(Bloomberg) – For the second year in a row, the best saloon on the planet is at the Connaught Hotel.
The prestigious London bar, renowned for its drinks as fine as the signature martini for two, served on a black lacquer cart with etched crystal glasses, has received the World’s 50 Best Bars award, which is owned and curated by William Reed Business Media.
It’s a good year for drinking in London: No.2 on the world’s best list is Tayēr + Elementary, the two-part bar that offers space for casual cocktails on tap, as well as an experimental bar for ambitious drinkers.
Glasses are also clinking in Mexico City: The Hanky Panky Members Only Box ranked as the top-ranked new entry, arriving at # 12; The city’s bustling Licorería Limantour is No. 6.
Singapore is the city with the most entries in the top 50 – six, including the No. 9 ranked Jigger & Pony.
New York is not doing so well. The top-ranked entry was the attractive Katana Kitten, specializing in highballs; it arrived at No.10. Dante, which was No.2 last year and was named the world’s best bar in 2019, ranks No.30 this year.
The 2021 list features bars from 17 countries, including 18 new entries, among the top 50.
“There are a good number of new entries from new countries and a lot of new faces at the top,” said Mark Sansom, content editor for the World’s 50 Best Bars, in a video interview. “If anyone uses our list to book their bar-focused trip, there will be a lot of inspiration for them.”
Still, the list echoes this year’s list of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World, which also saw a familiar face, Noma, once again nominated at No. 1.
The list of bars rated between 51 and 100 was announced on December 2 and includes bars from 34 cities in 26 countries, with 28 new entries on the list. Of these 50, 13 are located in Europe and seven in the United States
The Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award, announced last week, went to Lynette Marrero, bar manager at Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn, New York; the award was voted on by the bartenders who make up this year’s Top 1-50 winners. Marrero is also the co-founder of Speed Rack, the 10-year-old bartending contest that has raised over $ 1.25 million for women’s charities. “A peer-voted award is particularly meaningful,” says Marrero. “It’s gratifying to know that a job like Speed Rack resonates.
The Michter’s Art of Hospitality Prize was awarded to Salmon Guru in Madrid, led by mixologist Diego Cabrera. It was a good night for Spain, who clinched four places on the list, starting with Paradiso, No.3.
The Best Bars list is compiled by the Top 50 Bars in the World from the votes of over 600 attendees from around the world, including drink writers, bartenders and cocktail aficionados. It is based on visits made from March 2020 to September 2021. Guidelines and voting requirements have been reassessed to reflect the limited travel opportunities of the period, due to the pandemic. For example, this year there was no obligation to cast international votes, whereas in previous periods at least three of a voter’s seven appointed bars were supposed to be international.
** = first time on the list
1. Connaught Bar, London 2. Tayēr + Elementary, London 3. Paradiso, Barcelona 4. The Clumsies, Athens 5. Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires 6. Licorería Limantour, Mexico 7. Coa, Hong Kong 8. El Copitas, Saint-Petersburg 9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore 10. Katana Kitten, New York 11. Deux Schmucks, Barcelona 12. Hanky Panky, Mexico **
13. Insider Bar, Moscow ** 14. Rum Baba, Athens 15. Manhattan, Singapore 16. Atlas, Singapore 17. Zuma, Dubai 18. The SG Club, Tokyo19. Kong Drink, Rome 20. 1930, Milan21. President, Buenos Aires 22. Maybe Sammy, Sydney 23. Cantina OK !, Sydney 24. Salmón Gurú, Madrid25. Speakeasy handshake, Mexico ** 26. No Sleep Club, Singapore ** 27. Camparino at the Galleria, Milan ** 28. Café La Trova, Miami ** 29. Little Red Door, Paris
30. Dante, New York 31. Kwānt, London 32. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo 33. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires ** 34. Attaboy, New York (12) 35. Lucy’s Florist, Stockholm ** 36. MO Bar, Singapore ** 37. Sips, Barcelona ** 38. Baltra Bar, Mexico ** 39. Sober Company, Shanghai40. Tjoget, Stockholm41. Epic, Shanghai ** 42. Charles H, Seoul 43. Tippling Club, Singapore 44. Above the Council, Melbourne ** 45. Galaxy Bar, Dubai ** 46. Re, Sydney ** 47. Sidecar, New Delhi ** 48. Union Trading Company, Shanghai ** 49. DarkSide, Hong Kong ** 50. Quinaire, Hong Kong
51. Locale Firenze, Florence ** 52. Bar Trigona, Kuala Lampur 53. Alquimico, Cartagena54. Double Chicken Please, New York ** 55. Lyaness, London 56. Byrdi, Melbourne57. Swift, London58. Bulgari Bar Dubai, Dubai ** 59. Penicillin, Hong Kong ** 60. Employees only, New York61. Kumiko, Chicago62. Tropical city, Bangkok63. Sago House, Singapore ** 64. The Court, Rome ** 65. Tesouro by Firefly, Goa ** 66. Thurderbolt, Los Angeles ** 67. Red frog, Lisbon 68. Dead-end paradise, Beirut ** 69. Danico, Paris70. Hero Bar, Kenya ** 71. 28 Hong Kong Street, Singapore 72. Argo, Hong Kong ** 73. Satan’s Whiskers, London ** 74. Barro Negro, Athens ** 75. Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen, Cape Town 76. The Bellwood, Tokyo **
See this post on Instagram
A post shared by ???? (@a_bar_with_shapes_for_a_name_)
77. A bar with shapes for a name, London ** 78. A bar called Gemma, Stockholm ** 79. Himkok, Oslo80. Side Hustle, London ** 81. Barbary Coast, Singapore ** 82. L’Antiquario, Naples ** 83. Buck & Breck, Berlin84. 1862 Dry bar, Madrid ** 85. Cera & Bruno Vanzan, Milan ** 86. The art of duplicity, Le Cap87. Tan Tan, São Paulo ** 88. Carnival, Lima89. Sweet Liberty, Miami **
90. BKK Social Club, Bangkok ** 91. Aha Saloon, Tapei92. Cambridge Public House, Paris ** 93. Cocktails Flying Dutchman, Amsterdam94. Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou95. Hoots’, New Delhi ** 96. Frequency, Paris ** 97. Tales and Spirits, Amsterdam98. Bar Savas, Madrid ** 99. Death & Co., Los Angeles100. Leyenda, New York
© 2021 Bloomberg LP
