50 editor picks across every TableJourney city.
50 listening bars worth the trip across every TableJourney city. Editor-ranked. Audiophile vinyl bars with curated sound, worldwide.
Bulles de Princesse at Ezelstraat 153 in Bruges is a champagne bar and shop with more than 150 champagnes de vignerons and a glamorous Art Deco & Soul vibe.
TipSince 27 September the bar no longer opens weekly on fixed days, so check the opening times before you go.
The 2013 Kingsland Road room founded by Amit and Aneesh Patel is the original London listening bar, built around a horn-loaded vinyl-only sound system and a Japanese-influenced izakaya menu.
TipBookings open six weeks ahead, the bar stools take walk-ins. Sundays are the quietest, the playing is at its most adventurous.
Dakota on Nicollet Mall runs a seated jazz listening room with two sets a night, a chef-driven menu and headline touring bookings seven nights a week.
TipTwo sets nightly. Reservations open by ticket purchase; the front row seats book first. Kitchen close varies by show.
Bacchanal in Bywater pours wines from all over the globe in the open air of its yard, with live music and some of the best original jazz in New Orleans.
TipMusic seven days a week; pick a bottle from the shop and take it to the back patio. There is no brunch: the menu is the same all day.
Legend Has It calls itself Sacramento's first hi-fi listening bar, celebrating the warmth of vinyl records and high-fidelity sound for music lovers.
TipFriday and Saturday run late, 3pm to 2am, and the bar sometimes opens outside regular hours for game days and special events.
MÚZSA, at Széchenyi István tér 5-6, is an Art Nouveau luxury craft cocktail bar in the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, with Asian-inspired cuisine.
TipThe dress code is smart sophisticated: no sportswear, sandals, flip-flops or slippers.
The Big Romance on Parnell Street opened in 2018 as Dublin's first dedicated audiophile bar, with a custom vinyl-only system and a bartenders-as-selectors policy.
TipSit at the bar in front of the speakers, the booths at the back are for conversation rather than listening. Bartenders take vinyl requests if you bring records.
Fidelity Bar & Studio in Smithfield Dublin is the 2024 audiophile listening room from The Big Romance and Whiplash, with custom speakers and Sister7 small plates.
TipProgramming shifts from balearic and jazz early to house and disco late, book the booth in Fidelity Studio for a semi-private listening table.
Bar Martha in Tokyo's Ebisu is the canonical vinyl listening bar: 6,000-record wall played on vintage Tannoy GRF speakers. No talk, no photos, no requests.
TipCover charge plus a whisky-led menu. Strict no-conversation rule; arrive solo or in pairs and don't ask the bartender to skip a track.
JBS in Shibuya is short for Jazz, Blues, Soul. Master Kobayashi's 10,000-record library on a second-floor counter, no cover, single-malt Scotch.
TipNo cover charge, rare for a Tokyo listening room. Cash and drinks at the bar; ask for a Kobayashi pick if you don't know where to start.
Meikyoku Kissa Lion in Tokyo's Shibuya is the classical-music kissa founded in 1926, rebuilt 1950 after the war. Custom three-metre wooden speakers.
TipCoffee and tea menu only, no liquor. Silence enforced; choose a pew facing the speakers and stay through a movement.
The 2016 King's Cross flagship with a custom Living Voice sound system and a programme of guest selectors built the audiophile-bar template that is now copied across the country.
TipThe Friday all-night selector sessions are bookable, the standard evening is walk-in. Sit on the velvet bench, the speakers are aimed at it.
The Holyrood Street basement just off Bermondsey Street pairs a custom-built sound system with a Mexican taco kitchen and a cocktail programme that has won regular World's 50 Best Bars recognition.
TipThe mezcal flight at the bar is the way in, the booth at the back of the room is the listening spot. No bookings, walk in early.
Parachute HiFi, from Johnny and Beverly, sets aside seats nightly for walk-ins, first come first serve, with sister restaurant Anelya two doors down.
TipOn weekends, arrive as close to opening as possible for the best chance at a walk-in seat; the kitchen closes 1 hour before close.
Dazzle at the Denver Performing Arts Complex runs 70 jazz, blues and large-ensemble shows a month across two rooms, the city's anchor jazz club since the late 1990s.
TipShows nightly with the early set the easier reservation. Enter on Arapahoe at the corner of 14th; the room has full table service.
Green Lady Lounge's downstairs Orion Room in the Kansas City Crossroads runs trios led by Danny Embry, Ken Lovern, Jeff Shirley and Tyrone Clark. No televisions, conversation-friendly.
