
Internationally recognized 2016 list showcasing outstanding bars.
How many of these have you visited?
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New York City, United States
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.

London, United Kingdom
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.

London, United Kingdom
Ryan 'Mr. Lyan' Chetiyawardana's revolutionary Dandelyan redefined London luxury through botanical cocktail innovation and Tom Dixon's striking design. This World's Best Bar winner at Mondrian London transformed hotel bar conventions with approachable sophistication, Thames views, and groundbreaking mixology before evolving into Lyaness.

London, United Kingdom
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.

New York City, United States
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.

London, United Kingdom
Marian Beke's historically-inspired The Gibson London elevated cocktail craftsmanship to theatrical artistry within an atmospheric Edwardian setting, where sensory-driven drinks and bespoke ingredients created immersive journeys through mixology's golden age until its celebrated run concluded in 2023.

New York City, United States
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.

New York City, United States
NoMad Bar transforms a restored 19th-century Manhattan building into New York City's most theatrical cocktail destination, where Chris Moore's innovative mixology program and towering copper bar create an atmosphere of Gilded Age grandeur beneath soaring ceilings and antique mirrors.

Athens, Greece
The Clumsies has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2015, reaching as high as number three globally in 2020. Located on Praxitelous 30 in central Athens, it operates as a reference point for serious cocktail culture in Southern Europe. A 4.5 Google rating across more than 8,000 reviews confirms its standing extends well beyond the industry circuit.

London, United Kingdom
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.

Singapore, Singapore
Manhattan Singapore has spent a decade as one of Asia's most-awarded cocktail bars, reaching #1 in Asia's 50 Best Bars twice and climbing as high as #3 globally. Located on Level 2 of 1 Cuscaden Road, it trades in American whiskey-forward programming within a format that prizes depth over novelty. A Google rating of 4.7 across more than 1,000 reviews confirms the bar's consistency beyond its trophy shelf.

Sydney, Australia
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.

Mexico City, Mexico
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.

Singapore, Singapore
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.

Shanghai, China
Once ranked among the world's twenty best bars, Speak Low on Fu Xing Zhong Lu remains one of Shanghai's most decorated drinking addresses, with a track record in the World's 50 Best that few Chinese bars have matched. Its multi-floor format and sustained critical recognition place it firmly in the city's upper tier, alongside a food programme designed to hold pace with its drinks list.

Miami, United States
Broken Shaker has held a position inside the World's 50 Best Bars rankings continuously since 2014, peaking at #14 in 2015 and earning a 2025 Pearl Recommended Bar designation. Operating from Miami Beach's Indian Creek Drive, the bar built its reputation on a back bar with genuine depth and a cocktail program that has outlasted most of its South Florida contemporaries. Google reviewers rate it 4.5 across nearly 2,400 reviews.

Paris, France
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.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tales & Spirits has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year from 2014 to 2018, peaking at number 18 in 2016. Tucked into a narrow alley off the Nieuwmarkt quarter, it operates as one of Amsterdam's most consistently recognised cocktail addresses, rated 4.6 across nearly 2,000 Google reviews. The bar sits in a peer set that includes Door 74 and Super Lyan, anchoring the city's serious cocktail scene.

London, United Kingdom
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.

New York City, United States
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.

Singapore, Singapore
Operation Dagger at 76 Neil Rd has held consecutive placements in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year from 2016 to 2019, reaching #21 globally and #6 in Asia. The bar occupies a subterranean space in the Tanjong Pagar conservation shophouse belt, operating with a technical, ingredient-led cocktail program that sits at the serious end of Singapore's bar scene. Google reviews average 4.3 across 485 ratings.

Melbourne, Australia
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.

Tokyo, Japan
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.

Paris, France
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.

Stockholm, Sweden
Tjoget has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2016, peaking at #25 in its debut year and holding a position in 2025 at #76. Located on Hornsbruksgatan in Södermalm, it functions as a neighbourhood anchor as much as an award-circuit bar — the kind of place that earns its ranking through consistency rather than spectacle. Google reviews sit at 4.2 across more than a thousand ratings.

Beirut, Lebanon
Central Station earned back-to-back placements in the World's 50 Best Bars — ranked 26th in 2016 and 27th in 2018 — making it one of the few Beirut bars to register on the global cocktail circuit. Its position in the Armenian Street neighbourhood places it at the centre of the city's most concentrated stretch of late-night drinking culture, drawing a crowd that ranges from local regulars to visiting bar professionals.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Lobster Bar at Pacific Place has held a position inside Asia's 50 Best Bars every year from 2015 through 2020, peaking at number four in Asia and number 18 globally. Situated on Level 6 of Pacific Place in Central, it sits within Hong Kong's most consistently ranked cocktail tier, drawing a crowd that expects serious programme depth alongside the harbour-adjacent address.

New York City, United States
Mace at 35 W 8th St in Greenwich Village has held a position in the World's 50 Best Bars list across multiple years, including a #28 ranking in 2016 and a #18 North America ranking in 2023. The bar built its reputation on spice-driven cocktail concepts and a back bar assembled with uncommon depth. A Google rating of 4.4 across nearly 1,000 reviews reflects durable standing in one of New York's most competitive drinking scenes.

San Francisco, United States
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.

London, United Kingdom
Bar Termini on Old Compton Street is one of London's most decorated cocktail bars, holding a #6 ranking in the World's 50 Best Bars and currently placed at #130 in the Top 500 Bars. Built around the traditions of the Italian bar — espresso, aperitivo, and precisely made small drinks — it operates from early morning through to midnight, making it one of Soho's few addresses that spans the full day.

San Juan, Puerto Rico
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.

London, United Kingdom
Oriole has held a position in the World's 50 Best Bars three times and carries a 4.7 Google rating across more than 1,100 reviews, placing it firmly in London's upper tier of serious cocktail programmes. Located on Slingsby Place in Covent Garden, it operates in the tradition of destination bars built around technique and transport-themed storytelling rather than neighbourhood drop-in drinking.

Rome, Italy
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.

New York City, United States
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.

San Francisco, United States
Trick Dog has held a place in the World's 50 Best Bars rankings every year since 2014, yet it operates out of a Mission District corner like a neighbourhood institution rather than a destination trophy bar. Open from 4pm daily at 3010 20th St, it draws a crowd that ranges from local regulars to out-of-town drinkers who've tracked it for years, sustained by a program that takes cocktails seriously without making the room feel like a seminar.

San Francisco, United States
ABV on 16th Street in the Mission has earned back-to-back placements on the World's 50 Best Bars list and a 2025 Pearl Recommended Bar nod, making it one of San Francisco's most consistently recognised cocktail programs. Open daily from 4pm until 2am, it sits at the serious end of the Mission's bar scene without sacrificing neighbourhood accessibility. Google reviewers rate it 4.5 across more than 1,000 responses.

Los Angeles, United States
Theatrical omakase cocktail experiences define The Walker Inn's Koreatown hideaway, where industry legends Alex Day, Dave Kaplan, and Devon Tarby craft rotating thematic menus in an intimate 27-seat space that has revolutionized Los Angeles cocktail culture since 2015.

Milan, Italy
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.

Chicago, United States
The Aviary has held a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list multiple times since 2014, peaking at #13 in its category before transitioning to Pearl Recommended status in 2025. Located in Chicago's Fulton Market district, it applies a kitchen-level discipline to cocktail construction — think multi-component, technically complex drinks that treat the bar as a laboratory rather than a service counter.

Athens, Greece
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.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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.

Oslo, Norway
Behind an unmarked door on Storgata, Himkok runs one of the most decorated cocktail programmes in Europe — ranked #6 on Top 500 Bars in 2025 and a consistent presence in the World's 50 Best Bars since 2016. The bar's attached micro-distillery produces its own aquavit, gin and vodka, and its menus function as collaborative art projects with Oslo's creative community.

Nicosia, Italy
Lost & Found has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2015, reaching as high as #25 in 2018 — a sustained record that places this Nicosia address in a genuinely competitive international tier. Located on Lord Byron Street, it operates as one of the few bars in Cyprus with a consistent global ranking, drawing a crowd that ranges from serious cocktail tourists to the city's own discerning after-dark regulars.

Copenhagen, Denmark
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.

New York City, United States
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.

Sydney, Australia
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.

Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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.

London, United Kingdom
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.

Buenos Aires, Argentina
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.

Berlin, Germany
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.
Find out on Pearl and keep score across every place in 2016 World's 50 Best Bars.
Overview
The 2016 World's 50 Best Bars recognized 50 establishments across 27 cities and 19 countries. The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog in New York City took the top spot, while London dominated the upper rankings with five bars in the top ten, including American Bar at #2 and Dandelyan at #3.
The 2016 edition saw significant geographic concentration at the top. New York City placed four bars in the top ten (The Dead Rabbit, Attaboy NYC, Employees Only NYC, and NoMad Bar), while London matched this with five entries including American Bar, Dandelyan, The Connaught Bar, The Gibson, and Happiness Forgets. Athens appeared with The Clumsies at #9, marking Greece's presence in the rankings. The list spanned 27 cities across 19 countries, though the top positions remained firmly anchored in New York and London. This edition represented a complete refresh from the previous year's list, with all 50 positions turning over.
The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog took the top position in the 2016 World's 50 Best Bars, leading a list that heavily favored New York City and London. Between them, these two cities claimed nine of the top ten spots. London alone placed five bars in the upper tier, from American Bar at #2 through Happiness Forgets at #10. The list covered 27 cities across 19 countries, but the rankings show clear preference for established cocktail capitals. This edition saw complete turnover from the previous year's list.
The 2016 edition marked a notable shift in how the list recognized bars versus the previous year's restaurant-focused rankings. All 50 positions changed from the prior edition, which had included establishments like Osteria Francescana and El Celler de Can Roca. The Dead Rabbit's win placed a New York City bar focused on Irish-American drinking culture at the top, ahead of London's hotel bar scene represented by American Bar, Dandelyan, The Connaught Bar, and The Gibson.
London's dominance with five top-ten placements demonstrated the city's strength in high-end cocktail programs, particularly within luxury hotels. New York City countered with four entries, mixing hotel bars like NoMad with neighborhood operations like Attaboy NYC and Employees Only NYC. Athens broke into the top ten with The Clumsies at #9, offering the only non-anglophone city representation in the upper rankings.
The geographic spread across 19 countries and 27 cities suggests global reach, but the concentration at the top tells a different story about where voting panelists focused their attention. The complete roster turnover from the previous year reflected the list's apparent transition in category focus rather than natural bar closures or quality shifts.