgian snacks, bitterballen, mussels
Tip: The Trappist shelf behind the bar has 40 bottles; ask the barman to pull one with a glass-rinse ritual.
vandeStreek's city-centre taproom on the Oudegracht open until 23:00 every day. Their flagship Playground IPA and New England beers with Dutch borrelhapjes.
Try: Playground IPA with Dutch borrelhapjes
Maximus Brewery taproom in Leidsche Rijn on 20 taps. Brutus IPA and seasonal wheat beers are the flagship pours. Brewery tours on Saturday afternoons.
Signature drink: Maximus Brutus IPA on draught, fresh from the tank
Food: Bar snacks, pizza on weekends
Tip: Saturday afternoon is the best time to visit; brewery tours run at 14:00 before the taproom fills for the evening.
The Doctor Cocktail Lab in Valencia's Russafa is a 14-seat speakeasy cocktail bar with a six-cocktail tasting menu, open Wed to Sat until 02:00.
Try: Signature cocktail tasting
Tip: Reservations required. The lab seats 14; no walk-ins Kitchen close differs from bar close.
Cafe Madrid on Carrer de l'Abadia de Sant Marti in Valencia is the 1959 birthplace of agua de Valencia, the cava-and-orange cocktail invented here.
Signature drink: Agua de Valencia
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closed and reopened in 2018 after a tasteful renovation. The agua de Valencia carafe is the order.
Destilados on Carrer del Pare Tosca in Valencia's Carmen is a spirit-focused bar with 250 mezcals, 200 whiskies and a cocktail menu built on Mexican-Spanish.
Signature drink: Mezcal flight
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The mezcal tasting flight runs three glasses.
The Keefer Bar on Keefer Street in Chinatown since 2009 is Vancouver's reference cocktail bar, an apothecary-style room, Canada's 50 Best Bars perennial.
Signature drink: Dragonfly cocktail with house ginger syrup
Food: Chinese-leaning small plates
Tip: Walk-in only Monday to Thursday; weekend bookings open at the door from 17:00.
Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim is the hotel's stand-alone cocktail room since 2017, World's 50 Best Bars top 30 and head bartender Jeff Savage.
Signature drink: Garden cocktail with house botanicals
Food: Botanist-kitchen snacks
Tip: Walk-ins from 16:00; the bar's tasting flight pairs four miniature cocktails for the cocktail-tour bookings.
The Keefer Bar on Keefer Street in Chinatown since 2009 runs Vancouver's reference late-night cocktail bar to 01:00, Canada's 50 Best Bars perennial.
Try: Cocktails plus small plates
Order: Dragonfly cocktail with the dim sum-style snacks; last call at 00:45.
Tip: Walk-in only Monday to Thursday; weekend reservations at the door from 17:00.
Experimental Cocktail Club in Il Palazzo Experimental in Venice's Dorsoduro on the Zattere is the modern cocktail room with Cristina Celestino interiors.
Signature drink: Italian-ingredient cocktails by the resident bartender
Food: Bar snacks from Adriatica next door
Tip: Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The signature menu refresh hit June 2025; ask for the seasonal flight. The back garden bar runs in summer.
Il Mercante in Venice's San Polo near the Frari basilica is the speakeasy-style cocktail bar with seasonal themed menus, the city's modern cocktail benchmark.
Signature drink: Themed seasonal cocktails (Sea, Tea, Story, Land)
Food: Small plates from Caffe dei Frari
Tip: Bookings via Resy. The seasonal menu refreshes four times a year; the spice-trade-themed pours are the move.
Experimental Cocktail Club in Il Palazzo Experimental in Dorsoduro is the late-running modern cocktail bar, open to 02:00 on Friday and Saturday.
Try: Bar snacks from Adriatica
Tip: Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Fri-Sat 02:00 close is rare for Venice. Seasonal menu refreshes June each year.
Antica Bottega del Vino has run Verona's reference wine-only standing counter since 1890, with 4,500 labels on the back bar. A 2026 editor pick.
Signature drink: Ombra of Amarone Classico
Food: Cicchetti, salumi, full menu
Tip: Stand at the marble bar for the €3 to 8 ombra circuit; sit for the full dinner kitchen with Veronese plates.
Antica Bottega del Vino's marble standing counter in Verona pours the city's reference ombra circuit since 1890, 4,500 labels on the back-bar.
Signature drink: Ombra of Recioto della Valpolicella
Food: Cicchetti, panini al musso, full Veronese menu
Tip: Stand at the marble bar for the €3 to €8 ombra circuit; sit for the full dinner kitchen later in the evening.
Altro? in Verona is the unmarked speakeasy off Via San Mamaso, dim lighting and plush seating with a cocktail programme of original house builds.
Signature drink: Bartender's-choice signature builds
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: The unmarked door is at the alley end; ring the bell and wait. Cocktails €12 to 16; cash and card both work.
Truth & Dare on Schoenlaterngasse off Wollzeile won Mixology's Best Bar Austria for 2023, 2024 and 2025, the small room a tasting-led cocktail program.
Signature drink: Mini of the Week tasting
Food: Small bar bites
Tip: The Mini of the Week is poured without explanation; sip first, ask the bartender after you taste it.