TipThe downstairs Orion is the quieter, more intimate room; bookings preferred Fri-Sat.
Gold Line is at 5607 North Figueroa Street in Los Angeles.
Dante's HiFi on NW 26th in Wynwood is the city's first vinyl listening bar, an intimate analog room built by Walshy Fire with Rich Medina spinning his 8,000-record collection through a custom hi-fi system.
TipNo reservations and capacity is tight; doors open Tuesday through Saturday from 21:00. Phones away inside and the back banquettes are the seat.
Berlin opened February 2024 across from Spoon and Stable as an 85-capacity European-style jazz and listening room, with state of the art sound and ticketed.
TipNo reservations except for ticketed Friday and Saturday shows. Most weeknights run no cover. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Small Hours opened September 2024 in Northeast Minneapolis as the city's first dedicated hi-fi wine bar, with Klipsch La Scala speakers, Luxman turntables.
TipWednesday to Thursday close at 23:00, Friday and Saturday at midnight, Sunday at 22:00. Tinned fish and bread to pair with the natural wine list.
Lone Wolf Lounge at 2429 Lincoln St is a neighborhood watering hole in Savannah's Starland District, open Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 01:00.
TipThe bar opens at 11:00 Monday to Saturday and stays open until 01:00.
Shibuya HiFi on Leary Avenue is Brian Rauschenbach and Quentin Ertel's purpose built listening lounge with 1976 Klipschorn speakers, a Technics SL 1200G and two to five albums a night.
TipTuesday and Wednesday 18:00-22:00, Thursday to Saturday until midnight, closed Sunday and Monday. $21 listening sessions; reserve via Tock.
111 Music Bar plays vinyl through a hi-fi system on the third floor of a Copacabana building in Rio de Janeiro, with a Japanese-led menu and a R$30 cover.
TipConversation is meant to stay low; only half the tables are bookable, so for a seat on a busy night arrive when it opens at 19:00.
Cult runs the Czech Republic's reference Japanese-style listening bar from the basement of Café Tvaroh on Šmeralova in Holešovice, with Klipsch La Scala and Heresy speakers, an Isonoe rotary mixer and a Reloop turntable rig. Programming runs vinyl-only across jazz, ambient and electronic selectors.
TipRed neon outside indicates the door is open; conversation is kept low between sides. Only Thursday through Saturday.
Bird is a small neighborhood bar at Gammel Kongevej 102 in Frederiksberg, serving classic cocktails inspired in a modern style, with soft tunes in the room.
TipThe menu is heavily rotated and changed monthly; the bar's Instagram carries its music calendar, pop-ups and spirit tastings.
Bar Neiro on Ohmstrasse in Mitte runs as a Japanese-style jazz kissa, playing whole vinyl albums front-to-back through a custom system with chosen whiskies.
TipConversation is kept low; the room turns toward the speakers. Album sides change in silence; small reservations via Instagram.
Donau115 on Donaustrasse runs Neukoelln's reference 50-seat jazz room, programming post-bop, experimental and free improvisation Tuesday through Saturday.
TipConversation during music is firmly discouraged; arrive before 19:30 for seats. Cash door, small cover.
Birdland on Gaertnerstrasse in Hamburg-Wandsbek is the city's classic jazz listening room since 1979, with nightly live programs from German and international jazz players.
TipProgramme online; tickets at the door from 20:30. Limited seating; arrive early.
Vineria Sonora on Via degli Alfani is a wine bar that welcomes you in a warm atmosphere with glasses of natural wine and vinyl records in Florence.
TipOpen Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00 to 01:00, and offers a tasting and flight tasting.
MOGO is a Hi-Fi restaurant in Isola at Via Bernina 1C, blending culinary creativity with a deep love for sound, with a cocktail bar and a listening bar.
TipEvery Sunday MOGO serves a special brunch menu of relaxed elegance and seasonal flavors.
Audioteca is a listening bar in Napoli at Via Palmiro Togliatti 70c, 80046 San Giorgio a Cremano, where sound is the language and music the creed.
TipBooking is done through the Prenota Ora (Book now) button on the site.
Caffè Florian, the café of Venice since 1720, is under the Procuratie Nuove in Saint Mark's Square and is open every day from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm.
TipNo reservations are taken as there are plenty of seats, and groups larger than 10 people should send their request by email.
Tokyo Music Bar in Mexico City on Rio Panuco in Colonia Cuauhtemoc is Edo Kobayashi's Japanese listening bar in the Little Tokyo enclave, with deep emerald walls, bankers lamps, gold stools and a vinyl-and-tube-amp programme of jazz and Japanese pop with whisky-led cocktails.
