North America's 50 Best Bars 2024: The Complete Ranking

Handshake Speakeasy claimed the World's Best Bar title at the 2024 World's 50 Best Bars awards and has held the North America number-one position for three consecutive years. Spread across two floors inside a Colonia Juárez hotel, the bar runs a culinary cocktail program across a Gatsby-era ground floor and a hip-hop basement, with every team member rotating through all roles weekly.

Superbueno on First Avenue in the East Village has earned its place among New York's most decorated bars through a combination of Mexican heritage, technical cocktail craft, and a hospitality ethos that outpaces most of its peers. Recognized with a 2025 James Beard Award and ranked second among North America's Best Bars in both 2024 and 2025, it is the rare place where serious bartending meets a genuinely celebratory room.

On the 64th floor of 70 Pine Street, Overstory has built a serious case for high-rise drinking in New York. Ranked #6 in North America and #15 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2024, it pairs a wrap-around open-air terrace with a technically disciplined cocktail program built around agave spirits, whiskey, and locally foraged ingredients — including salt harvested directly from the Rockaway Peninsula by the bar team itself.

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.

Rayo CDMX has built one of the most consistent award records in Latin American bartending, ranking #87 globally on the World's 50 Best Bars 2024 list and #5 in North America the same year. Located on Salamanca 85 in Roma Norte, it operates in Mexico City's most active bar corridor and holds a 4.3 Google rating across 421 reviews. Plan ahead: demand at this level means Rayo bar Mexico City is not a walk-in proposition.

Housed in an 1835 Creole cottage on St Louis Street in the French Quarter, Jewel of the South has become New Orleans' most decorated cocktail bar since opening in 2019. A 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar and a #4 ranking in North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 position it firmly at the top of the city's drinking hierarchy. The bar's identity is built around the historical cocktail record of New Orleans, refined rather than replicated.

Double Chicken Please revolutionizes New York City's cocktail scene through GN Chan's innovative "liquid dishes" concept, transforming beloved foods into extraordinary cocktails across two distinct spaces. This award-winning East Village destination earned Best Bar in North America 2023, offering both experimental cocktails on tap and intimate culinary-inspired mixology experiences.

Thunderbolt has held a position inside the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list every year from 2022 through 2025, peaking at #8 in 2024 and sitting at #64 globally that same year. Located on West Temple Street in Echo Park, it occupies a tier of Los Angeles cocktail programs defined by consistent international recognition rather than neighbourhood novelty. A Google rating of 4.7 across 353 reviews tracks closely with its award trajectory.

Licoreria Limantour on Avenida Álvaro Obregón has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars ranking every year since 2014, reaching as high as number six globally in 2021. Positioned in Roma Norte, one of Mexico City's most active neighbourhoods for serious drinking, it sits at the top of the city's cocktail scene and holds a 4.4 rating across more than 3,600 Google reviews.

Ranked #3 in North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 and #33 globally, Tlecān on Avenida Álvaro Obregón in Roma Norte is Mexico City's most serious agave bar. Head bartender Eli Martínez Bello — named Altos Bartenders' Bartender at the 2025 North America awards — leads a list that spans mezcal, bacanora, sotol, pox and raicilla, sourced directly from craft producers across Mexico. The queue outside most nights tells its own story.

Zapote Bar has held a spot in the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars ranking every year since 2022, peaking at #11 in both 2023 and 2024. Located along the Cancún–Tulum highway corridor in Playa del Carmen, it represents the serious end of the Riviera Maya cocktail scene — a programme built on Mexican ingredients and technical rigour rather than resort-bar ease.

Katana Kitten on Hudson Street in the West Village has spent six consecutive years inside the World's 50 Best Bars global list, peaking at #10 in 2021 and earning a #3 North America ranking in 2023. The bar operates within a Japanese-American cocktail tradition that has reshaped how New York approaches spirits-forward drinking. A Google rating of 4.5 across more than 1,100 reviews signals consistent execution at high volume.

