From a stiff drink and local drinks to cocktails where the colours, different flavours and textures meet to create the best bar experience; we are chasing the world’s best bars for you: Barcelona, London, New York and more…
Paradiso, Barcelona
50 Best The World’s Best Bar 2022
50 Best The Best Bar in Europe 2022
The Speakeasy-style Cocktail Bar is accessed through a retro-style fridge door inside a Pastrami Bar. Sinuously shaped wood to recall the sea of Barcelona, Carrara marble for the bar to recall his Tuscan origins and the bond with his family, tropical design elements, and a speakeasy inside the speakeasy. In Paradiso we find an interesting and captivating mix that embraces tradition and modernity in an elegant, young, and fun atmosphere.
In 2020 he opens Galileo, his second Cocktail Bar in Barcelona, a cocktail bistro with an industrial-chic design that offers a modern reinterpretation of the Italian aperitif, offering a menu of innovative signature cocktails and tapas with traditional flavors of Italian cuisine signed by chef Gabriele Milani. A place with a perfect Italian-Spanish soul, an elegant service, and a caring staff.
Many are also the awards: he wins the “World Class Competition” in 2014, competing among the 8 best Bartenders in the world, and subsequently the titles of “Best barman of Spain” in 2017 and “The best Italian Bartender abroad” in 2019.
With Paradiso he also reaches important milestones: in 2017 won the “One to watch” award from The World’s 50 Best Bars; for Tales of Cocktails wins the “Top 10 Best European Cocktail Bar” in 2018 and “Top 10 Best Bar Team & Best Cocktails Bar” in 2019; also in 2019: n ° 11 in the Top 500 Bars ranking, “Best Cocktail Bar in Spain” for World Class, “Best Cocktail Menu” in Fibar Villadolid (reconfirmed in 2021) and n. 20 in The World’s 50 Best Bars; 2020 brings awards such as “Top 10 Best International Cocktail Bar“, “Top 10 Best International Bar Team” and “Top 10 World Best Menu” for Tales of Cocktail, as well as the climb to position 19 for The World’s 50 Best Bars, up to being awarded as the best cocktail bar in the world in 2022 for The World’s 50 Best Bars.
Tayēr + Elementary, London
Tayēr + Elementary is a cocktail bar established in 2019 in London. A sincere interest in ingredients, intelligent design and meticulous research is integral to our collection of ready to drink, bottled cocktails that bring together the best of classics blended with unique natural ingredients.
A bar of two halves from the industry-famous Monica Berg and Alex Kratena. Elementary is a casual, light, easy-going space with floor-to-ceiling windows, serving cocktails on tap, beer, wine, bottomless coffee and snacks. Behind the concrete partition is Tayēr, a darker, moodier, more serious space dominated by a large central square bar. Drinks here don’t have names, rather they are simply displayed as a list of ingredients, mimicking a restaurant menu. As expected of the duo, the drinks are approachable but multi-layered in incredible flavour combinations. Expect striking Portuguese/Chinese fusion dishes when it comes to the food, including a much-loved Iberian pork katsu sandwich.
Sips, Barcelona
50 Best Nikka Highest Climber Award 2022
With an island bar centre stage, Sips is every bit the modern bar concept – here the bartenders and their creations are the show. And with two of the most box office drinksmiths in the cocktail world holding court, Simone Caporale and Marc Alvarez, it’s quite the spectacle. During the day, Sips has a mellower feel, with pastel pink and green decor making this an approachable early evening venue, but as night falls and the lights dim, it transforms into a dark and sultry hideaway. It’s showtime: so pick up a menu and prepare to be wowed by cocktails that are high on technical ingenuity. Many are re-routed classics – such as the Caipirinha, made with a masticator to round off bitterness – or, for the ultimate tableside fun, ask if Heliodora is available.
This vintage Mexican hand-turned machine delivers grapefruit ‘shaved ice’ as a base, before a gargantuan pipette drops sherry into the glass and the Daiquri Heliodora is completed with rum and lime. It’s all complemented by a Michelin-grade pastry chef, who drops her creations at the Sips door every Monday morning. Expect the likes of devilishly delicious pâté en croûte and foie gras parfait at the bar awarded the Nikka Highest Climber Award for 2022.
Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
50 Best Rémy Martin Legend of The List Award 2022
50 Best The Best Bar in North America 2022
Present on the list since 2014, Licorería Limantour is an institution. It’s the type of bar that gets everything right: packed every day of the week, with efficient service, on-point drinks and an intoxicating atmosphere. Under the stewardship of Benjamin Padrón and creative maverick José Luis Leon, Limantour and the team have put out a host of crazy menus over the years, with many drinks standing the test of time – the Margarita al Pastor will probably never go out of fashion.
In early 2022, though, the team took a step back, opening the pages of their drinks list to the creativity of six international bartenders, from Julio Cabrera of Café La Trova, Miami to Dario Schiavoni of Bulgari Bar, Dubai. Meanwhile, the team was working on the next chapter, called Ida y Vuelta, for which they worked with special ingredients from Oaxaca, preserved in all their glory by local partner Suculenta. A characteristically busy year for a bar that refuses to tread water and well deserving of this year’s Rémy Martin Legend of The List Award and being named The Best Bar in North America ort he second consecutive year.
Little Red Door, Paris
Situated in the heart of the third arrondissement of Paris, Little Red Door is a universe of cocktails and flavors.
Little Red Door put itself on the map embracing the creative scene of the Marais district through their conceptual yet accessible menus inspired by art, flavour perception, anthropology and social science, helping place them in the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars 9 times since opening in 2012.
Since 2020 Little Red Door has pioneered a Farm to Glass model for drinks and menu creation, working directly with French Producers across the country to source produce from which it creates unique homemade products that form the base of their minimally named drinks (i.e. Citrus, Carrot, Chamomile), firmly placing the producer at the centre of the guest experience.
Double Chicken Please, New York
50 Best Disaronno Highest New Entry Award 2022
Double Chicken Please is a Lower East Side restaurant & cocktail bar inspired by the exploration and experimentation of traditional drinks and dishes in the spirit of hacking design. The Back Room at Double Chicken Please offers inventive craft cocktails that deconstruct, redefine and rebuild iconic dishes into liquid form such as the Japanese Cold Noodle, Cold Pizza, Key Lime Pie, NY Beet Salad, Mango Sticky Rice and others.
Five years in the making, Double Chicken Please opened its doors at the height of the pandemic in November 2020. Following their nomadic, mobile cocktail pop-up program in a 1977 VW minibus hosting unique drinking and dining experiences across the country, the two cocktail champions GN Chan & Faye Chen are finally at home on the Lower East Side.
Just like the name, DCP offers two distinct hospitality experiences and a different cocktail menu in each space. The Front Room serves up an array of draft cocktails in a casual, industrial environment while the Back Room, decked out in mid-century modern decor and lighting, boasts a rotating list of innovative and classic craft cocktails.
An industrial designer by training and a former street magician, GN Chan has long dreamed of opening his own concept which combines his interests. With Double Chicken Please, the industry veteran wanted to expand on his skills to create a space with whimsical and unique drinks and flavors.
Faye Chen, a fellow Taiwanese native, is a veteran of Shingo Gokan’s Speak Low in Shanghai. She has also been in bartending for over a decade and teamed up with GN to reinvigorate the cocktail industry and imagination.
Two Schmucks, Barcelona
The five-star dive bar that is Two Schmucks lives up to its moniker and more. In Barcelona’s historic El Raval, all scruffy and characterful, the bar fits right in, with punk vibes and irreverent charm seeping out of every pore. The deliberate disorder stops short of the hospitality, which finds a fine balance between relaxed and attentive service, while the drinks elevate the experience away from dive, with an ingredient-led cocktail menu.
The latest list saw the bar’s ex-chef Juliette Larrouy take the creative lead and bring a culinary approach to the bar’s drinks. Many have a savoury lilt, but the crowdpleasers of old, such as the Clean Cut Mojito, are still among the bar calls. The sum total of all this is the best of two worlds – a bar that’s serious about its drinks and service, but not much else. Stay late and you’ll see, as the bar climbs though the gears – and its customers on to the tables. If ever a bar personified its owner, it is Two Schumucks creative director and founder, Moe Aljaff.
Connaught Bar, London
Drop by the Connaught Bar in Mayfair and step into another world. Conversation flows over sparkling glasses and candlelit tables. Behind the bar, mixologists conjure up new concoctions and time-honoured classic cocktails.
Before you savour that first sip, take in the surroundings. Textured walls in platinum silver leaf and a cool grey bar set a stylish tone. Designed by David Collins Studio, the bar evokes English and Irish Cubist art of the 1920s, with a touch of timeless elegance.
From day to night, the Connaught Bar is infused with a relaxed, inviting energy. To accompany your drinks, choose from light menus of bar snacks and evening canapés.
The award-winning Connaught Bar has been named no.8 best bar in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2022. Judged by more than 500 industry experts, the awards celebrate the finest drinking destinations across the globe.
A journey of feelings, intuitions and thoughts that encapsulate the dynamics of human encounters. Synergia stands for a transition from our inner self to the outside, to meet the other. Culminating into a collective experience that is understanding, unity and empathy, the Synergia cocktails transcend the liquid and invite you to connect with yourself and the people around you.
Katana Kitten, New York
Katana Kitten’s ‘director of deliciousness’ Masahiro Urushido is an icon. Yet his many awards – including North America’s 50 Best Bars Altos Bartenders’ Bartender 2022 – haven’t changed his devotion to hospitality. Guests are greeted warmly as they descend from the New York City streets into his underground, Japanese dive bar. Inside, guests are instantly immersed in an authentically ’80s party. Drawing from Asian influences, highballs such as the Slowpitch Paloma (tequila, Pocari Sweat, Thai chili, lime zest) headline the menu. Co-starring are Japanese riffs on classics such as the signature Hinoki Martini (vodka, gin, fino sherry, junmai daiginjo and hinoki tree essence).
The culinary side also adheres to izakaya roots. The humble chicken sandwich is conjured in a spectacular Fujimi Crispy Chicken Sando (soy-garlic and sake marinade, scallions, sour cucumber, spicy mayo and milk bread). Light bites such as Giant Head On Blue Prawn (shrimp-soy bean paste marinade, pickled daikon, sesame) are worth the trip alone.
Alquímico, Cartagena
50 Best The Best Bar in South America 2022
Alquímico is not just a bar. First, because each of its three floors has its own identity. Second, because Alquímico is also a farm in Colombia’s coffee region, 900km south in Finalandia, which co-owner Jean Trinh purchased in 2019. Operated following permaculture principles, it provides Trinh and team with most produce required to make the idiosyncratic house ingredients that go into the cocktails, whether it’s a pine extract or the citrus cordial that goes into the Gimlet.
Back in Cartagena’s historical centre, Alquímico (the bar) is located in a stunning, once decrepit mansion building. The ground floor is the heart of the operation, a high-energy spot with loud music, mucho dancing and a great, progressive cocktail list, showcasing the country’s biological diversity and flavour potential. One floor above, international classics are given a Colombian twist. And if fresh air is what you need, there’s a great rooftop too, with yet another unique drinks list. Alquímico? More than a bar.
Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
With its jet black and golden brass interior, Handshake has the feel and look you’d expect from a 1920s speakeasy, as seen through Hollywood eyes. And, unsurprisingly, classics play a big part here, in particular with a selection of cocktails based on vintage spirits – if a Hanky Panky made with a century-old amaro appeals to you, you’ve come to the right place. However, at Handshake, tradition is also a springboard for more creative endeavours, in particular since the bar relocated from Polanco to Colonia Juarez in the spring of 2021 and Dutchman Eric Van Beek took over the creative reins.
The latest menu is a tribute to the Mexican bar community and its resilience and features recognisable drinks, with a twist – an Old Fashioned with brown butter mushroom or a mole and sesame Michter’s Manhattan. Behind Handshake’s secret door, the 2020s really do feel like the 1920s, and vice-versa.
Jigger & Pony, Singapore
50 Best The Best Bar in Asia 2022
This stalwart of the Singapore cocktail scene evolves daily to maintain its relevance. The dynamic duo leading the charge are husband and wife team Indra Kantono and Gan Guoyi, who started back in 2012 with one bar and now have three bars and three restaurants. The former’s business experience with Bain and the latter’s hospitality background with Singapore Airlines has stood them in good stead. They weathered the pandemic and managed to introduce a new core business, the PONY bottled cocktail line. And now, with most restrictions lifted, Jigger & Pony can get back to doing what it does best – giving clients elevated classics in a convivial setting.
They also continuously strive to find new ways to do old things, their menu-zine being one example. But some things are here to stay; their primary goal of positive human connections and making people happy. This is at the heart of what they do… and delicious cocktails like Madame President or one of their famous punch bowls just make it easier.