The 50 Best Bars 2026 kept Hong Kong on top, moved Paris ahead of London and pushed Tokyo down the order. The Dot was in the room.
Lorenzo Antinori’s Bar Leone is The World’s Best Bar for the second year in a row. The Hong Kong bar took No. 1 at The 50 Best Bars 2026 in Milan on Wednesday night. That meant it also took The Best Bar in Asia accolade.
This was the 18th edition and the first under the new name. The organizers dropped ‘World’s’ from the title last month as everything now runs under one master brand – The 50.
One Night In Milan For The 50 Best Bars 2026
The Campari One to Watch Award came just before the countdown. Then the host, Pritesh Mody, went to the list. “And now we really do arrive at the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” the host told the room. A beat later came the admission. “I’ve got goosebumps. Let’s go.”
The list he unveiled covered 26 cities and has 14 new entries. More than 800 bartenders, writers, educators and specialists voted. Each named eight bars they loved from the previous 18 months. And, as is The 50’s approach, there are no more criteria than that.
The Top 5 At The 50 Best Bars 2026
Lorenzo and Justin Shun Wah opened Bar Leone in 2023. The idea is egalitarian – Cocktail Popolari, or cocktails for the people. It borrows from the neighborhood bars of Rome’s Trastevere. The drinks are classic and the room is warm. Vintage Italian football memorabilia lines the walls.
The rise has been fast. Bar Leone debuted at No. 1 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2024 and placed No. 2 globally that year. In 2025 it became the first bar from Asia to top the global list. Plus, Lorenzo co-founded Montana, Hong Kong with Simone Caporale, which featured at No. 36, giving him two spots on The 50 Best Bars 2026 list.
The 50 Best Bars 2026 Is A List Unto Itself
The regional result in July did not hold true for the world’s list. Guangzhou’s Hope & Sesame took No. 1 at Asia’s 50 Best Bars, with Bar Leone at No. 3. In Milan the order reversed. Here, Hope & Sesame landed at a modest No. 12.
Faye Huggett is director of community for The 50 Best Bars. She tied Bar Leone’s win to its philosophy. “To retain the title for a second consecutive year shows the true impact of Cocktail Popolari,” Faye said.
But the host city had its own result to celebrate. Moebius Milano climbed from No. 7 to No. 2 and took The Best Bar in Europe, although the fairytale of a hometown win at The 50 Best Bars 2026 failed to materialize. Alquímico in Cartagena placed No. 3 and was named The Best Bar in South America. Bar Us in Bangkok took No. 4. And Line in Athens rounded out the top five.
How Did Asia Do At The 50 Best Bars 2026?
Hong Kong placed four bars. That ties it with Paris and New York for the most of any city. Argo placed No. 25. Two newcomers joined it. Montana entered at No. 36 and Gokan at No. 41.
Gokan belongs to Shingo Gokan. He received the Roku Industry Icon Award on the night. His bars include Speak Low in Shanghai, The SG Club in Tokyo and Sip & Guzzle in New York. Sip & Guzzle placed No. 14, so Shingo has two bars in the top 50.
Bangkok placed three times. Bar Us led at No. 4. Dry Wave Cocktail Studio debuted at No. 27 and BKK Social Club followed at No. 30. Singapore placed two – Jigger & Pony at No. 18 and Nutmeg & Clove at No. 38. Seoul’s Zest took No. 7.
Tokyo had a harder night. It placed with only two bars, one fewer than last year. Bar Benfiddich fell from No. 18 to No. 44. And Virtù slipped from No. 45 to No. 48. Added to that, The Bellwood, a debut at No. 48 last year, dropped to No. 100.
The extended list adds depth to the region. Asia holds 16 of the places from No. 51 to No. 100. Southeast Asia accounts for four of them. Bangkok has Opium at No. 97, the returning Vesper at No. 99 and the G.O.D at No. 85. Singapore’s Offtrack, a listening bar, entered at No. 89.
The 50 Best Bars 2026 Special Awards On The Night
The special awards broke up the countdown. Several were announced in advance. And Milan was where the trophies changed hands.
The first went to Three Horses in Melbourne. It won the Campari One to Watch Award and ranks No. 84 on the extended list. The team behind Caretaker’s Cottage opened it, which explains a lot. And the host explained the bar was on a mission to bring sherry back. Caretaker’s Cottage itself was named at No. 45. And it took The Best Bar in Australasia again.
Mimi Kakushi in Dubai kept The Best Bar in the Middle East at No. 42. Giancarlo Mancino presented the trophy. (Pritesh helpfully explained that the name comes from a popular 1920s hairstyle.)
Alquímico collected the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award before the list reached the 40s. The host described the Cartagena bar as a multistory celebration of Colombian culture. And in their acceptance speech the team spoke about the importance of the bar’s work with families and communities in Colombia.
The SevenRooms Best Bar Design Award went to Saikindō in Abu Dhabi. It is a Japanese-style listening bar at Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island which guests reach through a fashion atelier.
The Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award came next. “And let’s be honest, this is a big one,” the host said. It went to Panda & Sons in Edinburgh for its menu Transcend. Iain McPherson’s bar is known for freezing techniques which the menu artfully helps to explain.
