This article reproduced courtesy of Drinks International
A London speakeasy has been named the best bar in the world, according to an industry poll.
For the second year running, Milk & Honey in London’s Soho has been voted number one by bartenders around the world.
This year, the World’s 50 Best Bars were voted for by 700 bar professionals from 50 countries. The annual poll is conducted independently on behalf of Drinks International magazine.
Six UK bars made it into the top 50, five of which are in London.
However, the top ten was dominated by New York, with PDT (Please Don’t Tell) at number two, Milk & Honey New York at four, Pegu Club at six, Death & Co at seven and Employees Only at eight. They were joined by Harry’s Bar in Venice at number three, Buddha Bar in Paris at number five, Harry’s New York Bar, Paris at number nine and the Academy in London’s Soho at number ten.
Milk & Honey is owned by Match Group founder Jonathan Downey. He said a great bar is made by: “The people who go there and the people who work there”. General Manager, Durham Atkinson, when asked what makes Milk & Honey so great, said: “It’s the lack of complacency. It’s important to our future success that we continue to question everything we do and give it meaning.”
Supplement editor Tom Sandham said: “What we find is a fine selection of historic stalwarts, relatively new venues that truly stand out and have done for a few years now, as well as some very new faces that have made a huge impact. Adding: “It’s an impressive selection and, for those just starting their drinking travels, a perfect guide to great bars you should be ticking off along the way.”
The Top 50 Bars
- Milk & Honey, London
- PDT, NY
- Harry’s Bar, Venice
- Milk & Honey, New York
- Buddha Bar, Paris
- Pegu Club, NY
- Death & Co, NY
- Employees Only, NY
- Harry’s New York Bar, Paris
- Academy, London
- The Connaught, London
- Der Raum, Melbourne, Australia
- Black Pearl, Melbourne, Australia
- Coco Bongo, Cancun, Mexico
- Q’Ba, New Delhi, India
- Matterhorn, Wellington, NZ
- Sky Bar Unique Hotel, Brazil
- Zeta Bar Sydney Hilton, Australia
- Enigma Marriott Hotel, Mumbai, India
- Schumann’s American Bar, Munich, Germany
- The Lonsdale, London
- Four Seasons, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Bubba’s Bar, Barbados
- F Bar, New Delhi, India
- Bramble, Edinburgh
- Dry Martini Bar, Barcelona
- Cafe Caprice, Cape Town, SA
- Buddha Bar, Dubai
- Skyview Bar, Dubai
- Planet Bar, Cape Town, SA
- Blue Frog, Mumbai, India
- City Space, Moscow, Russia
- Standard Bar, LA
- 1806, Melbourne, Australia
- Charlie’s Bar, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Barasti Bar, Dubai
- Bert’s Bar, Barbados
- Sling In, Helsinki, Finland
- Buddha Bar, Kiev, Ukraine
- Hemmingway Bar, Paris, France
- Bar do Copa, Rio, Bazil
- Le Lion, Hamburg, Germany
- Buddha Bar London
- Star Bar, Tokyo
- Mangos, Florida
- Quo Vadis, London
- Bòeme, Rome, Italy
- Nottingham Forest, Milan
- Salotto 42 Rome
- The Ivy, Sydney