Paradiso named World’s Best Bar 2022

By Oli Dodd
Published:  04 October, 2022

Paradiso from Barcelona was named the World’s Best Bar at the annual World’s 50 Best Bars ceremony in Barcelona, the first time the accolade has been awarded to a bar outside of London and New York.

Giacomo Giannotti’s El Born-district bar, hidden behind a refrigerator door in the back of a pastrami shop, moved up from a third place ranking last year, while Monica Berg and Alex Kratena’s London bar Tayēr + Elementary was named runner-up for the second year running.

Barcelona cemented its status as a global cocktail powerhouse with three bars in the top 10; the city’s Sips took third place while Two Schmucks finished in seventh.

The World’s 50 Best Bars sponsored by Perrier, which is owned and run by William Reed, is now in its 14th year and voted for by an academy of 650 bar industry experts, independently adjudicated by Deloitte.

Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour took fourth place as well as the Rémy Martin Legend of the list while the top 10 is completed by Paris’ Little Red Door, Double Chicken Please of New York, Two Schmucks, last-year’s number one Connaught Bar from London, New York’s Katana Kitten, and Cartagena’s Alquimíco.

Nineteen bars left the list this year, one less than last year’s 20, and of the bars that joined, five have appeared before and 26 different cities are represented, up from 23.

While Covid-19 shrunk the showing from Singapore and Shanghai, the 2022 list does show a drift back towards relatively regular service following a 2021 list coloured by pandemic restrictions. New York and London return to their positions as the most represented cities with six and five bars respectively.

Mexico City made gains with four bars in the list, while Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Athens, and Dubai each have three.

Regionally, Europe is home to 20 bars, North America 12, Asia’s numbers halved to eight, South America five, Africa & The Middle East three and Australasia two.

To read Drinks International's Global Bar Edition, featuring the official guide to The World's 50 Best Bars, click here. 

The list

  1. Paradiso, Barcelona, Spain
  2. Tayēr + Elementary, London, UK
  3. Sips, Barcelona, Spain
  4. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City, Mexico
  5. Little Red Door, Paris, France
  6. Double Chicken Please, New York, US
  7. Two Schmucks, Barcelona, Spain
  8. Connaught Bar, London, UK
  9. Katana Kitten, New York, US
  10. Alquímico, Cartagena, Colombia
  11. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City, Mexico
  12. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
  13. Hanky Panky, Mexico City, Mexico
  14. BKK Social Club, Bangkok, Thailand
  15. Salmon Guru, Madrid, Spain
  16. Drink Kong, Rome, Italy
  17. Coa, Hong Kong, China
  18. Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  19. The Clumsies, Athens Greece
  20. Baba au Ru, Athens, Greece
  21. Café La Trova, Miami, US
  22. Attaboy, New York, US
  23. Satan’s Whiskers, London, UK
  24. Tropic City, Bangkok, Thailand
  25. Kumiko, Chicago, US
  26. Sidecar, New Delhi, India
  27. Tres Mono, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  28. Argo, Hong Kong, China
  29. Maybe Sammy, Sydney, Australia
  30. Swift, London, UK
  31. Line, Athens, Greece
  32. Baltra Bar, Mexico City, Mexico
  33. Manhattan, Singapore
  34. Overstory, New York, US
  35. 1930, Milan, Italy
  36. Dante, New York, US
  37. A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London, UK
  38. Zuma, Dubai, UAE
  39. Locale Firenze, Florence, Italy
  40. Red Frog, Lisbon, Portugal
  41. Cantina OK!, Sydney, Australia
  42. CoChinChina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  43. Himkok, Oslo, Norway
  44. Carnaval, Lima, Peru
  45. Galaxy Bar, Dubai, UAE
  46. L’Antiruario, Naples, Italy
  47. Employees Only, New York, US
  48. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo, Japan
  49. Lucy’s Flower Shop, Stockholm, Sweden
  50. Bulgari Bar, Dubai, UAE