World's 50 Best Bars 2013: Complete Rankings

Artesian at The Langham London held the World's 50 Best Bars number one position four consecutive years from 2012 to 2015, a run that placed it at the centre of London's cocktail conversation for a generation. The bar carries a Google rating of 4.6 from 865 reviews and has maintained a presence in the Top 500 Bars list through 2025. It remains one of the most award-documented hotel bars in Europe.

One of London's most decorated cocktail bars, Nightjar on City Road has held a place inside the World's 50 Best Bars since 2011, reaching number two globally in 2013. The bar operates nightly until 3am, drawing a committed crowd to its subterranean setting where the drinks program has consistently defined what serious cocktail craft looks like in the capital. A 4.6 Google rating across more than 2,500 reviews confirms the reputation holds.

Among Tokyo's most decorated cocktail bars, Bar High Five has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2011, peaking at number three globally in 2013. Situated in a basement space on Ginza's Chuo-dori, it represents a specific strain of Japanese bartending — classical technique, guest-led service, and an absence of theatrical gimmickry — that has given Ginza its international standing in bar culture.

The Connaught Bar has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2010, twice claiming the top position, and remains the benchmark against which London's hotel bar category is measured. Housed within Mayfair's Connaught hotel, the David Collins-designed space marries Cubist geometry with a service programme of rare technical precision. The bespoke Dry Martini trolley service, led by Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani, is the bar's most replicated and least reproducible signature.

Positioned at the serious end of New York's cocktail hierarchy, The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog at 30 Water St has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2013, including the #1 spot in 2016. The Financial District address shapes the experience as much as the program itself: a two-floor Irish-American bar where the drinking is taken seriously and the historical framing runs deep.

Happiness Forgets is a basement cocktail bar on Hoxton Square that spent much of the 2010s inside the World's 50 Best Bars top 12, peaking at number six in 2013. Its combination of low-key format, serious drink-making, and east London positioning made it a reference point for the no-frills, high-craft model that reshaped London's bar scene over that decade.

Few bars in the Asia-Pacific region carry a decade-long presence in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings. Black Pearl on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy has held that ground continuously, peaking at #7 globally in 2013 and returning a 4.6 Google rating from over 700 reviews. Open nightly until 3am, it sits at the serious end of Melbourne's cocktail spectrum without the velvet-rope posturing that often accompanies that status.

Few bars in Australia have shaped the country's premium drinking conversation more consistently than The Baxter Inn. Tucked below street level on Clarence Street in Sydney's CBD, it spent six consecutive years in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings, peaking at #6 globally in 2015. The focus is whisky — a serious, deep list — served in a space that earns its reputation through program depth rather than spectacle.

Candelaria holds a firm place in Paris's cocktail conversation, ranking as high as #9 in the World's 50 Best Bars (2013) and returning to the Top 500 in 2025. The bar on Rue de Saintonge in the 3rd arrondissement built its reputation on a Mexican-rooted drinks program that sits apart from the classical French bar tradition, drawing a crowd that books well in advance and stays late.

28 HongKong Street has held a position in the World's 50 Best Bars global list every year since 2012, making it one of Singapore's most consistently recognised cocktail bars. Located at 28 Hongkong St in the CBD fringe, it operates as a serious spirits-forward programme in an understated space that prioritises the glass over the room. A 4.4 Google rating across more than 1,100 reviews suggests it delivers consistently at scale.

Callooh Callay has held a position in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings since 2011, peaking at number nine globally in 2012 and returning to the Top 500 in 2025. Located on Rivington Street in Shoreditch, the bar sits at the heart of East London's cocktail corridor and operates across an evening-into-late-night format that distinguishes it from destination-only peers.

Employees Only has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2009, peaking at #4 globally in 2015. The West Village address on Hudson Street operates as one of New York's most consistently recognised cocktail programs, drawing on a European apéritif and spirits tradition that sits apart from the speakeasy-revival bars that followed in its wake. In 2025, it holds #18 in North America and #95 globally.

Once the most-awarded bar on the planet, PDT operates out of a phone booth inside a St. Marks Place hot dog shop, and that physical fact still defines the experience. Its run of consecutive World's 50 Best placements through 2016, including the number-one position in 2011, established the East Village phone-booth format as a reference point for the global cocktail bar conversation. A 4.3 Google rating across 2,313 reviews confirms that the concept continues to land.

