If you are headed to Barcelona, Buenos Aires, London, New York or Tokyo - you might want to take a little detour and have a drink at some of the best cocktail bars in the world.
#1 The Connaught Bar, London UK
Image credit: https://www.the-connaught.co.uk/restaurants-bars/connaught-bar/)
The Connaught Bar has appeared in The World’s 50 Best Bars rankings for nine consecutive years following its first appearance in 2010, just two years after its opening. Last year, it had the honours of being named both The Best Bar in Europe as well as The World’s Best Bar 2021. The bar is a true gem in the heart of Mayfair and has been a triumph from the start. It is the quintessential London hotel bar, with an Italian accent, which offers its own gin distilled at the hotel as well as many others.
Their famed martini trolley makes its rounds, in the good hands of their exemplary service staff, offering elegant cocktails including the likes of the ‘Fleurissimo’, containing Rémy Martin VSOP cognac, house-made Connaught bitters, violet liqueur, a sugar cube and Laurent-Perrier champagne.
With its ultra-stylish décor and chic, innovative cocktails, the Connaught Bar is in a league of its own. Since January 2022, the bar offers a new menu, Impressions. The Eclipse cocktail stands out, a gin cocktail housed in a striking white glass, painted black on the inside so the liquid fades to nothing.
Address: The Connaught Hotel, Carlos Pl, Mayfair, London W1K 2AL, UK
#2 Tayēr + Elementary, London UK
Image credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/B99wlc7lOgs/ - @tayer_elementary
Tayēr + Elementary presents a venue in two parts. Elementary is the industrially styled space you first encounter: a casual all-day spot where cocktails are prepared in seconds, where you can find the bar’s own-label wine and beer. While most visits start with the bar’s signature One Sip Martini, the menu here takes in other spins on familiar classics, with a weekly rotating menu in sync with the seasons and their bounty. Behind the concrete partition is Tayēr, a darker, moodier, more serious space dominated by a large central square bar. Drinks here don’t have names, rather they are simply displayed as a list of ingredients, mimicking a restaurant menu. There is a daily carousel of new cocktail recipes. Expect striking Portuguese/Chinese fusion dishes when it comes to the food.
Address: 152 Old St, London EC1V 9BW, UK
#3 Dante NYC USA
Image credit: https://www.dante-nyc.com/welcome/
Dante NYC is a century-old Italian café and an institution of the Greenwich Village. The bar is a legendary circa-1915 cafe serving small plates & cocktails in an updated historic setting. Dante is open all day and serves everything from coffee to pasta to a world-class cocktail. Dante’s strategy is to move forward but stay true to its past. Their list of Negronis is renowned and growing: the Café Negroni, with rum, marsala and coffee liqueur being the latest spin on the classic; while the Garibaldi, with Campari and ‘fluffy’ orange juice, remains one of the best renditions around. Dante NYC was ranked number 1 in the World’s 50 best bars in 2019.
Address: 79-81 MacDougal St, New York, NY, 10012
#4 Paradisio, Barcelona Spain 
Image credit: https://paradiso.cat/en/
Paradisio offers stunning decor and elaborated drinks, and the only way through is via a fridge door from the back of a pastrami shop in Barcelona’s trendy El Born district. You then fall on Paradisio’s front bar which features a majestic curved wooden paneling. The bar offers an experience that can’t be matched anywhere else. The menu was created to light up and glow in the dark with a drink selection that is uber sophisticated and is an experience on its own. For instance, the Volcano Negroni is served alongside a mini dry ice volcano erupting over the glass. Paradiso also has its own signatures, including the Great Gatsby and Supercool Martini, which uses ‘supercooled’ water to build an iceberg in the glass before assembling your very own Martini right at your table.
Address: Carrer de Rera Palau, 4, 08003 Barcelona Spain
Stay: Book hotels in Barcelona
#5 The SG Club, Tokyo Japan
Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/thesgclub/photos/864904180855799/
The SG Club was opened in 2019 by international superstar bartender Shingo Gokan. After debuting at No.13 that very year on the list of Asia’s 50 Best bars, The SG Club moved up No.9 in 2020 and in 2021 hits the No.3 spot, taking the title of The Best Bar in Japan for the second consecutive year. Emphasizing a fusion of Japanese and American bartending styles and incorporating unique flavour combinations using ingredients from all over the world, The SG Club, which stands for ‘Sip’ and ‘Guzzle’, claims two floors, with slightly different drinking experiences offered on each. At Guzzle, upstairs, guests savour drinks such as the Banana Daiquiri within a pub-like space, while downstairs at Sip, an industrial aesthetic and jazz set the tone for more spirit-forward intoxicants, such as the LOL, built with aged Scotch, plum liqueur and melon.
Address: 1 Chome-7-8 Jinnah, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0041, Japan
Stay: Book hotels in Tokyo, Shibuya
#6 Floreria Atlántico, Buenos Aires Argentina
Image credit:https://www.instagram.com/p/BuMuRGihLPY/ - @floreriaatlantico
Floreria Atlántico is a legendary speakeasy in Buenos Aires, camouflaged by a blooming florist and a well-stocked wine store on an elegant street. You enter this hidden basement tavern via an antique fridge door from the street level. The space is decorated with sea monsters hand-painted by Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni, a graphic artist turned bartender and the bar’s owner. Tato was also the winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2020, a title granted by the bartenders behind the bars on The World’s 50 Best Bars list. The Floreria Atlántico is where a thousand Argentinian cocktail stories have begun, and while Florería initially focused on Old World migrant beverage cultures, from Dutch genever to Italian amari, today’s cocktail tome pays tribute to Argentina’s indigenous communities, such as the Yamaná, as well as now-extinct colonies. Given that sustainability is a core pillar, the team works closely with regional farmers to source ingredients.
Address: Arroyo 872, C1007 CABA, Argentina
Stay: Book hotels in Buenos Aires
Other amazing cocktails bars you should definitely check out:
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- Baba Au Rum - The Clumsies |
[Barcelona, Spain] - Two Schmuck |
[Buenos Aires, Argentina] - Presidente |
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[Dubai, U.A.E] - Zuma |
[Hong Kong, China] - Coa |
[London, UK] - Kwant |
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[Madrid, Spain] - Salmón Gurú |
[Mexico City, Mexico] - Licorería Limantour |
[Milan, Italy] - 1930 |
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[New York City, USA] - Attaboy |
[Paris, France] - Little Red Door |
[Rome, Italy] - Drink Kong |
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[Singapore] - Atlas - Jigger & Pony - Manhattan |
[St. Petersburg, Russia] - El Copitas |
[Sydney, Australia] - Cantina OK! - Maybe Sammy |
A third-year business student with a keen interest in all things marketing, design and management.