Bar Leone in Hong Kong has done something no bar has managed before it: defended the number one spot. At the awards ceremony in Milan on 7 October 2026, the 18th edition of The World's 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, confirmed the city-centre cocktail bar as the best in the world for a second consecutive year — and, given it was already the first Asian venue ever to top the list, back-to-back wins cement Hong Kong as a serious pilgrimage point for cocktail fans.
What's the draw? Co-founder Lorenzo Antinori built the bar around the idea of "Cocktail Popolari" — drinks for the people. The inspiration is the unpretentious neighbourhood bars of Rome's Trastevere, where Antinori has family roots. No smoke machines, no theatre, no gimmicks: just well-executed classics, warm service and a vintage-Italian-styled room that feels like a local's local. That low-key approach clearly resonated with more than 600 anonymous voters in the drink industry worldwide.
The rest of the 2026 top five is a genuinely global spread. Moebius Milano takes second place, a boost for Italy's own scene and fitting, given the ceremony was hosted in Milan. Alquímico in Cartagena, Colombia, lands at three and also picked up the Michter's Art of Hospitality Award. Bangkok's Bar Us comes in at four — proof of Southeast Asia's growing dominance — and Athens' Line rounds out the top five, adding the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award to its haul.
Beyond the rankings, the individual awards read like a cheat sheet for the year ahead. Shingo Gokan, the Japanese bartender behind venues in Tokyo, Shanghai and New York, collected the Roku Industry Icon Award. Schmuck in New York was named best new opening, while Bar Mauro in Mexico City took the highest new entry honour, crashing in straight at number 10. Athens had a strong night overall: The Bar in Front of the Bar leapt 28 places to number 19, the biggest climb of the year. Edinburgh's Panda & Sons won best cocktail menu, Melbourne's Three Horses is the one to watch, and Saikindō in Abu Dhabi earned the design award — a nod to how far the Middle East's bar scene has come.
The full list spans 26 cities with 14 new entries, so even seasoned bar-hoppers will find unfamiliar names. For travellers, this is the practical bit: these rankings translate directly into itineraries. Hong Kong, Bangkok, Athens, Mexico City and Cartagena all now offer multiple top-50 stops, which makes pairing a cocktail crawl with a proper holiday easy. Expect queues and reservations to tighten fast, especially at Bar Leone, which was already hard to walk into before the double crown. If a night at the world's best bar is on your list for 2027, book early — or arrive at opening time and settle in, Roman-style.
Reported via Laotian Times.
