Two Aussie Favourites Get The Nod At World’s 50 Best Bars (2025)

• The World’s 50 Best Bars rankings have been revealed for 2025, with two Australian cocktail bars celebrated among the international scene’s finest.
• Melbourne establishment Caretaker’s Cottage placed 19th, while Sydney’s Maybe Sammy earned 42nd.
• Both venues have previously placed in the World’s 50 Best Bars rankings, coming in at 21st and 26th, respectively, for 2024.

Overnight, in the very heart of Hong Kong, The World’s 50 Best Bars anointed Caretaker’s Cottage at 19th and Maybe Sammy at 42nd, keeping the Melbourne and Sydney venues in the top flight for another year.

The ceremony went down at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, where more than 800 judges cast their votes on where they’d most like to drink right now. Hong Kong’s own Bar Leone took the crown, while Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy slid into second, swapping positions from the 2024 edition of the awards.

RELATED: The Best Cocktail Bars In Melbourne Right Now

Elsewhere in the rankings, Melbourne’s experimental favourite Byrdi landed 91st on the long list after a big showing last year (it claimed 34th place); and Sydney’s Tigra & Disco Pantera took home Best Bar Design thanks to a clever fit-out using reclaimed materials – including Bendigo pottery tiles from the 1950s.

For the record books: Caretaker’s Cottage remains the best bar in Australasia for the second consecutive year, and Maybe Sammy extends a seven-year streak inside the Global Top 50. If you needed an excuse for a night out, consider this your sign. Book a table, order something spirit-forward, and raise a glass to the locals going toe-to-toe with the world’s most elite.

World’s 50 Best Bars 2025 (Full Rankings)

1. Bar Leone, Hong Kong
2. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
3. Sips, Barcelona
4. Paradiso, Barcelona
5. Tayēr + Elementary, London
6. Connaught Bar, London
7. Moebius Milano, Milan (Highest Climber Award 2025)
8. Line, Athens
9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
10. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
11. Alquímico, Cartagena
12. Superbueno, New York
13. Lady Bee, Lima (Art of Hospitality Award 2025)
14. Himkok, Oslo
15. Bar Us, Bangkok
16. Zest, Seoul
17. Bar Nouveau, Paris
18. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
19. Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne
20. The Cambridge Public House, Paris (Sustainable Bar Award 2025)
21. Satan’s Whiskers, London
22. Locale Firenze, Florence
23. Tlecān, Mexico City
24. Tan Tan, São Paulo
25. Mirror Bar, Bratislava (New Entry, Highest New Entry Award 2025)
26. CoChinChina, Buenos Aires
27. Baba au Rum, Athens (Legend of the List Award 2025)
28. Nouvelle Vague, Tirana (New Entry)
29. Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou (New Entry)
30. Danico, Paris
31. Scarfes Bar, London
32. Svanen, Oslo (New Entry)
33. Sastrería Martinez, Lima (New Entry)
34. Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
35. Röda Huset, Stockholm
36. Mimi Kakushi, Dubai
37. Salmon Guru, Madrid
38. Coa, Hong Kong
39. Sip & Guzzle, New York (New Entry, Best New Opening Award 2025)
40. Drink Kong, Rome
41. Double Chicken Please, New York
42. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
43. 1930, Milan
44. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
45. Virtù, Tokyo
46. Overstory, New York
47. The Bar in Front of the Bar, Athens (New Entry)
48. The Bellwood, Tokyo (New Entry)
49. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
50. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore