Best Bars in America

By Food & Wine
Updated March 08, 2017
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Credit: © Kyle Born
With star bartenders, expert cocktails and cool designs, these destination bars make key nightlife stops in cities around the country.
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Dram & Grain, Washington, DC

Credit: © Emilio Pabon

This speakeasy-style bar has three seatings a night. The cocktail menu rotates quarterly; past offerings have included the Jalisco Manzana, with Don Julio añejo tequila and house-made Braeburn apple soda.

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The Wayland, New York City

Credit: © The Wayland

This popular neighborhood bar in Manhattan's Alphabet City offers a creative list of seasonal cocktails, live music and rustic bar food served until 4 am. Classic drinks include the popular Garden Variety Margarita with blanco tequila, fresh kale juice, ginger and lime, and the impressive I Hear Banjos–encore!—an apple pie moonshine and rye cocktail with apple-spice bitters, topped with a smoke filled glass globe.

The Wayland
700 E 9th Street
New York, NY, 10009
(212) 777-7022
thewaylandnyc.com

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Milk Room, Chicago

Credit: © Clayton Hauck

This reservations-only “micro bar” seats eight people at a time, ensuring that each guest’s experience is highly personalized. Its focus on rare liquors (past bottles have included a 1958 Campari) means that the menu constantly rotates as bottles run out.

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Lolinda, San Francisco

Credit: Photo © Eric Wolfinger

From the team behind Delarosa and Beretta, this Argentinean-style steak house serves refreshing cocktails like the Liza (blanco tequila, cardamom and dry vermouth) alongside empanadas, ceviches and blood sausage.

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Seamstress, New York City

Pamela Wiznitzer showcases her knowledge of classic drinks at this cocktail bar that feels like an elegant (yet unstuffy) hunting lodge. The menu lists 50 classics in addition to house drinks like Mortimer & Mauve (rye and chai vermouth).

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The Partisan, Washington, DC

Credit: © Brandon Weight

The bar at this meat-centric restaurant features novel cocktails by Jeff Faile. The Fernet Ice Cream Float, a favorite, is made with ginger beer, lime zest, Fernet-Branca ice cream and ginger molasses cookies. There are also 25 wines and four spirits on tap plus funky sour beers to drink with one of the impressive charcuterie plates.

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Braise, Milwaukee

Credit: Photo © Lindsey Mehlhorn Photography

With an entire wall made from reclaimed bowling lanes, the cozy interior of Braise echoes the restaurant's farm-to-table philosophy. The cocktail list is based on seasonal infusions, including a cocoa nib–enhanced vodka.

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Raven & Rose, Portland

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Raven & Rose

Inspired by the 1883 building that houses Raven & Rose, bar director Dave Shenaut's concoctions are complex and Victorian-themed. Rotating $4 to $6 small plates like corned-beef-stuffed Yorkshire puddings are served during their daily happy hour.

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Boulevardier, Dallas

Credit: Photo © Manny Rodriguez

Named after the classic bourbon-based cocktail, this French bistro is located in the Bishop Arts District. In addition to classic cocktails, the drinks list includes specialty creations like Smash de la Saison: rye whiskey poured over shaved ice and garnished with fruit and mint.

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Sobou, New Orleans

Credit: Photo courtesy of Sobou

Creole street food is king at this restaurant south of Bourbon Street, where they serve "Two Bit" 25-cent martinis during lunch.

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Rolf & Daughters, Nashville

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Rolf & Daughters

This restaurant offers a Southern ingredient–driven take on Italian peasant food and drinks.

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Clyde Common, Portland

Credit: Photo © David Lanthan Reamer.

Jeffrey Morgenthaler oversees the rotating cocktail list at this airy "tavern" adjacent to the Ace Hotel. One to try: the Cranky Lass with Scotch, amaro, apple cider, lemon, allspice liqueur.

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Jimmy's, Aspen

Credit: Photo © Shannon Rengers

Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, this Aspen institution has more than 120 tequilas and mezcals, makes terrific margaritas and hosts legendary Saturday night Latin-dance parties.

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Mayahuel, New York City

Credit: Photo © Danielle Corey

Death & Co. alum Philip Ward opened this East Village Mexican spot in 2009 with food by Luis and Vincent Gonzales, and a cocktail menu dedicated to tequila and mezcal.

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Distil, Milwaukee

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Distil

More than 120 bourbons and ryes, along with local cheeses and charcuterie, are the draw at Distil.

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Linger, Denver

Credit: Photo © June Cochran Photography

Formerly a mortuary, this slightly macabre bar and restaurant features small plates and cocktails like the Devil Inside, made with rye whiskey, Ramazotti Amaro, The Velvet Devil Merlot and lemon.

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Oak at Fourteenth, Boulder

Credit: Photo © Jennifer Olson

Frasca Food & Wine alums Bryan Dayton and Steven Redzikowski co-own this upscale neighborhood spot, where Dayton offers NA (nonalcoholic), LA (low-alcohol) and HA (high-alcohol) drinks.

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Eleven Madison Park, New York City

Credit: Photo © Andie Diemer

Top-notch service is the hallmark of this elegant restaurant and bar. Head bartender Leo Robitschek serves up inventive drinks like the Old Ranhofer (raisin-infused rum, vanilla, cold-brewed coffee and Jamaican jerk bitters) to pair with chef Daniel Humm’s divine cooking.

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Bar Agricole, San Francisco

Credit: Photo © Lori Eanes and Thomas Winz

Rhum agricole-lover Thad Vogler, who designed the menus for Beretta and the Slanted Door co-owns this airy, rustic-industrial tavern.

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Rich Table, San Francisco

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Rich Table

Cocktails like the Tiger Lily—blanco tequila, Aperol, Mexican liqueur and blood orange—exemplify the local, market-fresh philosophy at Evan and Sarah Rich's restaurant.

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Beretta, San Francisco

Credit: Photo © Eric Wolfinger

At this upscale pizzeria with a late-night cocktail lounge, Ryan Fitzgerald serves fantastic drinks like the Dolores Park Swizzle (rum, lime, maraschino, absinthe, bitters).

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The Slanted Door, San Francisco

Credit: Photo © Aya Brackett

Many of the Slanted Door’s drinks—such as Erik Adkins’s Pisco Apricot Tropical—are designed to complement chef Charles Phan’s modern Vietnamese food.

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Bar Crudo, Phoenix

Credit: Photo © Chris Loomis

To pair with the Italian-style raw dishes served at Bar Crudo's daily happy hour, mixologist-sommelier Micah Olson mixes drinks like the Dazed and Infused: strawberry-spiked Aperol, passion fruit syrup, lime and sparkling wine.

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Windsor, Phoenix

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Upward Projects

This neighborhood restaurant features an elaborate DIY Bloody Mary bar during weekend brunch along with house cocktails. The No. 06, for instance, includes gin, strawberry syrup and apple cider vinegar.

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Penca, Tucson

Credit: Photo © David Olsen

Inspired by owner Patricia Schwabe's Mexico City roots, Penca offers authentic dishes like poblano chile rellenos and agave-based cocktails.

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The Sound Table, Atlanta

Credit: Photo Courtesy of The Sound Table

This restaurant organizes its drink list into categories like "Bright & Dry" (a grapefruity Paloma) and "Strong, Rich & Strange" (the Matterhorn: Old Tom gin, bianco vermouth, Chartreuse and pine liqueur in an absinthe-rinsed glass). It transforms into a dance club most nights around 11 p.m.

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Seven Lamps, Atlanta

Credit: Photo © Michael West

With the Crunch Punch, featuring Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch–infused rye whiskey, you can drink your dessert at this sleek, open kitchen and bar.

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Galaxie, Louisville

Credit: © Bella Grace Studios/OMC

With kitschy neon signs and hipster decor, Galaxie is a relaxed space in which to embrace your inner Star Wars nerd. Its street food–inspired menu offers fries “Vader-style” (curry cheese sauce and pickled carrot) and flatbread tacos called “wakatakas.” Cocktails include the Storm Trooper (rum, allspice and ginger beer) and margaritas by the pitcher.

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Bub City, Chicago

Credit: Photo © Lettuce Entertain You

Part barbecue restaurant and part Americana-themed bar, Bub City features live country music and whiskey-focused cocktails.

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Yusho, Chicago

Credit: Photo © Katrina Wittkamp

The bar menu at this yakitori-inspired restaurant has a wide selection of sake and cocktails like the Mother's Food (rum, batavia-arrack, lemon, pineapple-shiso gomme).

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Bestia, Los Angeles

Credit: Photo © Devourmedia

This bar and restaurant in downtown L.A.'s Arts District serves modern Italian takes on classic cocktails from mixologist Julian Cox, like a Brandy Crusta with Amaro Nonino.

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The Tasting Kitchen, Venice

Credit: Photo Courtesy of The Tasting Kitchen

At this terrific restaurant, where nearly everything (butchering, pickling, curing) is done in-house, John Coltharp and Justin Pike give the same careful attention to the drinks.

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Hendricks BBQ, St. Charles, MO

Credit: Photo © Jacqui Krawczyk Segura

This barbecue joint has a bar in the basement that features whiskey and house-distilled moonshine cocktails along with live blues music.

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Port Fonda, Kansas City, MO

Credit: Photo © Nathan Eaton

What started as a Mexican food truck is now a restaurant and bar with an extensive list of tequilas and mezcals.

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