Anthony Bourdain's Top 5 Bars

Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas. Photo © Michelle McFadden.

"There are a lot of great drinking towns in this world," says veteran traveler Anthony Bourdain. "For me, if I have a bar epiphany, it's usually about four o'clock in the afternoon, before the evening crowd comes in. It's usually the daytime guys sitting there, they know the bartender, maybe there's a jukebox, maybe there isn't. The sun's sort of getting low in the sky and coming in through the window, you've got the dust motes floating over the bar. It's what I call that sort of golden Tom Waits drinking hour." Here, five of his favorite stops.

The Distinguished Wakamba Cocktail Lounge, New York
"It's a remnant of another era. There's no mixologist behind the bar. If you were to order a drink with more than two components, you'd get the dirty look."

Double Down Saloon, Las Vegas
"I like old-school places where they bust your balls when you walk in the door. Where a guy who's on TV a lot can be treated with the instinctive skepticism and derision that a profession such as mine deserves."

John Kavanagh (a k a The Gravediggers), Dublin
"It's a wonderful place, just a perfectly poured pint of Guinness, the way it should be. No music, no bullshit, everything you want from a real Irish pub."

Mac's Club Deuce Bar, Miami
"Even if you hate South Beach, this place singlehandedly makes a good argument for drinking in South Beach. It's an antidote to overgel'd, Ferrari-driving, Ed-Hardy wearing motherfuckers."

The Hideout (a k a Trish's), London
"A downstairs 'private club' that anybody can join for a few dollars. It's the antidote to everything trendy."

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