The best and worst of Wellingtons cocktail bars

With a “Punk is not dead” theme and an ethos focusing on batch-made cheap drinks, it feels more like a bar for young drinkers than something on a fancy list. The cocktail menu features classics with some slight twists using their own ingredients. You’ll find contemporary clubs giving the spotlight to surprising new sounds, a free downtown festival dedicated to… Chicago has plenty of dining options for everyone, so picky eaters and parents alike can find something they love.

Under his leadership, Regent’s (now Conrad’s) Manhattan Bar re-entered the World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2022, earning the No. 33 spot on Asia’s 50 Best Bars the following year. Bars of five-star hotels don’t have the luxury of being quirky. Besides, one sip of Port Ellen 1978, and you’ll forgive everything. There are gentle twists on the familiar, like the highball-like Highland Hermit (blended Scotch, heather honey, pear, lemon, thyme, shortbread), or the Carnaval de Sonhos (rum, dry vermouth, passionfruit, lime, bitters), which drinks like a Caipirinha that’s just discovered joy. Inside, the 12-drink menu reads like a travel diary penned by its fictional namesake, Horatio Fairchild, a man whose idea of adventure wasn’t so much crossing oceans, but emptying glasses across continents. The entrance is grandly dubbed The Portal of Secrets, which not-so-secretly parades a wall of rare, off-menu spirits (mostly whiskies) before it whisks you through a trick door into The Main Parlour.

The bar even has its own in-house mezcal available to try and buy. First and foremost a bar that specialises in agave and Mexican spirits, its collection – including rare bottlings – is curated by Corrochio founders Daniel Corrochio and Amy McQuarrie from their travels across Daniel’s native Mexico. Alongside the house, ‘disco’ and sharing cocktails sit beers, ciders – including Parasol’s own Umbrella London brand – and a sizeable wine list. Dark, cosy and with booths and tables plus seats underneath the paper lanterns at the bar, it’s a large space with a disco ball at-the-ready for DJ sessions until the early hours at the weekends.

Papa Bar – A Modern Cocktail Bar and Restaurant in the Heart of Wroclaw

Disarmingly honest and utterly without guile, he has a way of making you feel like you’ve known each other for years because he talks to you like you’re already friends. But Bar.ter takes a different route to novelty, starting with the bottles themselves. The Bloody Mary list, meanwhile, takes a world tour with four variations, though Singapore’s Straits Mary suffers from a bit of an identity crisis — a hilariously long ingredient list that tastes more confusing than complex.

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There’s an entire cabinet of absinthe at the end of the bar, and they’re currently hosting rum month, with tasting flights, and a collector’s book where you get a stamp for trying a taster or two of their Hampden 8, or their Indelible 11, that earn prizes at the end of the month. It is, and it’s filled with some credible cocktails too, like their faintly smoky Dark Manhattan or their tropical take on an Old Fashioned. Initially, he kept lots of the classics on the menu, but the restless creative has kept evolving, and that includes the venue. But mostly, it’s Penicillins, Whisky Sours and Manhattans. There are rare bottles on the back bar and shelves – a bottle of Glenglassaugh 30YO Billy Walker and a bottle of Archives Laphroaig 2001 – and the signature cocktails are all built on a base of Bourbon, Rye Whisky or Scotch. And true to the name, Angels’ Share really is for whisky lovers.

• ‘Sharp, strong, social’ – three words that certainly have their place in hospitality and give a good indication of what to expect from new Old Street cocktail bar The Prince.
• I’ve come back several times for Gokan’s signature Tomato Tree cocktail and the creamy soft serve, which is pricey but irresistible, especially when piled high with juicy kumquat or potato chips.
• Complete with a standing bar, marble countertops, and ample outdoor seating across both locations—which are conveniently located next to one another—the spot’s morning coffee and bomboloni (cream-filled doughnuts) seamlessly transition to afternoon spritzes, sandwiches, and aperitivo-style cocktails.
• Seating is limited, so get there early to snag a spot.

Bramble Bar & Lounge

The Amber Cane comes out swinging, a seriously punchy, potent drink featuring Swift’s own blend of Jamaican rums with madeira and Bénédictine – we loved it. In our opinion the two best places to sit are either at the bar, where you can watch the bartenders do their thing – just the ticket for a solo cocktail – or in one of the sleek crescent booths (an excellent date night spot). The cocktail list draws inspiration from British favourites, nostalgic Italian flavours and timeless classics. Some of the wackier cocktails proved fairly love-it-or-hate-it within our group but that’s part of the appeal – best enjoyed with experimental friends and a willingness to try a sip of everyone else’s.

Owned and operated by the same team behind Krasi, this underground speakeasy feels as if it belongs in New York City, rather than Boston in the best way. Whether you’re looking for a strong classic drink, a painstakingly crafted concoction, an internationally inspired libation or a playful boozy slushie, you won’t be disappointed at these best cocktail bar picks. The cocktail scene in Boston has taken off in recent years and is now flourishing with variety and flair at some of our city’s finest mixology hot spots.

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Summoning the bustling charm of yesteryear and the sophistication of a dapper New York cocktail bar, the Rover has retained its former good-time Irish heritage with an added lick of polish and a chic wine bar feel. With its alcoves, distressed look, tea lights and relaxed speakeasy feel, it was a slow-burning hit and continues to impress as one of Edinburgh’s most favoured cocktail bars. It’s one of those places that checks all the boxes — great food, panoramic views, proximity to day outings like Oracle Park — plus it’s a great date spot that makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

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A drink in this subterranean rum bar is as good as a holiday. Here bartenders mix a mean Martini, especially the Asta, a sharp, savoury uptown mix with jalapeno, in a liquid nitrogen-cooled Nick and Nora glass (naturally). In the basement of a heritage warehouse in Sydney’s CBD you’ll find a Sicilian-inspired cocktail bar named for the ill-fated wife of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 mobster masterpiece, The Godfather.

Instead, sit back and soak up their now-signature hip hop soundtrack while you sip on an impressive cast of cocktails made by their truly expert bar team; recent concoctions include a Shark Attack with vodka and a secret sour mix. If not, use it as a place to try out a host of weird and wonderful cocktails that might end up on the menus of the other Umbrella Project bars. Some of these joints stick loyally to the classics – visit The Connaught for a martini you’ll never forget or Satan’s Whiskers for a legendary margarita – while others experiment to create some of the most wildly original cocktails around. We’ve ranked the spots making the finest martinis, negronis, margs and more

Mondays are well-known as margarita night, while the rest of the week cocktails of all kinds are shaken and stirred. With more than 150 variations of the spirit on offer, this is the place whisky lovers dream of—and the first of its kind in Queensland. After work bevvies on Fridays, dinner-turned-drinks on Saturdays, or leisurely brunches melting into Sunday arvo rooftop sessions—there’s no denying that Brisbane/Meanjin’s cocktail game is strong. Bethnal Green is also worth the trip, home to Satan's Whiskers, currently ranked the best cocktail bar in the UK.

Outside of the rotating specialty cocktails, we’ve seen bartenders make up ramp-infused gin concoctions on the spot when a guest said they wanted something savory. When thinking of the watering holes we’d like to hibernate in, it’s coctail bar usually a neighborhood spot where regulars have been chasing whiskey with whiskey for decades. It’s chic and sexy, and takes its breakfast cocktails and coffee as seriously as its conchas. Enter La Jefa, the new all-day cafe, restaurant, and cocktail bar from the team behind Tequila’s.