On Wednesday 3rd October 2018, the world's leading bartenders gathered at the Roundhouse in London for the highly anticipated announcement of The World's 50 Best Bars 2018. The new list, which is the sister of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, includes 10 new entries and two re-entries, with bars from 26 cities across 20 countries.
Explore the world's hottest drinking destinations voted into the 10th edition of The World's 50 Best Bars in 50 pictures to quench your thirst:
1. Dandelyan
London, UK
Looking out to London’s South Bank and St Paul’s Cathedral, Dandelyan – The World's Best Bar 2018, sponsored by Perrier – is the bar of Mondrian London and the creative work of bartending pioneers Ryan Chetiyawardana and Iain Griffiths. It manages to be high-end but accessible – trendy pink, green and gold décor, relaxed but emotionally intelligent service and cocktails that make you think.
2. American Bar
London, UK
The American Bar at the Savoy in London is a monument to mixed drinks, its classical status hard-earned over nearly 130 years of serving the great and the good. The current menu, entitled Every Moment Tells a Story, takes inspiration from the famed celebrity photography of Terry O’Neil, which has long been a feature of the bar. The cocktails that draw inspiration from each photo are themselves a snapshot of the calibre of expertise always present in a bar that never grows old, only better.
Singapore
As entrances go, the walk up to the back bar at Manhattan is about as regal as it gets. It oozes chic from every fold in its glorious soft furnishings and Chesterfield armchairs, inviting you to settle in and marvel at what is the Best Bar in Asia, sponsored by Hennessy. Manhattan’s charm comes from a perfect balance of impeccable American hotel bar-inspired service and a desire to innovate on its own terms.
Image: Regent Singapore, A Four Seasons Hotel
4. The NoMad
New York, USA
The NoMad bar, set in the mid-town New York hotel of the same name, is in The World’s 50 Best Bars top 10 for the third year straight. What sets the NoMad aside from other hotel bars is its fresh take on classic, specifically taking inspiration from New York City taverns. Bar director Leo Robitschek’s menu comprises classically-focused cocktails that take in twists via a cornucopia of exotic spirits and ingredients.
London, UK
Celebrating its 10th year, the Connaught Bar has a classic vibe without being old. The Mayfair hotel bar’s glitzy Art Deco interior, five-star service and fine, quietly confident cocktails have a timeless feel that makes this one of the best drinking destinations in the world. While the famed trolley still wheels its merry way across the Connaught floor, offering one of the best Martinis in the world, the bar’s just-launched anniversary menu, the Essence of the Connaught, is another reason to come.
6. Bar Termini
London, UK
Now a fixture of London Soho’s lively food and drinks scene, Bar Termini takes its place in The World’s 50 Best Bars for the third year in a row. As day becomes night, Bar Termini moves through the gears to its perfected Italian classics. The Garibaldi is the best around and the Negronis deserve equal attention with their barrel-aged, infused and bianco iterations. Though traditionally rooted, in the hands of Termini, classics such as these are taken to new heights.
7. The Clumsies
Athens, Greece
If a bar’s aim is to be a church to socialising and imbibing, The Clumsies’ holy mission is very much complete. With three floors that draw in the crowds all day, The Clumsies has it all – from coffee to homely-but-refined Greek food to leading-edge cocktails. Often filled with loyal locals, The Clumsies is always looking for ways to improve and has just opened a fermentation room in its basement.
Image: Kosmas Koumianos
8. Atlas
Singapore
Atlas takes your breath away. First, there’s the setting: a 7,400sq ft Art Deco jawdropper that looks like it was plucked straight from the jazz age, furnished in marble, velvet, copper and gold. The highlight, for the drinks-minded, is a gin tower that houses a whopping 1,100-bottle collection. Banker-turned-bartender Sim Sze Wei will stir a house Martini, for which champagne vinegar turns out to be an inspired ingredient. Or you can choose a gin by the decade, stretching back to the 1910s, and he will pair it with a vintage vermouth for a taste of cocktail history.
Image: Ek Yap and Atlas
9. Dante
Image: Steve Freihon
New York, USA
Dante is a registered landmark of New York City and, less officially, the worldwide bar industry. Lining the walls are pictures of the original owners and the characters who have passed through Dante’s doors, from artists and writers such as Anais Nin and Ernest Hemingway, to Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith. There are a dozen Negronis to make your way through and the Garibaldi with Campari and ‘fluffy’ orange juice is a drink that feels right from morning to night – or any time Dante is open.
Hong Kong, China
The Old Man is a bijou bar. Just over one year old (winning the Highest New Entry Award, sponsored by Torres), the stylish, intimate establishment impresses both with its drinks and décor, inspired – as the name suggests – by American novelist Ernest Hemingway and his love of a good cocktail. Head bartender Agung Prabowo, who co-founded the venue alongside Roman Ghale and James Tamang, has concocted a menu of nine experimental cocktails that play off the classics and are based on Hemingway’s favourite ingredients, spirits and even culinary flavours.
Mexico City, Mexico
12. Bar High Five
Tokyo, Japan
13. Native
Singapore
14. Floreria Atlantico
Image: Eugenio Mazzinghi
Buenos Aires, Argentina
15. Attaboy
New York, USA
16. The Dead Rabbit
New York, USA
17. Oriole
Image: JCMT
London, UK
London, UK
19. HimkokImage: Michal Rohal
Oslo, Norway
20. Speak Low
Shanghai, China
21. Sweet Liberty
Miami, USA
22. Baba au Rum
Athens, Greece
23. Operation Dagger
Singapore
24. Le Syndicat
Paris, France
25. Lost and Found
Nicosia, Cyprus
26. Employees Only
New York, USA
27. Central Station (RE-ENTRY)
Beirut, Lebanon
London, UK
London, UK
30. Black Pearl
Image: Ryan Noreiks
Melbourne, Australia
Amsterdam, Netherlands
32. Linje Tio
Stockholm, Sweden
33. Little Red Door
Paris, France
Singapore
35. Happiness Forgets
Image: Lateef Photography
London, UK
36. La Factoría
San Juan, Puerto Rico
37. Paradiso (NEW ENTRY)
Image: Andre Sousa, Overproof Creative
Barcelona, Spain
38. Indulge Experimental Bistro
Image: Phoenix Chang
Taipei, Taiwan
39. El Copitas (NEW ENTRY)
Image: Polina Mayskaya
Saint Petersburg, Russia
40. Tommy's
Image: Dr. Kern McNutt
San Francisco, USA
41. BlackTail.jpg)
New York, USA
42. Candelaria
Image: Fabien Voileau
Paris, France
43. Schumann's
Image: Uli Heckmann
Munich, Germany
44. Trick Dog
Image: Sonya Yu
San Francisco, USA
Mexico City, Mexico
46. Swift (NEW ENTRY)
Image: Addie Chin
London, UK
47. Salmon Guru (NEW ENTRY)
Image: Angel Becerril
Madrid, Spain
Berlin, Germany
49. Bar Benfiddich
Image: Hiroyasu Kayama
Tokyo, Japan
Chicago, USA
Now take a look inside Dandelyan, No.1 in The World's Best Bars, with owner Ryan Chetiyawardana:
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