Few bars in Europe carry the kind of sustained award record that Dry Martini has accumulated on Carrer d'Aribau. Ranked inside the World's 50 Best Bars every year from 2009 to 2015, and returning to the Top 500 in 2025, it occupies a different tier from Barcelona's newer cocktail openings — a reference-point bar that the city's broader scene measures itself against.

Door 74 has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings across four separate years, peaking at number 15 in 2013, and still draws a global crowd to its unmarked address on Reguliersdwarsstraat. Amsterdam's cocktail bars have moved on from the speakeasy novelty that once defined this street, but Door 74 remains the reference point against which the city's serious drinking scene is measured.

Le Lion Bar de Paris has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings continuously since 2009, making it one of the most consistently recognised cocktail programmes in Germany. Located on Rathausstraße in central Hamburg, it draws a mix of regulars and informed visitors who know that longevity in that list requires more than a strong opening year. A 4.6 rating across more than 1,600 Google reviews suggests the reputation holds in practice, not just on paper.

Buck & Breck on Brunnenstraße has held a place inside the World's 50 Best Bars since 2013, reaching as high as #16 in 2015. Berlin's small-format cocktail room operates on limited capacity and a serious back bar, placing it among the city's most consistently recognised bar programmes. Its longevity at the top of global rankings distinguishes it from Berlin's broader cocktail scene.

The Parlour in Frankfurt's Zwingergasse occupies a particular tier in Germany's serious bar scene: a drinks-led room with a 4.7 Google rating across nearly 800 reviews and a profile that invites comparison with the country's most recognised cocktail programmes. Open six days a week, it draws a crowd that treats the glass, not the table, as the reason to be there.

Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome has ranked in the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2013, reaching as high as #19. Located on Vicolo Cellini in the historic centre, it operates on the speakeasy format that defined Rome's craft cocktail revival. The 4.5-star Google rating across more than 1,600 reviews reflects sustained reputation rather than novelty.

The American Bar at the Savoy has spent more than a decade inside the World's 50 Best Bars rankings, reaching number one in 2017. Anchored on the Strand in central London, it occupies a specific tier in the city's cocktail hierarchy: hotel bars with a verifiable international award record and a clientele that spans regulars, professionals, and informed visitors. It is one of the few bars in any European capital that functions simultaneously as a London institution and a global benchmark.

Death & Co on East 6th Street helped define the modern American cocktail bar format when it opened in the East Village in 2006, and its award history — four consecutive years inside the World's 50 Best Bars top ten between 2009 and 2012 — marks it as one of the most consequential bars of its era. The 4.5-star Google rating across more than 2,000 reviews reflects a reputation that has outlasted the hype cycle.

One of Copenhagen's most decorated cocktail bars, Ruby has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings across multiple years, peaking at number 22 in 2013. Set inside a 18th-century townhouse on Nybrogade, the bar operates across several intimate rooms that reward quiet conversation over carefully built drinks. It is a strong reference point for anyone mapping the city's cocktail scene.

Schuman's Bar occupies a corner position on Odeonsplatz, one of Munich's most formally charged public squares, and has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars every ranked year from 2010 through 2019. Its back bar is built around depth of spirits curation rather than cocktail theatre, placing it alongside Germany's small cohort of bars that compete on substance over spectacle. Reservations are advisable.

The Everleigh Melbourne channels golden age glamour through an unwavering dedication to classic cocktails, where Michael and Zara Madrusan's collaboration with legendary mixologist Sasha Petraske created Australia's most influential cocktail destination. Behind an American diner facade, this intimate sanctuary offers bespoke table service and hand-crafted classics that set the benchmark for luxury cocktail culture.

One of Australia's most decorated cocktail bars, Eau de Vie occupies a basement on Wynyard Lane in Sydney's CBD, where its track record on the World's 50 Best Bars list — including a peak ranking of #13 in 2011 — places it among a small tier of Australian bars with genuine international recognition. A 4.6 Google rating across nearly 700 reviews confirms that standing has held over time.

