The World's 50 Best Bars, the party of the year in the bartending world took place yesterday evening at the Roundhouse in the Camden Town district of London. Due to the pandemic, this was the first time in over 2 years that the gala event was held in person. Although there is still much uncertainty with ever changing travel rules, many bars from around the world were able to fly in to attend the gala in London. The gala featured a mix of drinks writers, cocktail lovers, bartenders and brand people, who enjoyed cocktails while anxiously counting down the top 50 bars in the world. Much like the World’s 50 Best Restaurants held two months earlier in Antwerp, organizers kept a strict limit on the number of invitees to the gala due to concerns for safety.

Italians have much to be proud of in this year’s edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars, with an astonishing 7 bars making the overall 1-100 list. For the second consecutive year, Connaught Bar took home the top spot and although based in London, the bar team is nearly entirely Italian. Led by Ago Perrone, Giorgio Bargiani and Maura Milia, Connaught continues to be the gold standard for the Italian style of hospitality, making you feel like royalty from the moment you enter the historic bar. Their Martini cocktail trolley service has become a brand in itself, and is always served “straight up with style, and don’t forget the smile.”

Director of Mixology, Ago Perrone shared his thoughts on the winning formula of the bar: “Connaught Bar remains classic and traditional in its key features, while we always work to push the boundaries of creativity and surprise our guests with sophisticated and elegant innovations” . In 13 years, only three bars — Milk and Honey, Artesian and now, Connaught Bar — have been crowned the World’s Best Bar more than once.

Born in Carrara, Giacomo Giannotti’s Paradiso of Barcelona placed an impressive 3rd, up from 19th in the 2020 edition. Other Italians to make their mark on the list include Laura Marnich, the bar manager of Zuma (17th) in Dubai and Simone Caporale’s Sips (37th) from Barcelona, a new entry.

In terms of bars based in Italy, three bars made the top 50, including Patrick Pistolesi’s eclectic and hip Drink Kong in Rome (19th position), followed immediately by 1930 in Milano (20th place), by now a veteran of the World’s 50 Best Bars ranking. The iconic Camparino of Milano, led by Tommaso Cecca, entered the list for the first time (27th place).

Meanwhile on the 51-100 list, there were four Italian new entries. The energetic Locale of Florence, just missed out on the top 50, placing 51st. Managed by Matteo Zed, The Court which offers a spectacular view of the Roman Colosseum placed 64th. Napoli’s Antiquario, a bar cherished by the Italian bar industry, finally made the cut, positioned 82nd. Meanwhile, Cera of Milano placed 85th, an impressive feat for a bar only six months old that was opened during the pandemic.

There were several special awards handed out during the evening including the Disaronno-sponsored The Highest New Climber Hanky Panky of Mexico (12th place), just edging out Moscow’s Insider bar (13th place), which instead was awarded the London Essence Best New Opening. Salmon Guru (24th place) of Madrid claimed the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award while Matt Whiley’s Re of Sydney earned the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award.

Despite severe government restrictions on group sizes and closing times, Asia continues to impress in the World’s 50 Best Bars with 16 bars in the top 50. For the first time since 2010, an Indian bar returns to the ranking with Sidecar, New Delhi coming in at No.47. Hong Kong’s Coa has climbed to No.7 and is The Best Bar in Asia. Singapore leads Asia with six bars on the list. Jigger & Pony is at No.9, Manhattan at No.15 and Atlas at No.16. There are two Singaporean new entries with No Sleep Club at No.26 and MO Bar at No.36, and Tippling Club, Singapore is a re-entry at No.43.

Although there is still much uncertainty in the world, the World’s 50 Best Bars was a beautiful moment to reconnect a bar industry that has been isolated for the past two years. After endless lockdowns, Instagram lives and travel restrictions, it was a great opportunity for friends to once again meet face to face. One hopes that for the 2022 edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars, the world will be in a much better place and the entire global bar community can participate in the most important event in the industry.

At the press conference after The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021, Content Editor Mark Sansom, Content Editor gave us some encouraging words for the future of the bar industry: “We want to send all the venues on the 2021 list of The World’s 50 Best Bars huge congratulations. It’s been another incredibly tough year for hospitality and the industry’s resilience and togetherness through these challenges is humbling. We hope that the positive stories around the bars’ success in the awards will help to drive vital business in the weeks and months to come.”

The World's 50 Best Bars /December 8, 2021 by shane eaton