Pour yourself a large one — it’s that time of the year when the ‘official’ list of the world’s top 50 bars is released.
The good news is that London has four bars in 2025’s list; the not-so-good news is that the list arguably doesn’t really mean all that much.
Here’s where London’s bars placed:
🍸 #5: Tayēr + Elementary (#4 in 2024)
🍸 #6: Connaught Bar (#13 in 2024)
🍸 #21: Satan’s Whiskers (#29 in 2024)
🍸 #31: Scarfes Bar (#37 in 2024)
Superlative establishments, no question, although as you can see, all of these were also on 2024’s list, and have merely been shuffled around a bit. In fact some of these bars have been jiggling up and down the list for yonks. One or two new London entries for London might’ve risked a frisson of excitement to proceedings, but it seems the assortment of bartenders, drinks writers, consultants etc, are sticking to their guns — at least when it comes to where they’re getting their kicks in London.
(In other un-inspirational news, 2025’s overall winner, Hong Kong’s Bar Leone, moved up one spot, from its #2 in 2024. The #2 spot this year was taken by Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy, which in 2024 was, er, #1.)
Recently, it was announced that Gothic Bar in St Pancras — in our opinion (and apparently Jay Rayner’s too) one of London’s finest cocktail bars, certainly when it comes to setting — will relaunch under Hawksmoor at The Martini Bar. We would urge the World’s 50 Best Bars experts to get out and try it for 2026’s list. Maybe a branch or two of Simmons too, just in case.
