Greenwich Village Hangout Wins Title of World’s Best Bar
New York’s Dante topples London rivals but British venues still dominate the list of the top 100.
(Bloomberg) -- An all-day neighborhood joint in New York’s Greenwich Village was last night named the world’s best bar, beating competition from luxury lounges around the globe and knocking London off the top of The World’s 50 Best Bars rankings.
Dante, which is now owned by Australian friends, serves modern Italian food and a range of cocktails but is still known for its espressos and negronis. The original Caffe Dante first opened on Macdougal Street in 1915, which was then a largely Italian neighborhood. Dante placed ninth last year and has won numerous awards since the current owners took over in 2015.
Second place went to the luxurious Connaught Bar in London, followed by Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires. Fourth was NoMad, New York, followed by the American Bar, London. The Clumsies, Athens, was sixth; Attaboy, New York, seventh; Atlas, Singapore, eighth; the Old Man, Hong Kong, was ninth; and Licorería Limantour, Mexico City, rounded out the Top 10.
The U.K. leads the 2019 list with 10 bars, while the U.S. has seven: Six in New York and one in San Francisco. Last year’s winner, Dandelyan, closed after founder Ryan Chetiyawardana, AKA Mr. Lyan, created a new venue, Lyaness, in the same London space. Lyaness placed at No. 39 this year. The awards were announced in a party-style ceremony at the Roundhouse in London.
The 50 Best is an annual ranking voted for by more than 500 drinks experts from around the world. It’s owned and organized by William Reed Business Media, the group behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.
Here is the Top 50 followed by the 51-100 rankings, which were announced last week:
1. Dante, New York
2. Connaught Bar, London
3. Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires
4. The NoMad, New York
5. American Bar, London
6. The Clumsies, Athens
7. Attaboy, New York
8. Atlas, Singapore
9. The Old Man, Hong Kong
10. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
11. Manhattan, Singapore
12. Native, Singapore
13. Carnaval, Lima
14. Katana Kitten, New York
15. Guilhotina, São Paulo
16. Three Sheets, London
17. Himkok, Oslo
18. High Five, Tokyo
19. Salmón Gurú, Madrid
20. Paradiso, Barcelona
21. Indulge Experimental Bistro, Taipei
22. The Dead Rabbit, New York
23. Coupette, London
24. The SG Club, Tokyo
25. Dr. Stravinsky, Barcelona
26. Employees Only, New York
27. El Copitas, St Petersburg
28. Scout, London
29. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
30. Operation Dagger, Singapore
31. Baba Au Rum, Athens
32. La Factoría, Old San Juan
33. Presidente, Buenos Aires
34. Schumann’s, Munich
35. Speak Low, Shanghai
36. Little Red Door, Paris
37. Linje Tio, Stockholm
38. The Old Man, Singapore
39. Lyaness, London
40. Happiness Forgets, London
41. Swift, London
42. Trick Dog, San Francisco
43. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
44. 1930, Milan
45. Sober Company, Shanghai
46. Electric Bing Sutt, Beirut
47. Kwānt, London
48. Artesian, London
49. Coa, Hong Kong
50. Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, Rome
51. Subastor, São Paulo, Brazil
52. Tayer + Elementary, London (new entry)
53. Lost & Found, Nicosia, Cyprus
54. The Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
55. Scarfes Bar, London (new entry)
56. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
57. Two Schmucks, Barcelona
58. Candelaria, Paris
59. Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam
60. Tommy’s, San Francisco
61. 28 Hongkong Street, Singapore
62. Zuma, Dubai
63. Buck and Breck, Berlin
64. Oriole, London
65. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
66. Bulletin Place, Sydney
67. Sweet Liberty, Miami
68. Danico, Paris
69. Siete Negronis, Santiago (new entry)
70. Baccano, Rome (new entry)
71. Quinary, Hong Kong
72. Blacktail, New York
73. Central Station, Beirut
74. Dry Martini, Barcelona
75. Lobster Bar, Hong Kong
76. Long Island Bar, New York
77. Panda and Sons, Edinburgh
78. Satan’s Whiskers, London (new entry)
79. The Baxter Inn, Sydney
80. Black Pearl, Melbourne
81. ABV, San Francisco
82. Drink Kong, Rome (new entry)
83. Charles H, Seoul
84. Le Syndicat, Paris
85. Bar Tench, Tokyo
86. Nottingham Forest, Milan
87. Donovan Bar, London (new entry)
88. Sin+Tax, Johannesburg (new entry)
89. Bar Orchard Ginza, Tokyo
90. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore (new entry)
91. Lost Lake, Chicago
92. Tropic City, Bangkok (new entry)
93. The Pontiac, Hong Kong (new entry)
94. Amor Y Amargo, New York
95. PS40, Sydney (new entry)
96. Frank Bar, São Paulo
97. The Gibson, London
98. Mabel, Paris (new entry)
99. Aviary, Chicago
100. Clover Club, New York (new entry)
Richard Vines is Chief Food Critic at Bloomberg. You can follow him on Twitter @richardvines and Instagram @richard.vines.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Timothy Coulter "Tim" at tcoulter@bloomberg.net
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