The World’s 50 Best Bars For 2023 Have Been Named, And Two Are In Australia
— 18 October 2023

The World’s 50 Best Bars For 2023 Have Been Named, And Two Are In Australia

— 18 October 2023
Randy Lai
WORDS BY
Randy Lai

Last night, the cream of the global drinks industry crop descended upon Singapore’s Pasir Panjang in dramatic fashion — to celebrate the announcement of the World’s 50 Best Bars for 2023.

Spanish-speaking nations were a huge force to contend with in this edition of the list (5 of the Top 10 venues were from Spain or South America) yet Aussie boozehounds may rest easy; as the country’s leading bars continue to find traction on the world stage.

Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that Maybe Sammy in Sydney managed to nab the #15 spot in this year’s edition of World’s 50 Best Bars. Often described as the ultimate “hotel bar without a hotel”, this raucous cocktail den (from Messrs Stefano Catino, Vince Lombardo, and Martin Hudak) has come to exemplify everything good and gregarious about Italo-Aussie hospitality.

RELATED: A Hong Kong Mezcal Den Has Been Crowned ‘Best Bar In Asia’ For The 3rd Year In A Row

World's 50 Best Bars 2023
Pictured: Martin Hudak & co of Maybe Sammy, which returns to this year’s 50 Best Bars shortlist at #15.

This marks Maybe Sammy’s sophomore appearance on a World’s 50 Best list, with the venue leaping an impressive 14 spots up the rankings in the past year. “We’re just so grateful,” said Hudak. “We’ve been pushing hard over the last year. Anything we could’ve done, we did — so I’m very proud of the team.”

Meanwhile, in peak Melbourne fashion, Caretaker’s Cottage came away as the Garden City’s only representative in the World’s top 50 bars. But as far as chief ambassadors go, you can hardly ask for a better one.

From a former groundskeeper’s cottage behind Wesley Place Church, the team of Rob Libecans, Ryan Noreiks, and Matt Stirling have crafted a miniverse that most punters will recognise as Victoria’s smallest pub. Despite those historic trappings, the MO here is anything but 19th century.

Pictured: The Caretaker’s Cottage in Melbourne, ranked #23 in this year’s edition of World’s 50 Bear Bars.

Inventive cocktails which showcase local produce through the seasons are something you can always expect; while bar snacks such as the country’s most delicious Walsh Rarebit pay tribute to the publican tradition. And for stoic drinkers: there’s always a keg of Guinness on tap.

More broadly, readers with plans to travel to Europe over the Christmas break would do well to take a gander at the full list below. As always, luminaries including the Connaught Bar in London and Little Red Door Paris make welcome reappearances; though it’s also encouraging to see how the Academy has broadened its horizons this year. (Zest in Seoul, by way of example, is debuting globally at the formidable rank of #18.)

  1. Sips, Barcelona
  2. Double Chicken Please, New York
  3. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
  4. Paradiso, Barcelona
  5. Connaught Bar, London
  6. Little Red Door, Paris
  7. Lucoreria Limantour, Mexico City
  8. Tayer & Elementary, London
  9. Alquimico, Cartagena
  10. Himkok, Oslo
  11. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
  12. Line, Athens
  13. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
  14. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
  15. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
  16. Salmon Guru, Madrid
  17. Overstory, New York
  18. Zest, Seoul
  19. Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar, Bangkok
  20. Coa, Hong Kong
  21. Drink Kong, Rome
  22. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
  23. Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne
  24. Café La Trova, Miami
  25. Baba au Rum, Athens
  26. CoChinChina, Buenos Aires
  27. Katana Kitten, New York
  28. Satan’s Whiskers, London
  29. Wax On, Berlin
  30. Floreria Atlantico, Buenos Aires
  31. Roda Huset, Stockholm
  32. Sago House, Singapore
  33. Freni e Frizioni, Rome
  34. Argo, Hong Kong
  35. A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
  36. The SG Club, Tokyo
  37. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
  38. The Cambridge Public House, Paris
  39. Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
  40. Mimi Kakushi, Dubai
  41. Scarfes Bar, London
  42. 1930, Milan
  43. Carnaval, Lima
  44. L’Antiquario, Naples
  45. Baltra Bar, Mexico City
  46. Locale Firenze, Florence
  47. The Clumsies, Athens
  48. Atlas, Singapore
  49. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
  50. Galaxy Bar, Dubai

For early adopters keen to see what’s in store for the 2024 edition of World’s 50 Best Bars, it’s also worth checking out all the awardees of the 2023 longlist (#51-#100).

Pictured: Sips in Barcelona, ranked #1 in this year’s edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars.
Pictured: Double Chicken Please in New York, #2 in this year’s edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars.
Pictured: The Connaught Bar in London ranks #5 on this year’s list. It is a regular fixture of the World’s 50 Best Bars, having already won the No. 1 spot back in 2021.

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Randy Lai
WORDS by
Following 6 years in the trenches covering consumer luxury across East Asia, Randy joins Boss Hunting as the team's Commercial Editor. His work has been featured in A Collected Man, M.J. Bale, Soho Home, and the BurdaLuxury portfolio of lifestyle media titles. An ardent watch enthusiast, boozehound and sometimes-menswear dork, drop Randy a line at [email protected].

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