Daily-changing cocktail menus and authentic newspaper heritage define Bulletin Place Sydney, where expert bartenders craft innovative drinks within the atmospheric Press Room and Headline Bar spaces of a historic Bulletin newspaper building.

A compact, technically serious bar on a quiet Islington residential street, 69 Colebrooke Row built its reputation through a methodical approach to cocktail construction rather than theatrical staging. Ranked as high as #7 in the World's 50 Best Bars, it holds a 4.6 Google rating across 715 reviews and sits in the tier of London bars where programme discipline and drink precision define the offer.

Chainaya, Tea & Cocktails brought Moscow a serious international bar credential in the early 2010s, appearing on the World's 50 Best Bars list three consecutive years — peaking at #28 in 2013. The bar's premise fuses Russian tea culture with a technical cocktail programme, placing it in a small peer set of concept-driven bars that earned global recognition before Moscow's scene was widely mapped.

Mutis on Carrer de Còrsega has ranked among the World's 50 Best Bars three years running, peaking at number 16 in 2012, which positions it in the same conversation as Barcelona's most technically rigorous cocktail programs. Sitting in the Eixample grid, it draws a crowd that treats the bar as destination rather than pitstop, with a Google rating of 4.4 across 318 reviews confirming durable local standing.

Smuggler's Cove at 650 Gough St has held a position in the World's 50 Best Bars every year from 2011 through 2016, reaching as high as #16 globally, and earned a Pearl Recommended designation in 2025. Open seven nights a week from 5pm to 1:45am, it remains one of the most decorated rum-focused bars in the United States, drawing from a deep catalogue of spirits and tiki-adjacent tradition.

Clover Club has held a place in the global cocktail conversation since 2008, with consistent World's 50 Best recognition and a 4.6 Google rating across more than a thousand reviews. Located on Smith Street in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens, it operates at the intersection of pre-Prohibition technique and contemporary bar craft — a reference point for serious drinking in New York City.

Bramble has occupied a basement on Edinburgh's Queen Street since 2006, accumulating a run of World's 50 Best Bars placements that few UK venues can match. The programme sits in the serious cocktail tier: technique-driven, spirit-forward, and built for repeat visitors who track what's in the glass rather than what's on the walls. It ranks #177 in the 2025 Top 500 Bars list, with peak recognition reaching #7 globally in 2009.

Family-owned since the 1930s, Le Forum Paris represents the pinnacle of classic cocktail culture, where three generations of expertise have created a timeless institution. This legendary bar combines masterful execution of traditional cocktails with authentic Parisian sophistication in an atmosphere of refined elegance.

A Clerkenwell cocktail bar that placed 15th on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2012, Zetter Townhouse trades on atmosphere as much as technique. Set inside a Georgian townhouse on St John's Square, the bar occupies a different register from Shoreditch's louder venues — closer to a well-stocked drawing room than a conventional bar. Google reviewers rate it 4.4 across more than a thousand visits.

Florería Atlantico has ranked inside the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2013, reaching as high as number three globally in 2019. Operating beneath a flower shop on Arroyo, the bar's cocktail program draws on the histories of migrants and Indigenous communities who shaped Argentine culture. It remains the clearest argument that Buenos Aires belongs in the same conversation as London, New York, and Tokyo for serious drinking.

Lebensstern ranked among the world's leading bars twice in consecutive years, placing #30 on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2012 and #36 in 2013. Located on Kurfürstenstraße in Berlin's Schöneberg district, it operates daily from 08:00 until 01:00, covering the full arc from morning coffee to late-night cocktails. For Berlin's serious bar circuit, it remains a reference point from the era that put the city's craft programs on the global map.

La Capilla is a bar in the town of Tequila, Jalisco that earned consecutive placements on the World's 50 Best Bars list between 2011 and 2014, peaking at number 16. It holds a 4.7 Google rating across 35 reviews and sits at the centre of one of the most historically loaded drinking towns on earth. For anyone serious about agave spirits in their native context, it is a reference point rather than a detour.

On Hollywood Road in Central, Quinary has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars global list every year since 2013, making it one of Hong Kong's most consistently recognised cocktail bars. Its technically precise program sits at the serious end of the Central bar scene, attracting regulars who return for the craft rather than the occasion. A measured, research-driven approach to cocktails has kept it relevant across more than a decade of industry change.

