The World's 50 Best Bars 2018: the list in pictures

Giulia Sgarbi - 03/10/2018

The World's 50 Best Bars 2018: the list in pictures

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

Dandelyan-More Ducks 9

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

AmericanBar_Horror-Quartet_W2

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.

3. Manhattan

Manhattan-MadDog

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

Pineapple Julep_NoMad Bar

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.

5. Connaught Bar

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

BarTermini-Negroni 3

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

TheClumsies

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

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

Dante-Classic Negroni
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.

10. The Old Man (NEW ENTRY) 

TheOldMan-GARDEN OF EDEN

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.

11. Licoreria Limantour

LicoreriaLimJamaicaMezcal

Mexico City, Mexico

12. Bar High Five


Tokyo, Japan

13. Native

Singapore

14. Floreria Atlantico

FloreriaAtlantico
Image: Eugenio Mazzinghi

Buenos Aires, Argentina

15. Attaboy

Attaboy-Paper Plane

New York, USA

16. The Dead Rabbit

New York, USA

17. Oriole

Oriole
Image: JCMT

London, UK

18. Coupette (NEW ENTRY)

London, UK

19. HimkokImage: Michal Rohal

Oslo, Norway

20. Speak Low

SpeakLow-Cocktail_Flirtibird

Shanghai, China

21. Sweet Liberty

SweetLiberty-interior

Miami, USA

22. Baba au Rum

Baba Au Rum Photography

Athens, Greece

23. Operation Dagger

PoDagger-Empirical Cocktail Side Seat

Singapore

24. Le Syndicat

LeSyndicat-sur la butte je flambe

Paris, France

25. Lost and Found


Nicosia, Cyprus

26. Employees Only

EMPLOYEESONLY_Billionaire

New York, USA

27. Central Station (RE-ENTRY)

Central-StationMosernist Falafel

Beirut, Lebanon

28. Scout (NEW ENTRY)

Scout-drink

London, UK

29. Three Sheets (NEW ENTRY)

ThreeSheets-interior

London, UK

30. Black Pearl

BlackPealr-Death Flip 2
Image: Ryan Noreiks

Melbourne, Australia

31. Tales and Spirits

TalesAndSpirits-Bright Tree Swizzle

Amsterdam, Netherlands

32. Linje Tio

LinjeTioMILANO

Stockholm, Sweden

33. Little Red Door

LRD - Strength

Paris, France

34. 28 Hong Kong Street

28HKS- 6 Foot 7 Foot

Singapore

35. Happiness Forgets

HappinessForgets-Virginiaguenettdrink
Image: Lateef Photography

London, UK

36. La Factoría

LaFactoria-Lavender Mule

San Juan, Puerto Rico

37. Paradiso (NEW ENTRY)

Paradiso-mediterranean treasure
Image: Andre Sousa, Overproof Creative

Barcelona, Spain

38. Indulge Experimental Bistro

Indulge-Signature Cocktail 1 Solar Terms of Island
Image: Phoenix Chang

Taipei, Taiwan

39. El Copitas (NEW ENTRY)

ElCopitas-CZ7B1076
Image: Polina Mayskaya 

Saint Petersburg, Russia

40. Tommy's

Tommysmargarita
Image: Dr. Kern McNutt

San Francisco, USA

41. BlackTail

Blacktail_Interior-1-Edit (1)

New York, USA

42. Candelaria


Image: Fabien Voileau

Paris, France

43. Schumann's

Schumanns-Sazerac
Image: Uli Heckmann

Munich, Germany

44. Trick Dog

TrickDog-crenn
Image: Sonya Yu

San Francisco, USA

45. Fifty Mils (NEW ENTRY)

FifyMils-Billy the Kid Signature Cocktail

Mexico City, Mexico

46. Swift (NEW ENTRY)

Swift-Sgroppino
Image: Addie Chin

London, UK

47. Salmon Guru (NEW ENTRY)

SalmonGuru-Steam Drunk
Image: Angel Becerril

Madrid, Spain

48. Buck and Breck (RE-ENTRY)

buckandbreck_interior29_14

Berlin, Germany

49. Bar Benfiddich

Benfiddich_Floral Negroni
Image: Hiroyasu Kayama

Tokyo, Japan

50. Lost Lake (NEW ENTRY)

LostLake-Bunnys Banana Daiquiri - credit Clayton Hauck

Chicago, USA

Now take a look inside Dandelyan, No.1 in The World's Best Bars, with owner Ryan Chetiyawardana:



To stay up to date with news and videos from The World's 50 Best Bars, find us on Instagram at @50BestBars, follow us on Twitter at @50BestBars and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/50BestBars.

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