The World’s 50 Best Bars award ceremony sponsored by Perrier was held in Singapore — a first for Asia — and it was a pulsating night of reveals and upsets. The host city bagged three spots in the Top 50 list (more on that later) but the winner came from Barcelona again — last year’s host city.
The streak would continue for Barcelona with another triumph, but the main prize would go to Sips (above) and not Paradiso (#4, scant consolation but we loved your guest shift at Origin!). Located in the heart of Barcelona’s L’Antiga Esquerra de l’Eixample district, Sips combines elegant design with cutting-edge technique to create an unfussy and playful ‘drinkery house’ from two titans of the industry, Simone Caporale and Marc Álvarez. Drawing on the lessons of their already illustrious careers – Caporale was one half of the creative duo that led London’s Artesian to The World’s Best Bar title a record four times, whilst Álvarez spent almost a decade at Ferran and Albert Adrià’s revolutionary elBarri restaurant group — the duo’s disruptive approach to creative mixology shines through in innovative haute couture serves at pret-a-porter prices.
Some other highlights:
- The 2023 list features bars from 28 cities with 11 new entries across Bangkok, Berlin, Dubai, London, Melbourne, New Orleans, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Singapore and Stockholm
- Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoniof Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires has been voted Roku Industry Icon
- Lima’s Lady Beeis named Campari One To Watch
- Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu is awarded to The American Barat Gleneagles in Auchterarder, Scotland
- The Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award is bestowed upon Röda Huset, Stockholm
- Seoul’s Zest takes the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award, joining the list for the first time at No.18
- Himkok in Oslo secures the Nikka Highest Climber Award, having moved up 33 places to No.10
- Athens’ The Clumsies claims the title of Rémy Martin Legend of The List
- Line, also in Athens, is named London Essence Best New Opening
- Apoorva Kohli of Sidecar in New Delhi is the recipient of the 50 Best Bars The Blend Scholarship
- The winner of the inaugural Bareksten Best Bar Design Award is Singapore’s Night Hawk
William Drew, Director of Content, 50 Best, says: “As the brainchild of cocktail-world icons Marc Álvarez and Simone Caporale, Sips was destined for greatness even before it rocketed into the list at No.37 just a few short months after opening in 2021. The bar seamlessly translates contemporary innovation and technical precision into a playful cocktail programme, accompanied by the warmest hospitality, making it a worthy winner of The World’s Best Bar 2023 title.”
In the host city of Singapore, Jigger & Pony (above) is at No.14 alongside Sago House (No.32) and re-entry Atlas at No.48. They are joined by Seoul newcomer Zest, winner of this year’s Disaronno Highest New Entry Award, at No.18.
Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo each feature two bars in the list, with Bangkok’s BKK Social Club (above) taking the top spot as The Best Bar in Asia at No.13 and welcoming neighbour Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar, entering at No.19. Tokyo stalwart Bar Benfiddich (No.37) is joined by The SG Club, which re-enters the list at No.36. Hong Kong is represented by Coa at No.20 and Argo at No.34.
About The World’s 50 Best Bars
The World’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, provides a definitive list of the world’s best drinking venues, voted for by an Academy of 680 experts worldwide. The World’s 50 Best Bars list has been published annually since 2009 and has become the most anticipated ranking for drinks professionals and cocktail aficionados across the world, with the awards the highlight of the bar industry calendar. The list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars has been published since 2016, while the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars was launched in 2022. William Reed, which owns the 50 Best brand, is entirely responsible for the organisation of the awards, the voting system and the respective lists.