Roberto American Bar on Bauernmarkt was opened by long-time Loos Bar head bartender Robert Pavlovic in 2014, the alcove-divided room running late on classics.
Signature drink: Classics by Robert Pavlovic
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Open daily until 04:00; the alcoves take pairs and threes, the chandelier room takes larger groups.
Tuer 7 on Buchfeldgasse in Vienna's Josefstadt is the city's best-kept speakeasy, marked only by a brass '7' on the door, the bar team building cocktails.
Signature drink: Bespoke cocktail
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Ring the bell at door number 7; the bar opens Monday to Friday evenings and turns away walk-ins past midnight.
Špunka is the bohemian Užupis craft beer bar, a tiny room with a handful of taps and tables packed with massive personality near the Vilnelė.
Signature drink: Lithuanian craft beer
Food: Bar snacks
Šnekutis on Šv. Mikalojaus is the original Vilnius branch of the Lithuanian beer pub, with 30-plus taps of small-brewery filtered and unfiltered pours.
Signature drink: Unfiltered Lithuanian farmhouse ale
Food: Cepelinai and bar snacks
Genys Taproom on J. Basanavičiaus is the official Vilnius outlet for one of Lithuania's main independent craft breweries, with rotating taps and outdoor.
Signature drink: Genys IPA
Food: Tapas
El Koktel in Warsaw is the basement cocktail bar with emerald walls and filament bulbs, established 2014. Order the house-made gin dobry tonic.
Signature drink: House-made Gin Dobry tonic
Food: Bar bites
El Koktel is a Warsaw buzz-to-enter basement bar with emerald walls and bartender-made gin, a 50-Best Discovery listing barely a block off Mazowiecka street.
Why locals love it: A buzz-to-enter basement bar with emerald walls and bartender-made gin, a 50-Best Discovery listing barely a block off Mazowiecka but invisible from the street.
Tip: Ring the buzzer on the street to be let in. No reservations Tuesday-Thursday.
Zamieszanie on Nowy Swiat in Warsaw runs a backstage-prep cocktail programme served from freezing taps and bottles. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Signature drink: Frozen-tap RTD cocktails, low-ABV highballs
Food: Snacks
Death & Co DC in Washington DC is the New York cocktail institution's fourth outpost in Shaw Blagden Alley since 2023, with a 28-cocktail seasonal menu.
Signature drink: Oaxaca Old Fashioned
Food: Cocktail snacks and small plates
Tip: Walk in before 19:00 on weekdays for the Main Bar; the Garden rooftop only opens Friday and Saturday from 19:00.
Service Bar in Washington DC is Glendon and Chad Hartung's U Street cocktail bar since 2016, the city's busiest neighbourhood cocktail room with a James.
Signature drink: Frozen Painkiller
Food: Fried chicken and bar food
Tip: Cash and card both accepted; the frozen Painkiller and fried chicken combo is the bar's calling-card late-night order.
Allegory in Washington DC is the hidden cocktail bar inside the Eaton DC hotel's Progress Library on K Street, with Ruby-Bridges-as-Alice murals by Erik Thor.
Signature drink: Banned in DC menu cocktail
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Walk-ins only, no reservations; arrive before 19:00 Monday through Saturday for a counter seat. Closed Sundays.
Vertigo on Oławska is Wrocław's biggest jazz club, 200 seats and 300 standing, professional stage and sound. At ul. Oławska 13. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails with live jazz
Food: Bistro mains and small plates
Order: An Old Fashioned during a Friday set, kitchen plates in the early gigs.
Tip: Tickets via the club's own website are cheaper than ebilet; book the cocktail seats stage-side.
Mleczarnia on Włodkowica in Wrocław's former Jewish quarter has anchored the Four Temples scene since 1998. Bohemian by day, candlelit jazz bar by night.
Signature drink: Hot chocolate and Polish wines
Food: Snacks and small bites
Order: Hot chocolate in winter, Polish wine on the courtyard tables in summer.
Tip: Friday-Saturday open until 03:00; live music or stand-up most evenings.
Święty Jan on Wrocław's Rynek runs the city's largest rotating tap selection: 34 lines pouring Polish and international craft, the move on a slow Tuesday.
Signature drink: 34 rotating Polish craft beer taps
Food: Bar snacks
Order: A flight of four Browar Stu Mostów taps to compare the brewery's range.
Tip: The cellar room downstairs gets the better acoustics on weekend nights.
Gustav Zumsteg created the bar in 1965; Robert Haussmann designed the room and Diego Giacometti made the light fixtures. The city's most landmark bar.
Signature drink: Negroni and classics
Food: Bar snacks, Kronenhalle plates
The 50 Best Discovery cocktail bar on Schwanengasse: a deep rare-spirits library, small intimate room, slow drinks, very serious about technique.
Signature drink: Rare spirits flights
Food: Bar bites
The Widder Hotel's art-deco bar with a serious spirits library, on Widdergasse one block west of Bahnhofstrasse. Old-school polish, capable bartenders.
Signature drink: Classics and rare whiskies
Food: Bar plates
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