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

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.

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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.

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).