Esquire's Best Martinis in America 2025: Complete List

Via Vecchia at 10 Dana Street earned a spot on Esquire's 2025 Best Martinis in America list, placing it among a small tier of American bars where the martini is treated as a primary discipline rather than a rote menu item. Portland, Maine's bar scene has quietly produced several nationally recognized programs, and Via Vecchia sits near the front of that group.

A Lower East Side bar at 157 Ludlow Street, Apartment 5 earned Esquire's Best Martinis in America recognition for 2025, placing it among a short list of American bars where the martini is treated as a serious format rather than a legacy fixture. The address puts it deep in a neighbourhood that has rewritten New York's late-night drinking culture over the past two decades.

La Bastide by Andrea Calstier holds a Michelin star and sits on a quiet stretch of Westchester County, where a farmhouse dining room with sweeping pastoral views frames tasting menus rooted in southern French tradition. The wine program runs to 2,465 selections at accessible markups, with Wine Director David Berube and Sommelier Neal Dupont Pochat Baron guiding the list. Open Thursday through Sunday evenings only, with four-star pricing and a $100 corkage fee.

Maple Block Meat Co. in Culver City has built a serious reputation in the Los Angeles barbecue conversation, ranking #84 on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats list in 2023 before climbing to #234 in 2024, and earning a 2025 Esquire nod for its martinis. The kitchen operates under chef Adam Cole, with lunch and dinner service Tuesday through Sunday and weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

A Michelin Plate-recognized contemporary restaurant in Decatur's historic train depot, Kimball House has earned national attention for its cocktail program alongside a serious food offering at the upper end of Atlanta's dining tier. Esquire named it one of America's best martini destinations in 2025, and a 4.7 Google rating across more than 1,400 reviews reflects sustained local conviction.

Patterson House has held its position among Nashville's most consistently recognized cocktail bars for three consecutive years, earning Opinionated About Dining recognition from 2023 through 2025 alongside an Esquire nod for its martinis. Located on the fifth floor at 700 8th Avenue South, it operates in the city's more considered, low-theatrics tier of cocktail programs, where the drink itself carries the evening rather than the surroundings.

Manny's Steakhouse has anchored Minneapolis's downtown power-lunch circuit for decades, operating out of 825 S Marquette Ave as one of the city's most recognized steakhouses. Ranked #135 on Opinionated About Dining's 2024 Casual North America list and recognized by Esquire for the country's best martinis in 2025, it draws a consistent crowd of dealmakers, out-of-town visitors, and serious carnivores. Chef Jason Smith leads the kitchen through a format built on directness: beef, fire, and very little else getting in the way.

On St. Ann Street in the French Quarter, Fives Bar earned both a 2025 Resy Hit List placement and an Esquire nod for America's best martinis — two recognitions that rarely land on the same address. The bar operates in a city where drinking is taken as seriously as eating, and positions itself in the more technically considered tier of that tradition.

A French-leaning neighborhood restaurant on West Randolph Street, Creepies sits next door to Elske and shares its owners, David and Anna Posey. Stone walls, checkered tile floors, and a concise bistro menu built around dishes like Parisian gnocchi with gruyere and crispy ham make it one of the more considered casual openings on Chicago's restaurant row. Esquire named it one of America's best martini bars in 2025.

Almanac occupies a second-floor perch on Market Street in Old City, earning Esquire's Best Martinis in America recognition for 2025. The bar sits within Philadelphia's expanding cocktail scene, where serious drink programs have moved from novelty to expectation. For visitors building an evening around the city's historic core, it anchors the drinking end of the itinerary.

Junior sits on Dickerson Pike at a remove from Nashville's more polished dining corridors, and that distance is precisely the point. Esquire named it one of the best martini programs in America for 2025, placing it in a tier of bar-forward venues that take the classic cocktail seriously. The room and the drink list reward those who seek it out.

