2026 Food & Wine Top 10 US Hotel Bars

Located within The Surf Club on Surfside's Collins Avenue, Lido Restaurant and Champagne Bar has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition (2025 and 2026) alongside a place at #61 on World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars for 2025. The combination of a serious Champagne program and a hotel setting that carries significant mid-century history makes this one of the more considered drinking destinations on Miami's northern shore.

The Lobby Bar at The Hotel Chelsea occupies one of Manhattan's most storied addresses, where the building's century-long history as a hub for artists, writers, and musicians gives the room a cultural weight that most Chelsea bars cannot manufacture. The daytime atmosphere runs quieter and more contemplative; evenings shift toward a looser, more social register. Either way, the address alone situates this bar within a specific chapter of New York's cultural memory.

The Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone has been rotating slowly through New Orleans cocktail history since 1949. Ranked #280 on the 2025 Top 500 Bars list, it occupies a specific tier among the city's most recognised drinking destinations: a bar where the setting carries as much authority as the glass. The counter literally turns, completing one revolution every fifteen minutes.

One of the most decorated bars in North America, Broken Shaker operates from a Miami Beach hostel courtyard and has held a top-25 position on the World's 50 Best Bars list across multiple consecutive years. The program leans into produce-driven cocktails with seasonal sourcing, placing it in a peer set defined by technique and ingredient philosophy rather than nightlife spectacle. Rated Pearl Recommended by EP Club in 2025.

Open since 1947, Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle has held its place in New York's upper-tier hotel bar circuit longer than most of its competitors have existed. Ranked No. 45 on the Top 500 Bars Best Bars list for 2025, it occupies the Upper East Side's most recognisable cocktail room, where Ludwig Bemelmans's original murals still cover the walls. A benchmark for the classic New York hotel bar format.

Set inside the historic vault of the Riggs Washington DC, Silver Lyan is one of the most recognised bars in North America, ranked 48th on the World's 50 Best North America's Best Bars list for 2025. The programme centres on story-driven, technically demanding cocktails that use cultural exchange as a structural idea rather than a decorative one. For Washington, D.C., it is a rare bar that competes on the international stage.

Most guests at Prelude are coming strictly for the food, which is understandable, considering the quality of Southern cuisine as envisioned by chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones. But the cocktail program is equally as laudable, taking its flavor cues from similar regions of the country. Franco Bilbaeno, the beverage director, allots an entire section of his menu to Classic Southern Inspiration. It includes best-in-town renderings of a Vieux Carré as well as a Sazerac, and a Cognac-fueled Brandy Crusta that’s pure dynamite. He also carries quite the hometown pedigree, so he can’t resist infusing selections with some of the Bay Area’s renowned penchant for innovation, best evidenced in a Magnolia Fizz, rendered with roasted banana.

This spacious lounge , located on the sixth floor of one of Chicago’s most stylish luxury hotels, offers elevated libations to rival the skyline soaring overhead. Globally sourced spices are worked into signature offerings such as the Bangkok Jam, which utilizes lemongrass, Thai chile, and makrut lime leaf to form a unique savory edge in a tequila-based tipple. Z Bar’s weekend brunch menu features an umami-rich Bloody Mary garnished with pickled vegetables and crispy garlic root. If you’re feeling especially saucy, you can also explore one of the more expansive vintage spirits cellars the city has to offer, with bottles dating back nearly a century.

Named after the hotel’s legendary founder, Henry Morrison Flagler, HMF is a throwback lounge meant to evoke the property’s midcentury heyday. But its unabashed opulence is maybe even more evocative of the Gilded Age. The drinks are certainly a spectacle to behold — and a joy to sip. The Debutante is an unexpected crowd-pleaser, combining kiwi, avocado, and tequila for a creamy yet refreshing result. You can take a spin on a Sidecar with an orange foam–dressed riff named after Flagler’s own private ride, Railcar #91. And because this tends to be a celebratory sort of venue, there’s a whole section of menu reserved for Champagne-studded sippers.

Avenue occupies a specific position in New York City's cocktail conversation: a program built around technical precision and a well-considered drinks list, set against a room that takes its atmosphere seriously. For visitors tracing the city's bar circuit, it belongs in the same itinerary as the Lower East Side's more celebrated counters, but with a distinct register of its own.