Ranked #82 globally and #13 in North America by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Café La Trova on Calle Ocho is the standard-bearer for Cuban-American bar culture in Miami. The space runs on live music, classic Cuban cocktails, and a room that feels like it belongs somewhere between 1950s Havana and the present. Consistent top-25 recognition since 2021 places it among a small peer set of culturally specific bars that have crossed into global relevance.

El Gallo Altanero has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2022, climbing from #65 to #48 before landing at #71 in 2025 — a trajectory that reflects Guadalajara's growing weight in the global bar conversation. Located in the Col Americana neighbourhood, it operates as the agave-focused anchor of Mexico's second city, where mezcal, tequila, and regional spirits meet considered technique.

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.

Aruba Day Drink has ranked among North America's top 22 bars in the World's 50 Best rankings three consecutive years running, making it the most decorated cocktail address in Tijuana and a benchmark for the city's broader bar scene. Located in Zona Este, it draws serious drinkers from both sides of the border for a program that sits comfortably alongside Mexico City's elite cocktail rooms.

Café de Nadie has ranked among North America's top bars in the World's 50 Best programme every year since 2022, peaking at #15 in 2022 and #17 in 2024. Positioned on Chihuahua street in Colonia Roma Norte, the bar operates within Mexico City's most competitive cocktail corridor and holds a 4-star Google rating across more than 670 reviews.

La Factoría has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2015, making it one of the most consistently recognised cocktail programmes in the Americas. Occupying a colonial building on Calle San José in Old San Juan, the bar operates across several distinct rooms, each with its own format. Open Tuesday through Saturday, it draws a mix of locals and well-travelled drinkers who understand what the ranking signals.

Among Chicago's most decorated bars, Kumiko has earned a 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar alongside a World's 50 Best global ranking of #97 — credentials that place it in a narrow peer set of American bars operating at the highest level of craft and intention. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 6pm on West Lake Street, it represents Chicago's case for holding its own against any drinking city on the continent.

Few bars in New York City carry the kind of documented critical record that Dante NYC has accumulated since 2016. Situated on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, it holds multiple World's 50 Best Bars placements, including a #1 ranking in 2019, and a 4.5 Google rating across more than 2,500 reviews. The combination of neighbourhood longevity and sustained award recognition places it in a very small peer set.

A neon pineapple is the only signage on Bloor Street West, and that restraint is intentional. Civil Liberties runs on no-menu, bartender-guided cocktail service, house-made fortified wines, and a room that shifts from focused spirits conversation to full neighbourhood party as the night progresses. Ranked #21 in North America's Best Bars for 2025, it has held that tier of recognition since 2022.

Service Bar on U Street NW has ranked among North America's top bars every year since 2022, reaching as high as #18 on the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list. It holds a Pearl Recommended designation and a 4.6 Google rating across more than 800 reviews, placing it at the serious end of Washington D.C.'s cocktail scene alongside a neighbourhood defined by music history and independent energy.

On a quiet block of East 6th Street in the East Village, Amor y Amargo has spent years making the case that bitters are a serious category, not a garnish. Ranked #23 on North America's Best Bars in both 2022 and 2024, and Pearl Recommended in 2025, it operates as a specialist bar in the fullest sense: narrow focus, deep execution, and a drinks list that rewards the curious.

Allegory has placed inside the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list three consecutive years, reaching as high as #24 in 2024. Located in the lobby of a K Street hotel, it operates as one of Washington D.C.'s most recognised cocktail programs, with a format built around narrative-driven technique and a level of conceptual ambition that separates it from the city's more straightforward bar scene.

Herbs & Rye has held a consecutive position on the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list since 2022, making it one of the most consistently recognised cocktail programs in the American West. Located off the Strip on West Sahara Avenue, it operates in a different register from Las Vegas's casino bar circuit, with a program built around technique and depth rather than spectacle.

Baltra Bar in Condesa ranks among the most consistently recognised cocktail programmes in Latin America, holding a position inside the World's 50 Best Bars global list every year since 2021. The bar operates from a compact address on Iztaccihuatl and draws a 4.5-star average across more than 1,500 Google reviews. Its back bar and spirits curation signal a programme built on depth rather than novelty.