The rest of the awards featured the Disaronno Highest New Entry, which went to Bar Mauro, Mexico City, at No. 10 on The 50 Best Bars list. The Bar in Front of the Bar, Athens, up 28 places to No. 19, was the Nikka Highest Climber.
The Three Cents Best New Opening went to Schmuck, New York, which was ranked at No. 11. Line, Athens, which took No. 1 on the inaugural Europe’s 50 Best Bars list in June, took home the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award.
The Rémy Martin Legend of the List went to Paradiso, Barcelona. And the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender was handed out to Takuma Watanabe of Martiny’s, New York. Finally, a jubilant Isa Mejia of Ecuador won The 50 Best Bars Scholarship with internships at Line and Tres Monos to follow.
How Europe And The Americas Fared At The 50 Best Bars 2026
Europe placed 18 bars. Paris overtook London as the continent’s best-represented city for the first time with four bars. The Cambridge Public House ranked No. 13, Bar Nouveau No. 15, the new De Vie No. 23 and Danico No. 26.
London placed three. Connaught Bar led at No. 8, with Satan’s Whiskers at No. 29 and the new Waltz at No. 32. Athens also placed three – Line, The Bar in Front of the Bar and the new Barro Negro at No. 40. Barcelona had Sips at No. 16 and Paradiso at No. 17. And Madrid’s Angelita opened the countdown as a new entry at No. 50.
The United States placed four bars, down from five last year. All four are in New York. Schmuck debuted at No. 11 and is the highest-ranked American bar. Sip & Guzzle follows at No. 14, Martiny’s at No. 46 and the new Bar Snack at No. 49.
Then there’s Mexico City with three bars making The 50 Best Bars 2026. Handshake Speakeasy, the former No.1, took No. 6 place and The Best Bar in North America. Bar Mauro entered at No. 10 and Tlecān ranks No. 47. Guadalajara’s El Gallo Altanero returned at No. 28.
In South America, nine bars were listed. Lima’s Lady Bee climbed three places to No. 9. Colombia has three bars across Cartagena and Medellín. Buenos Aires has Tres Monos at No. 21 and the new Victor Audio Bar at No. 31.
Accra made the extended list for the first time with two bars including Front/Back which ranked No. 80 and was named The Best Bar in Africa.
And What About Vietnam At The 50 Best Bars 2026?
No Vietnamese bar made the top 100 this year although two Hanoi bars made Asia’s top 50 in July: Workshop14 at No. 34, which also won Best New Opening, and The Hudson Rooms at No. 46. The nearest Vietnam came at The 50 Best Bars 2026 was in Argentina. Cochinchina in Buenos Aires ranks No. 56. Its menu draws on French, Vietnamese and Latin American flavors.
The 50 Best Bars 2026 Revealed
All of which left The 50 Best Bars 2026 list, and it read like this:
No. 50 – Angelita, Madrid
No. 49 – Bar Snack, New York
No. 48 – Virtù, Tokyo
No. 47 – Tlecān, Mexico City
No. 46 – Martiny’s, New York
No. 45 – Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne (The Best Bar in Australasia)
No. 44 – Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
No. 43 – Nouvelle Vague, Tirana
No. 42 – Mimi Kakushi, Dubai (The Best Bar in the Middle East)
No. 41 – Gokan, Hong Kong
No. 40 – Barro Negro, Athens
No. 39 – Bar Carmen, Medellín
No. 38 – Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
No. 37 – Sastrería Martinez, Lima
No. 36 – Montana, Hong Kong
No. 35 – Tan Tan, São Paulo
No. 34 – Mirror Bar, Bratislava
No. 33 – Locale Firenze, Florence
No. 32 – Waltz, London
No. 31 – Victor Audio Bar, Buenos Aires
No. 30 – BKK Social Club, Bangkok
No. 29 – Satan’s Whiskers, London
No. 28 – El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara
No. 27 – Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok
No. 26 – Danico, Paris
No. 25 – Argo, Hong Kong
No. 24 – Himkok, Oslo
No. 23 – De Vie, Paris
No. 22 – Mamba Negra, Medellín
No. 21 – Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
No. 20 – Exímia, São Paulo
No. 19 – The Bar in Front of the Bar, Athens
No. 18 – Jigger & Pony, Singapore
No. 17 – Paradiso, Barcelona
No. 16 – Sips, Barcelona
No. 15 – Bar Nouveau, Paris
No. 14 – Sip & Guzzle, New York
No. 13 – The Cambridge Public House, Paris
No. 12 – Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou
No. 11 – Schmuck, New York
No. 10 – Bar Mauro, Mexico City
No. 9 – Lady Bee, Lima
No. 8 – Connaught Bar, London
No. 7 – Zest, Seoul
No. 6 – Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City (The Best Bar in North America)
No. 5 – Line, Athens
No. 4 – Bar Us, Bangkok
No. 3 – Alquímico, Cartagena (The Best Bar in South America)
No. 2 – Moebius Milano, Milan (The Best Bar in Europe)
No. 1 – Bar Leone, Hong Kong (The World’s Best Bar and The Best Bar in Asia)
