World's Best Bars

By Food & Wine
Updated March 08, 2017

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San Francisco: Rickhouse

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The newest place from the owners of Bourbon & Branch honors the Kentucky warehouses where bourbon is aged. The 300 bourbon barrels that decorate the ceiling signal the bar's emphasis on whiskey drinks. Another specialty at Rickhouse: punches, like a gingery Pimm's with gin and lemon, served in white milk-glass bowls with giant blocks of berry-studded ice.

Photo courtesy of Justin Lew.

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London: Connaught Bar

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When the century-old Connaught hotel underwent a $120 million restoration in 2008, the famed Art Deco Connaught Bar was updated, too. Among the new features is a martini trolley overseen by white-gloved attendants, who mix premium gins and vodkas with Italian Gancia vermouth. Top London mixologists Ago Perrone and Erik Lorincz preside over the extensive cocktail list; Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze oversees snacks like lobster spring rolls.

Photo courtesy of the Connaught/Damian Russell.

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Paris: Curio Parlor

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In 2006, Romee De Goriainoff abandoned a career in finance to open the Right Bank's Experimental Cocktail Club. Curio is on the Left Bank; it has the same terrific cocktails in a more elegant setting, with chandeliers and taxidermy. His Strawberry Fields combines vodka and Champagne with a garnish of "slapped" mint, while the Copa Verde is a more unorthodox mix of tequila, honey and avocado.

Photo courtesy of Curio Parlor.

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New York City: Mayahuel

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Mayahuel—named for the goddess of agave, the source of both mezcal and tequila—focuses on both spirits. Owner Phil Ward mixes exquisite drinks like the Slight Detour, combining jalapeño-infused tequila, reposado (aged) tequila, mezcal and agave nectar. The food is Mexican as well, like cochinita, braised pork belly with papaya-mango mustard.

Photo © Danielle Corey.

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Tokyo: Bar High Five

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"Japan is the Galápagos Islands of bartending: Mixologists develop their own ways of making classics," says High Five owner Hidetsugu Ueno. Ueno, who trained at Tokyo's legendary Star Bar Ginza, is obsessed with ice: At Bar High Five, he uses cubes of different temperatures in his drinks and can carve them to a diamond-like sparkle.

Photo courtesy of Bar High Five.

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Lima: Malabar

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Chef-owner Pedro Miguel Schiaffino opened Malabar with his parents, which may explain the cozy living-room vibe. A Culinary Institute of America alum, he updates South American cocktails and serves dishes like barbecued goat with purple corn. Pisco is the house spirit; Malabar uses marinated pineapple for its sensational version of Pisco Punch.

Photo © Kevin Willison.

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Sydney: Rockpool Bar & Grill

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Neil Perry's Rockpool Bar & Grill is set in a stunning green-marble building that evokes the Art Deco period. Mixologist Linden Pride celebrates a later era—the 1950s—with his version of the Moscow Mule, mixing vodka with fresh ginger and house-made ginger beer. The extensive bar menu includes Perry's bacon-Gruyère wagyu cheeseburger.

Photo © Earl Carter.

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Amsterdam: Door 74

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Philip Duff's 40-seat Door 74 is in a hard-to-find location, in the workshop of a former garage. Duff uses old-school techniques, glasses and garnishes for seasonal drinks like the Fig & Foam, a bourbon sour with fresh grenadine and organic fig puree. His Vanilla-Berry Crush is his most famous creation; it's also served at the Juggle Juice Bar at Amsterdam Schipol Airport.

Photo courtesy of Door 74.

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Stockholm: f/l Cocktailbar

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This bar is run by the owners of the experimental Scandinavian restaurant frantzén/lindeberg, across the street (diners can come by for a drink before or after dinner there; otherwise f/l Cocktailbar is members-only). By day, it's a bakery; at night, mixologists squeeze fruit juices to order and serve drinks like the Martinez Fashioned—gin, maraschino liqueur and grape zest.

Photo courtesy of Stefan van der Kwast Gissberg.

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Berlin: Becketts Kopf

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Named for the Irish writer who lived in Germany, Becketts Kopf is marked outside by an illuminated picture of Samuel Beckett's head (kopf means "head"). Husband-wife owners Oliver Ebert and Cristina Neves serve cocktails in vintage glasses, focusing on carefully modernized drinks like the Lusitanian (aged Portuguese brandy and sweet vermouth); the simple menu includes variously aged Ibérico hams.

Photo courtesy of Becketts Kopf.

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New York City: PDT

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Jim Meehan obsesses over obscure classic cocktails at this supercool unmarked lounge, accessed through a phone booth inside an East Village hot dog joint.

Plus: Best Restaurants in New York City

Photo © Noah Kalina

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Milan: Nottingham Forest

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Molecular mixologist Dario Comini’s unconventional bar arsenal includes syringes and dry ice.

Photo courtesy of Nottingham Forest Cocktail Bar

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Paris: Experimental Cocktail Club

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True to its name, this neo-baroque lounge serves ingenious drinks, like a new-style Old Fashioned made with grapefruit zest.

Plus: Best Paris Wine Bars

Photo © Stephano Bianchi

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London: Montgomery Place

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The softly lit speakeasy offers a Rat Pack vibe and terrific old-school drinks.

Plus: Best Restaurants in London

Photo courtesy of Montgomery Place

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Melbourne: Seamstress

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This four-story restaurant has two bars and exceptional updated classic cocktails.

Photo © Marina Olyphant

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Osaka: Bar. K

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For more than a decade, this small bar has excelled at details like exquisite ice and perfectly executed classic cocktails.

Photo courtesy of Bar. K

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Hamburg: Lion-Bar de Paris

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At his dark, intimate bar, Jörg Meyer shows off his encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails.

Photo courtesy of Le Lion-Bar de Paris

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