Bekeb has earned consecutive placements on North America's Best Bars list — ranking 27th in 2024 and 49th in 2025 — making it one of the most decorated cocktail programs to emerge from the Mexican interior in recent years. Set inside Hotel Live Aqua in San Miguel de Allende, the bar draws on local ingredients and regional spirit traditions to build a drinks menu that reads as a serious argument for the city's place on the continental bar circuit.

Kaito del Valle sits at the intersection of Mexico City's Japanese-influenced bar culture and the international cocktail circuit, holding a consecutive run of World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars rankings since 2022. Located on Hamburgo 70B in the Juárez neighbourhood, the bar carries a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 800 reviews, signalling consistent performance at a tier where peer pressure is constant.

Ranked #55 on the World's 50 Best Bars list for 2025 and #7 in North America, Bar Pompette on College Street brings a Parisian café sensibility to Toronto's cocktail scene. Since opening in 2021, the marble-bar counter and an esoteric, technically precise drinks program have set a reference point for bar service in the city. Bookings are competitive; arriving early gives you the best chance at a seat.

True Laurel occupies a particular tier in San Francisco's bar scene: ranked 64th globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025 and 17th across North America, it operates out of the Mission District at 753 Alabama Street with a program that integrates serious drinks alongside a food menu designed to work in concert with the glass. A 4.5 Google rating across nearly 800 reviews confirms consistent execution at scale.

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.

A Bucktown neighborhood bar that punches well above its zip code, Meadowlark has appeared in both the 2024 and 2025 World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars lists and holds a place in the global Top 500. Rated 4.6 across 258 Google reviews, it occupies a quieter corner of Chicago's cocktail scene without the downtown premium or the queue-around-the-block theater.

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.

Ranked among North America's top 30 bars by World's 50 Best four years running, Selva operates from a courtyard address on Macedonio Alcalá in central Oaxaca. The program draws on the state's extraordinary depth of agave spirits — mezcal, tepache, and beyond — positioned within a broader Mexican cocktail scene that has accelerated sharply since 2022. Google reviewers score it 4.1 across 659 ratings.

Library by the Sea sits on Grand Cayman's Seven Mile Beach and has earned consecutive placements on World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars — ranked 35th in 2024 and climbing to 30th in 2025. The bar operates as a serious spirits program on a Caribbean island better known for beach clubs, which is precisely what makes it an anomaly worth understanding. A 4.9 Google rating across early reviews signals the reception has been consistent.

Century Grand earned its place at #36 on the 2024 World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list through a format built around rare spirits, deep curation, and a multi-concept structure at 3626 E Indian School Rd in Phoenix. With a Google rating of 4.8 across 247 reviews, it operates as one of the Southwest's most serious drinking destinations, anchored by a back bar whose depth sets it apart from the broader Phoenix scene.

Arca has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2022, reaching #55 globally in 2024 and #77 in 2025 — a consistent ranking that places it among a small group of bars outside major metropolitan centres to hold sustained international recognition. Set along the Tulum beach road, it operates at the intersection of jungle-coastal atmosphere and technically grounded cocktail work, drawing a crowd that comes specifically for the programme rather than the setting alone.

Pacific Cocktail Haven (PCH) has climbed from #38 to #16 in North America's Best Bars rankings between 2024 and 2025, placing it in the upper tier of San Francisco's cocktail scene. Positioned on Sutter Street in Union Square, it draws on Pacific Rim ingredients and techniques to produce a program that sits well outside the city's standard European-influence playbook. With a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 930 reviews, it holds that standing with consistency.

Concealed behind a made-to-measure menswear shop on Montreal's Golden Mile, Cloakroom is a 25-seat bar that has appeared on the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list every year since 2022, ranking #31 in 2025. The bar operates without a printed menu, instead building bespoke cocktails for each guest from a library of house-made amari, liqueurs, and around 30 tinctures, plus a vintage spirits collection assembled over nearly a decade.