Little Red Door has held a position inside the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2013, peaking at number six in 2023 — a record that places it among the most consistently recognised bars in Europe. Located on Rue Charlot in the Marais, it operates within a cocktail tradition that prizes conceptual rigour over crowd-pleasing approachability. Google reviewers rate it 4.4 across more than 2,700 scores.

Jacques Garcia's stunning design defines Le Coq Paris on Place du Trocadéro, where Thierry Costes' modern brasserie concept elevates traditional Parisian hospitality. Premium cocktails complement acclaimed rotisserie cuisine in an atmosphere of sophisticated intimacy, featuring mirrored walls, striking red tables, and ice-inspired columns that create the perfect backdrop for luxury Paris bar experiences.

Authentic Nashville honky-tonk atmosphere meets serious cocktail craftsmanship at Shady Pines Sydney, the landmark speakeasy behind Crown Street's unmarked door. Since 2010, this influential bar has redefined Sydney's drinking culture through expert whiskey selection, vintage taxidermy décor, and unpretentious hospitality that seamlessly serves both craft cocktails and beer-and-shot efficiency.

On Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side, Attaboy has built one of the most sustained award records in North American bartending — ranked as high as #4 globally by World's 50 Best Bars and #1 in North America as recently as 2022. The format is spare and the room is small, but the cocktail program operates with a precision that places it in a different category from most bars in the city.

On Rue Beautreillis in the Marais, Sherry Butt has been one of Paris's most respected cocktail addresses since it entered the World's 50 Best Bars rankings in 2013. The bar opens from early evening into the early hours, drawing a crowd that understands the difference between a drinks program and a round of drinks. It is the kind of place where the bar itself is the main event.

Joaquín Simó's groundbreaking Pouring Ribbons revolutionized New York City's cocktail scene through its innovative matrix-style menus and thematic storytelling approach. This influential East Village destination made sophisticated mixology accessible via seasonally rotating concepts, from "Route 66" to "Silk Road," while maintaining the perfect balance between technical precision and playful hospitality that defined modern cocktail culture.

Tippling Club has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars global list every year since 2011, making it one of the most consistently recognised cocktail bars in Asia. Located on Tanjong Pagar Road in Singapore's former warehouse district, the bar operates at the intersection of technical precision and theatrical presentation. A 4.6 Google rating across nearly 740 reviews reflects sustained performance over more than a decade of competition.

Drink Boston pioneered the no-menu cocktail experience in Fort Point's subterranean setting, where James Beard Award-winning mixologists craft entirely bespoke cocktails through intimate conversations with guests. This minimalist sanctuary has influenced the national cocktail scene since 2008, offering personalized luxury bar service that transforms every visit into a unique discovery.

Tommy's Mexican Restaurant on Geary Boulevard has earned a place among the world's most recognized bars, appearing in the World's 50 Best Bars list across six editions from 2009 to 2018. The bar's reputation rests on a decades-long commitment to 100% agave tequila and mezcal, placing it firmly in the specialist tier of San Francisco's drinking culture. A 4.5 Google rating across 890 reviews reflects a loyal, well-informed crowd.

Eleven consecutive appearances on the World's 50 Best Bars list — most recently ranked #17 in 2024 — position Baba au Rum as one of the most consistently recognised bars in Europe. Located at Klitiou 6 in central Athens, the bar's back bar holds more than 400 rums, and its rum-and-cocktail-society format has drawn a devoted local and international following for over 15 years.

Nottingham Forest has held a position inside the World's 50 Best Bars rankings across six separate years, including back-to-back placements at #15 in 2012 and 2014. The bar sits on Viale Piave in Milan's Porta Venezia district and operates six evenings a week. Its decade-long track record places it among the most consistently recognised cocktail addresses in Italy.

Three consecutive appearances on the World's 50 Best Bars list — peaking at number 32 in 2015 — placed Delicatessen in a tier of Moscow bars that few have reached. Located on Sadovaya-Karetnaya in the city's inner ring, the bar operates at a level of technical and atmospheric seriousness that set the benchmark for Moscow cocktail culture during a formative decade.