If bookmakers set odds on the runners for the title of World’s Best Bar, there would have been one clear favourite. When Bar Leone came out of nowhere to debut in second place in 2024 (having only opened a year earlier), just about everyone you spoke to said it was the 2025 champion in waiting. And so, it was thus – and where better to be named The World’s Best Bar than at the ceremony in your home market of Hong Kong? But how do you explain such a meteoric rise? First of all, Leone swims against the tide of cocktail bars right now. It is the antidote to overwrought, technique-heavy drinksmaking, instead being a beacon of simplicity.

There are shades of former World’s Best Bar Dante in its approach, but this concept speaks even better Italian. It is, after all, an ode to Rome, and the vision of a Roman, who also happens to be the globally-known Lorenzo Antinori.

Being based in Hong Kong – a key bar scene hub – helps, of course, but Antinori’s influence is global, with followers concentrated in Europe and Asia. Few have a CV to match his. He rose to prominence at The Savoy – both of its bars – then Dandelyan. Antinori was part of two teams that went on to take the No.1 spot (American Bar in 2017 and Dandelyan in 2018), but he hadn’t stayed for the flowers. By then he was in Asia, cementing his reputation at Four Seasons properties Charles H in Seoul and Argo in Hong Kong.

When Antinori dropped his first concept, people were practically in the queue already. Leone was a concept authentic to its owner and a refreshing reversion to a simpler, more accessible style of drinking that, above all, doesn’t take itself too seriously.

New records

We now have our first Asian bar to be named World’s Best Bar, a crowning moment for a region that has flourished over the last decade. Tokyo and Singapore have also finished in the podium spots over the 17 lists, but it was Hong Kong that made that final leap. It now joins a pantheon of five cities from which the winner has hailed – the others being London (10 wins), New York (three), Barcelona (two) and Mexico City (one).

If the new winner is an attention-grabber, the top 10 is less storied, with only two changes from last year. Moebius Milano is the highest climber this year, having shot from 38th to 7th, and Connaught Bar – which has been in 16 of 17 lists now – returns to the upper echelons. A bad year for this legend of the list and double winner is languishing in the top 15.

Overall, there has been little churn across the 50 this year, with only eight bars – a historically very low number – not transitioning to this year’s list (compared to 16 drop-outs the year before). Martiny’s, Licorería Limantour, Byrdi, Locale Firenze, Florería Atlántico and El Gallo Altanero all made soft landings in the 51-100 list, while Analogue Initiative and Atlas dropped out altogether. In their places come Mirror Bar, Nouvelle Vague, Hope & Sesame, Svanen, Sastrería Martinez, Sip & Guzzle, The Bar in Front of the Bar and The Bellwood.

In terms of distribution, the 50 bars were found in 29 cities, one more than last year and the widest spread in eight years. The list welcomes bars from Tirana in Albania, Bratislava in Slovakia and Guangzhou in China for the first time, making it 76 cities to have contributed bars to the list over the 17 years.

Gone are the days when London and New York bars together made up a quarter of the members of the list. Yet, they still remain the most important hubs – this year with four each in the list. They are therefore the joint bar capitals of the world, though on tie-break London edges it thanks to higher rankings. Athens, Paris and Tokyo are each home to three bars of the 50, while nine cities contributed two.

Through the lens of countries, the US and UK have five bars apiece, with four members hailing from Italy. Zooming out further to continents, Europe has the most representation (23), Asia (including the Middle East) has 12, while North America has seven, South America six and Australasia two. Africa must again settle for a placement in the 51-100 list.