Ranked #37 on World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars in 2025 and #154 globally by Top 500 Bars, Bar Mordecai on Dundas Street West runs one of Toronto's most programmatically ambitious cocktail operations. The main floor delivers hotel-lobby polish while the Green Room downstairs shifts into karaoke-and-highballs territory, and the drink list moves between guava-chocolate-ale combinations and boozy soft-serves.

Maison Premiere has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list since 2014, operating from a 19th-century New Orleans-inspired room on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. The bar program centers on absinthe and raw shellfish, two categories that reward attention and patience in equal measure. A 4.6 Google rating across nearly 1,900 reviews reflects a following that extends well beyond cocktail enthusiasts.

Ranked among the World's 50 Best Bars since 2021 and sitting at #35 on North America's Best Bars in 2025, Hanky Panky operates from Colonia Juárez as one of Mexico City's most decorated cocktail addresses. Its trajectory through global rankings places it in a peer set well above the city's general bar scene, drawing serious drinkers who treat the address as a reference point for where Mexican bartending stands internationally.

Angel's Share on Grove Street in the West Village is one of New York City's most decorated cocktail bars, holding a 2025 World's 50 Best North America ranking and a spot in the Top 500 Bars globally. Recognised for curation depth and considered service, it occupies a distinct tier among Manhattan's serious cocktail programs. A 4.5 Google rating across more than 1,700 reviews confirms its sustained draw.

A SoHo corner bar on Prince Street with two consecutive North America's Best Bars rankings (World's 50 Best, #44 in 2024) and a place on the Top 500 Bars global list, Milady's earns its recognition without the pomp of a high-concept cocktail program. It operates as a genuine neighbourhood watering hole where the drinks are serious but the atmosphere is not performative — a rare combination in lower Manhattan.

Brujas has held a consecutive position on the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list since 2023, most recently ranking #65 in 2025. Located in Santa Cruz Xochitepec, it operates well outside Mexico City's bar-heavy central corridors, drawing a mix of regulars and informed visitors. Its Google rating of 3.9 across more than a thousand reviews reflects a bar shaped by community use as much as critical attention.

Ranked #12 in North America and #93 globally by the World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Mirate has established itself as one of Los Angeles's most decorated drinking destinations. Located on North Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz, the bar pairs serious cocktail credentials with a food programme that holds its own alongside the drinks list. Open from late afternoon through midnight on weekdays, with extended Saturday hours.

Housed in a converted 1903 firehouse, Cure New Orleans pioneered the city's craft cocktail renaissance under founder Neal Bodenheimer's visionary leadership. This James Beard Award-winning bar seamlessly blends New Orleans cocktail tradition with innovative mixology, creating an atmosphere of sophisticated comfort where premium spirits meet meticulous craftsmanship.

Best Intentions has climbed North America's Best Bars rankings with notable speed, moving from #48 in 2024 to #25 in 2025. Located on West Armitage Avenue in Logan Square, the bar operates in one of Chicago's most competitive cocktail neighbourhoods and holds a 4.6 Google rating across more than 600 reviews. It is among the few Chicago bars with consecutive placement on both the World's 50 Best North America list and the Top 500 Bars index.

Anchored in Chinatown at 135 Keefer St, The Keefer Bar has ranked among North America's top bars on the World's 50 Best list four times since 2022, most recently at #28 in 2025. Its cocktail program draws on traditional Chinese medicine as a design and flavour framework, with Asian ingredients woven through a bitters-forward drinks list. Bar food sourced from Chinatown neighbours rounds out one of Vancouver's more considered late-night formats.

Ranked #36 among North America's Best Bars in 2025 by World's 50 Best, Atwater Cocktail Club has held a place in Montreal's top tier of destination bars since 2016 while keeping its neighbourhood roots intact. The programme centres on rare sugar-cane and agave spirits, with inventive milk punches and barrel-aged builds alongside a tight list of bar plates. Thursdays through Saturdays, DJs push the room past cocktail hour into something closer to a late-night event.