This Is Officially the Best Bar in the World
Sure, you know a good bar. You may even know a great bar. But do you know the best bar? According to 500 drink experts from around the world, that honor belongs to Dante in New York City.
The 104-year-old Greenwich Village staple tops 2019’s The World’s 50 Best Bars list, an annual, highly anticipated ranking in the food and beverage industry. What makes it so great? “The measure of a bar is the experience of its customers—in hospitality, drinks and food Dante has the fundamentals down to a fine art,” the awards group wrote.
To New Yorkers, Dante is perhaps best known for its mile-long negroni list. There’s a Chocolate negroni, a negroni Sbagliato (or, a negroni with a splash of prosecco) and even a negroni with banana, pineapple, chili, and sesame. But you can’t go wrong with their classic one on tap: made with Bombay Sapphire, Campari, martini and rossi vermouth.
In the summer, it’s all about their assortment of spritzes, best sipped outdoors on their sidewalk: some are flavored with cucumber and elderflower, some with grapefruit, some with elderflower and some with smoky mezcal and bell pepper.
A cult favorite is their Garibaldi appertivo, made with Campari and “fluffy orange juice.”
So yes, the drinks are great. But so is the ambiance: it’s a cozy bistro with that evokes the bygone days of café society, with its cream leather booths, wicker chairs, and goldilocks mood lighting that not too dark, not too light, but just right.
As its age suggests, Dante has a rich history. It opened in 1914, when Greenwich Village was a mostly Italian neighborhood. It transformed into a New York City staple, becoming a go-to-haunt for illustrious characters throughout history: Ernest Hemingway, Al Pacino, Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld, and the list goes on. Pictures of many of these patrons hang on the white-exposed brick walls. It was owned by the Flotta family from 1971 to 2015, until ownership transferred to Australians Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson.
Coming in second place is London’s classic Connaught Bar, followed by Florería Atlántico, in Buenos Aires. Rounding out the top 5 are The NoMad in New York and the American Bar in London.
So, New Yorkers, the Macdougal Street spot is officially the perfect setting for the happiest of hours. But for those who can’t make it to the bar in person, here’s a recipe to create Dante’s Garibaldi, described by The World’s 50 Best Bars committee as a “must-order.”
Dante’s Garibaldi
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Campari
Fresh orange juice
Directions:
Add 2 ice cubes to glass.
Add Campari and a little of the orange juice. Stir well to combine.
Add 1 more ice cube and fill remainder of glass with orange juice.
Serve in a Garibaldi glass. Garnish with an orange wedge resting on rim.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