Isidore in San Antonio presents Progressive American dining rooted in Texas terroir. Must-try plates include the milk-made yuba stuffed with fresh cheese, a seared Texas Wagyu steak, and mesquite-bean butter served with house bread. The kitchen transforms local foraged ingredients into refined tasting plates, balancing rugged flavors with polished technique. Opened August 2024 and named a top U.S. eatery by the New York Times, Isidore pairs Texas-only wine selections with inventive cocktails. Expect warm oak interiors, attentive service, and flavors that reveal the state’s wild bounty in surprising, luxurious ways—perfect for special evenings in the Pearl District or an elevated weekend dinner.

At Sunny’s Steakhouse at Lot 6, the elemental allure of flame meets modern culinary precision. This refined steakhouse reimagines the classic chophouse with an elegant, wood-fired lens—showcasing rarefied cuts, pristine seafood, and seasonal produce rendered with quiet confidence. Guests are welcomed into a warmly lit room where polished service, a sommelier-led cellar, and tactile details create a sense of occasion from the first pour to the final, lingering bite. Whether indulging in a bespoke tasting progression, carving into marbled wagyu kissed by smoke, or retreating to an intimate alcove with a vintage decanter, Sunny’s balances sophistication with ease. It’s a sanctuary for discerning palates: convivial, meticulous, and effortlessly memorable.

Crow & Quill in Asheville is a cocktail & whiskey bar focused on craft seasonal cocktails and an unmatched spirits library. Must-try items include the house charcuterie board, whiskey-glazed nuts, and rotating seasonal bar snacks served alongside signature cocktails. The bar’s unique selling point is a curated collection of more than 800 whiskeys and over 1,000 spirits, paired with live music and intimate seating. Expect a warm, inviting atmosphere with dim lighting, leather chairs, and antique furnishings that make every drink feel like a discovery. Cover charge is reported by guests; late-evening service and a conversation-first staff complete the experience.

SHIA operates at the intersection of Korean fine dining and applied sustainability research, running a tasting menu program from its Northeast D.C. address that has drawn national attention, including Esquire's 2025 Best Martinis in America recognition. The kitchen pursues active zero-gas, zero-plastic, and zero-waste protocols while framing Korean cuisine within a contemporary fine dining context, making it one of the capital's more methodologically serious tasting menu destinations.

Ranked the #1 steakhouse in North America by Robb Report in 2025, Asador Bastian brings Basque asador tradition to Chicago's River North, centering the txuletón — thick bone-in ribeye from old dairy cows — cooked over open fire in the historic Flair House. The wine list runs 140 selections with a strong Spanish spine, and the room reads intimate rather than clubby, which separates it from the city's old-guard chophouse circuit.

On Fairfax Avenue, Lucia has earned back-to-back recognition from both Resy's 2025 Hit List and Esquire's 2025 Best Martinis in America — a pairing of accolades that signals something more considered than a typical neighborhood bar. The room sits at an address long associated with LA's independent food culture, and the martini program has become a reference point in a city rapidly redefining what serious cocktail work looks like outside the obvious hospitality corridors.

A West Village bar and dining room that has quietly built a loyal following on hearty Spanish cooking and a serious cocktail program. Thick wood beams, amber lighting, and close-set banquettes set a mood that rewards the return visit. Esquire named it one of America's best Martini bars in 2025, and the food more than holds its own alongside the drinks.

A Michelin Plate recipient and Esquire-recognised martini destination on North Lamar, Snackbar operates at the upper tier of Oxford's American dining scene without the formality that price point often implies. The kitchen delivers serious food in a room that reads more neighbourhood bar than tasting-menu theatre, and the cocktail program pulls national attention in a college town that has consistently outpunched its size on the dining circuit.

Open since 1949, House of Prime Rib has served the same English-tradition roast from tableside stainless steel carts for over seven decades, making it one of San Francisco's most enduring dinner institutions. The set format — prime rib, tossed salad, Yorkshire pudding, and potato — leaves nothing to deliberate, and that clarity is precisely the point. Ranked by Opinionated About Dining in both 2024 and 2025, it holds a 4.7 Google rating across nearly 7,000 reviews.