CUE is a restaurant and listening bar across two floors at Utrechtsestraat 30A; the bar plays vinyl only, inspired by Japanese listening bars.
TipThe listening bar is walk-in only; the restaurant takes reservations and is open Wednesday to Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch.
Pardon, To Tu, at Al. Armii Ludowej 14, 00-637 Warsaw, is a live venue, record store and bookstore that also serves a dish of the day on weekdays.
TipA dish of the day is served on weekdays and can also be delivered through the Wolt app or the venue's site.
The Kissaten is hidden inside Locke de Santa Joana, a space designed for listening with selected records, stirred cocktails and handpicked spirits.
TipBring your own vinyl: from Wednesday to Sunday, from 7pm-9pm, book your slot and play your favourite album.
BAR TON is a listening space on Campineanu 24 street in a socialist-modernist block, with a Genelec monitoring system, listening booths and records.
TipBesides the listening room, it is a place for a quick bite, a first date or just enjoying music.
Anthm is a Japanese cocktail and vinyl listening bar on a Loop Street corner in Cape Town, run by Tetsuo Hasegawa, former head bartender of Angel's Share.
TipSit at the bar and order the Foggy Forest, whiskey with porcini and mountain cherry smoke, while the vinyl plays.
Studio Lam in Bangkok's Thonglor is DJ Maft Sai's mor lam record bar, sister to the Zudrangma record shop next door. Wednesday live mor lam from 21:00, dance floor till late.
TipClosed Mondays. No cover, ya dong (Thai herbal liquor) cocktails from 250 baht. Live mor lam Wednesdays, DJ sets Tue and Thu-Sun.
Lennon's on the 30th floor of Rosewood Bangkok is the 6,000-vinyl listening room designed as a 1970s recording studio. Cocktail menu indexed to a vinyl-track namesake list.
TipReserve a counter seat via the Rosewood site. Records on the wall are guest-requestable; cocktails 550-700 baht, hotel-smart casual.
Arkaoda on Kadife Sokak in Caferağa has run since 1999 as the Asian-side listening reference, an unmarked door cafe by day that turns at night to an analog.
TipNo sign on the door; look for the number 18. The back room is the music seat. Underground DJ programming and small live sets; the schedule moves on Instagram.
The Kingsland Road sister room to Brilliant Corners from the Patel brothers and Giant Steps adds live performance to the listening-bar formula, with a Japanese-leaning food menu and a tight gig calendar.
TipThe Wednesday and Sunday live sets are the most adventurous, weekends lean to DJs. Bookings open three weeks out.
Equipment Room beneath Hotel Magdalena on Music Lane in Austin is the kissa-style vinyl listening bar with 1,200 records, acoustic-foam ceilings.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday. Reservations via Resy; the room is small and seating limited, no song requests by tradition.
Charis is a midwestern listening bar in Bridgeport named after its owner's mother, with vinyl selectors handpicked by Drew Mitchell of 606 Records.
TipCheck the monthly calendar for listening sessions of new and reissued albums, plus community pop-ups around town.
Dorian's Through The Record Shop at 1939 W North Ave runs jazz happy hours, Afro-Cuban bands and DJ nights, open 6pm to 2am without reservations.
TipHappy hours run 6-8pm nightly, and Dorian's takes no reservations from 6pm to 2am.
ESP HiFi on Santa Fe Drive opened 2021 as Denver's first vinyl listening bar, with Klipschorn speakers, a Garrard 401 turntable, low-watt class A amps and a natural-wine list.
TipMornings run coffee from 10:30, evenings switch to natural wine and cocktails. Wednesday through Friday are the quietest seats for the rig.
Nocturne in RiNo runs nightly live jazz with an artist-in-residence program, a seasonal kitchen and a selected wine and cocktail list inside a mid-century supper-club room.
TipClosed Monday and Tuesday. Reserve via the website for the dinner-and-set; the bar room walks in for the late set.
The Cooper Lounge runs the mezzanine above Denver Union Station with 28-foot cast-iron windows, an Art Deco cocktail program from culinary director Kevin McCormick and small plates until 21:30.
TipSunday through Wednesday closes at 22:00; Thursday through Saturday runs to midnight. Reserve via Tock for the window seats.
NC's first James Beard Outstanding Bar finalist, Alley Twenty Six is the nearest thing Durham has to a listening bar: a room dedicated to the quality of the drink in a low-distraction setting. The cabinet-lined walls hold a serious spirits selection; the programme rewards regulars who come back for depth.
