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These hotspots offer the perfect blend of top-tier sound systems, live music and expertly crafted drinks.
It’s not just about killer cocktails and drop-dead gorgeous interiors at world-class bars – top-tier sound systems and in-house vibe curators are also on the rise, drawing the most discerning drinkers through their doors. Indeed, a ‘little ambience’ – light jazz, tinkling ivories or chillout tunes – is being replaced by meticulously-curated soundscapes that don’t just bring out the best in the drinks, but complement the décor and atmosphere too, offering drinkers a 360-degree multi-sensory experience. From Mykonos and New York to London and Mexico City, discover eight bars with the best sounds.
Seed Library, London
@seedlibraryshoreditch
A basement cocktail bar from mixology maestro Ryan ‘Mr Lyan’ Chetiyawardana, Seed Library has a refreshing emphasis on artisanal cocktails and analogue music. However, it’s always eclectic and surprising, meaning you can enjoy familiar genres such as rock, soul and disco alongside niche styles like Nigerian funk, Japanese hip-hop and Ethiopian jazz. Although Chetiyawardana and his team collaborate with DJs to curate the sounds, long-time partner Max Pastor of clothing and music store Diggers Dozen does a large chunk of the programming and can often be found spinning the vinyl on the weekend. Kit-wise, a Technics turntable and Bozak rotary mixer are used for sound that’s almost as good as the drinks: the gimlet-esque Asteroid Garden, the vaguely tropical Orkney Breezer and the super-fruity Breakfast Bellini are must-tries.
Scorpios, Mykonos
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As the musical epicentre of the island, Scorpios – now part of the Soho House group – is where it’s at in hedonistic Mykonos. Set against mesmerising views of the Aegean, there’s a clotted cream-coloured beach and stone-built restaurant for lazing with rosé all-day, but it’s the open-air terraces and custom-built stages for daily sunset rituals that really get the party started. A roster of eclectic cultural programming brings together both established artists and new talent – from superstar DJs to virtuosos of ancient instruments – while an in-house record label was founded in 2021 to recreate the evocative sounds that spill out onto Paraga Beach every summer.
Café de Nadie, Mexico City
@cafe.denadie
From the team behind Pujol (No.33 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list) comes Café de Nadie: a dark, sultry bar where the team’s all-out music obsession is channelled into a 1,500-strong collection of vinyl and a cutting-edge hi-fi system, As for the drinks, expect sensational martinis, Moscow mules and mezcal negronis soaked up with generous plates of fish ceviche, Baja oysters and a dynamite n’duja sandwich as big as your head, served with tangy pickles.
Rhinoçéros, Berlin
@rhinoceros.berlin
Husband-and-wife team Bénédict and Martina opened Rhinoçéros in a tribute to the Japanese jazz kissa – small whisky and coffee cafés where vinyl and jazz are played from quality audio systems. Despite their background in disco and house, the couple have fully committed to the concept with jazz, blues, soul and funk on any given night, while they play records from their own collection on two Altec Lansing A7s, one round Micro-Seiki turntable from the 80s and a rare Thöress F2a11 tube amp. There are no DJs, but there are music events, such as No Room for Squares, which is dedicated to showcasing genre-defying records. There’s plenty of sustenance in the form of classic and modern cocktails using quality ingredients and Japanese products and techniques, together with artisan wines and cheese boards. Fun fact: the bar plays more than 2,500 hours of music a year.
Alquimico, Cartagena
@alquimicocartagena
Spread across three floors of a 19th-century mansion in Cartagena’s Old Town, Alquimico serves a different set of drinks in all its different spaces. On the first floor – all mosaic tiles and cracked plaster – you’ll enjoy concoctions dreamt up by local agricultural communities; the second floor focuses on traditional cocktails with local twists; while on the third floor, there are drinks made from ingredients grown on the owner’s smallholding. But it’s the vibe that makes this bar an international star, with talent booking and musical curation all down to Spanish DJ Marahuaco with different guest DJs every night and a signature mix of Latin, urban, Afro, R&B and disco. The first and second floors share the same sound, as the latter is a mezzanine, but the third is soundproofed to create its own environment; and serious bits of kit come in the form of two Pioneer CDJ 3000s and Mixer Pioneer 900NX2s on the second floor and a pair of Pioneer XDJ-XZ controllers on the rooftop.
Public Records, New York
@publicrecordsnyc
The latest in a long line of New York listening bars, Public Records flips the traditional concept with hi-fi equipment wrapped in a distinctly Brooklyn aesthetic. There are five concepts under one roof, including a vegan restaurant and music lounge, an immersive club space, an all-day café and record store, an intimate cocktail bar and listening lounge, and an open-air nursery and event place. No phones are allowed in the club room, either, meaning the focus is always on the music, while the kind of interiors you’d expect on the glossy pages of Wallpaper make it highly-Instagrammable.
Estereo, Chicago
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It’s coffee by day and cocktails by night at Estereo, a hybrid café-bar now with two sites in Chicago such is its roaring success. The clue’s in the name with as much of a focus on the music being mixed as the drinks – predominantly Latin and Caribbean LPs from the 60s and 70s, no less, along with the evolution of sounds that grew from this unique period, on an audio system that’s custom-tuned to the acoustics of the room. Classic drinks, from palomas to piscos, complement the seriously good vibes.
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