The World's Best Bars According to F&W's Best New Mixologists
© Dina Avila Photography
Who better to go to for bar recommendations than a bartender? We asked the ten incredibly talented winners of Food & Wine's Best New Mixologist award to tell us about their absolute favorite bar in the world (besides their own). Here's what they had to say:
"My favorite bar in the world is really a toss-up between Attaboy in New York and Glass in Paris. Attaboy is my current standard of how to care, making drinks without making it get in the way of a good time. Glass is just the best—the last place at the end of every night in Paris. It has a light-up dance floor, hot dogs, is in a pretty rough neighborhood and is just all-around fun." —Ezra Star; Drink, Boston
"There's a bar in Bloomington, Indiana called The Atlas. Over the years, I've known a lot of people there and beyond that, the staff is always very welcoming. They have Skee-Ball and Hoop-Shot, and a very nice room. It's a place that has always felt more like home than even my folks' house." —Nick Detrich; Cane & Table, New Orleans
"I fell in love with a bar in Budapest that opened the summer that I moved there, in 2004, called Szimpla Kert. It's still around and doing quite well these days. I love their old historical building and the aesthetics. I've been to a lot of great bars, but that sticks out as a favorite of mine." —Allison Widdecombe; Williams & Graham, Denver
"I love Mayahuel—I really love that one. It's a tequila and mescal bar in the East Village, and they just do an amazing job with anything you want with those spirits, and their food is really great as well. And also my alma mater, Clyde Common, in Portland." —Jordan Felix; Multnomah Whiskey Library, Portland, OR
"I'd love to throw respect back to Booker and Dax. It's one of the most approachably creative cocktail bars in the world. Dave Arnold has a way of taking something like a gin and tonic, or a martini, or your standard daiquiri and completely turns it on its head while not changing the integrity of the cocktail. The Bangkok Daiquiri is better than any muddled daiquiri because he really took the time to think about what happens to the flavor of the basil. He changed the game without slighting anyone. On the flipside would be Dead Rabbit, where, creatively, they're approachable in every sense of the word. They've taken cocktails that have been dead for 100 years and are bringing back flavor profiles that people don't play around with anymore. They're considered the best bar in the world for a very good reason." —Nick Bennett; Porchlight, New York City
"Coffee Bar K in Seoul (they have two locations now). It was the first bar that I saw in Korea that was really executing at a high level; plus, I can drink Havana Club while smoking a Cuban, so..." —Daniel Eun; The Normandie Club, Los Angeles
"My partner Chad Arnholt and I love agave spirits and are very active with the Tequila Interchange Project—a nonprofit that supports sustainable practices in that industry. This finds us in Mexico from time to time. Pare de Sufrir in Guadalajara is what I hope heaven is like—beautiful mezcal, kids dancing to '60s garage rock and a disco ball swinging from the ceiling until well into the night." —Claire Sprouse; Tin Roof Drink Community; San Francisco
"I love so many spots. Employees Only and the Nomad in New York City, Broken Shaker in Miami. I'd say my favorite cocktail bar would have to be 69 Colebrooke Row in London. The cocktails were so incredibly well-balanced, and they looked so simple, but when you found out what went into that drink, you almost felt bad about gulping it down. Here in Chicago, my favorite bars are probably Sportsman's Club and Sable. Both have the friendliest staff and are so comfortable to just relax in." —Liz Pearce; The Drifter, Chicago
"It really depends on my mood and what I have a taste for at the time. Owning a restaurant with a huge bar program is a lot of work, so I don't really get out much anymore, but Milwaukee is a wonderful place to be if you just want to escape into a little corner tap where literally everyone knows your name and what you drink." —Katie Rose; Goodkind, Milwaukee
"Trick Dog in San Francisco, because no matter what day of the week you go in, or what time, you know that you'll have a blast and drink some delicious cocktails!" —Justin Lavenue; The Roosevelt Room, Austin
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