Hollywood's oldest restaurant, Musso & Frank Grill has operated at 6667 Hollywood Blvd since 1919, serving classic American fare from a menu that has changed little in a century. Ranked #752 in Opinionated About Dining's 2025 Casual North America list and recognized by Esquire for its martinis, it occupies a category of its own: a working institution rather than a nostalgia act.

Firstborn sits on North Broadway in Chinatown, earning Esquire's Best Martinis in America recognition for 2025. The bar operates in a city where cocktail programming has grown more technically serious, and its martini focus places it in a specific, discipline-driven tier of Los Angeles drinking culture. For visitors working through the city's bar scene, it represents a deliberate stop rather than an incidental one.

Via Aurelia arrived in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighbourhood in 2025, earning immediate recognition from the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Bay Area's best new restaurants and from Esquire for some of the best martinis in America. Located at 300 Toni Stone Crossing, it represents a compelling early entry in a rapidly evolving district — a bar and dining room worth tracking as the neighbourhood finds its shape.

Carbone Riviera brings the red-sauce drama of New York's Greenwich Village to the Las Vegas Strip, operating from 3600 S Las Vegas Blvd with an atmosphere calibrated for spectacle and a bar program recognized by Esquire as one of America's best for martinis in 2025. The dining room trades on mid-century Italian-American theatrics, where the cocktail arrives as seriously as the pasta.

Beef & Liberty at 500 N La Salle Drive sits where Chicago's River North bar culture meets a serious drinks program, earning Esquire's Best Martinis in America recognition for 2025. The format leans into the ritual of a well-made cocktail in a room built for settling in, not rushing through. It occupies a distinct niche inside a city more often discussed for its Michelin-laden dining scene.

Commander's Palace sits at the center of New Orleans' fine dining tradition, bringing New Haute Creole cuisine to the Garden District since the Brennan family took ownership in 1974. Seven James Beard Foundation Awards and a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 8,000 reviews mark its standing among the city's most decorated dining rooms. The wine program spans 2,800 selections across 23,000 bottles, with a White Star recognition from Star Wine List.

LenLen occupies a compact address at 40 E 20th St in the Flatiron District, earning Esquire's Best Martinis in America recognition in 2025. The bar positions itself at the serious end of New York's cocktail scene, where technical precision matters more than spectacle. For anyone tracking where the city's martini culture has landed, this is a reference point.

Le Calamar operates on South First Street in Austin's 78704 zip code, where the bar program earned a place on Esquire's 2025 Best Martinis in America list. That recognition puts it in a small national peer group for cocktail execution. For regulars, the martini is the anchor, but the room rewards anyone who settles in for a full evening.

House of the Red Pearl in New York City serves Chinese-inspired haute cuisine from Jean-Georges Vongerichten in the Tin Building. Must-try dishes include crab fried rice, roast duck, and chicken pot stickers, each delivered with precise technique and bold, balanced flavors. Reservation-only service via Resy creates an intimate, discovery-driven evening in a second-floor dining room lined with gold wallpaper and blue velvet banquettes. Expect attentive, helpful service, a price point above $100 per person, and a culinary voice that reinterprets Cantonese and regional Chinese elements through Jean-Georges’ modern lens. The setting and menu reward diners seeking refined, memorable meals in the Seaport district.

Thirty years into its run, Gramercy Tavern remains one of New York's most dependable American restaurants — a Union Square Hospitality Group landmark that holds nine James Beard Awards and a La Liste ranking, serving seasonal farm-to-table cooking across two distinct formats: a walk-in Tavern and a reservations-only Dining Room. Chef Michael Anthony leads a kitchen anchored in local sourcing, backed by a wine list of 2,225 selections and sommelier depth that few American restaurants match.