Here Are the 50 Best Bars in North America for 2022, Ranked

After being named the 34^th best bar in the world last year, New York’s Attaboy took home the top honor on the 2022 list of the 50 best bars in North America.

On Tuesday evening, the inaugural ranking of North America’s 50 Best Bars was announced at a ceremony in New York. The list was compiled by William Reed, which also publishes The World’s 50 Best Bars and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, among other industry rankings. In all, the new list features 29 bars in the US, 11 in Mexico, eight in Canada and two in the Caribbean.

“We tip our hats to Attaboy, now celebrating 10 illustrious years. Under Haley Traub’s exuberant leadership, we see this legacy shining brightly into the future,” Mark Sansom, the content director for North America’s 50 Best Bars, said in a statement. “We commend all the bars on North America’s 50 Best Bars’ inaugural list.”

Attaboy was founded in 2012 by the cocktail legends Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy. The two previously worked at Milk & Honey, which is credited with igniting the global speakeasy trend in the early aughts. Now Traub runs the beverage program at Attaboy, which the drinks website Punch has called “the everyman’s cocktail bar” and an “understated beauty.”

No cocktail menu is present at the bar, which encourages guests to have in-depth conversations with the bartenders. However, Attaboy has still created some modern classics, such as Ross’s Penicillin and McIlroy’s Greenpoint. Since opening, it’s landed on The World’s 50 Best Bars list every year, a status only reaffirmed by its No. 1 spot on the North American list.

After Attaboy, the No. 2 and 3 honors on North America’s 50 Best Bars went to a couple of Mexico City spots: Handshake Speakeasy and Licorería Limantour, respectively. Katana Kitten in New York and Kumiko in Chicago round out the top five. Meanwhile, the highest-ranked bar in Canada is Toronto’s Civil Liberties (No. 10) and the Caribbean’s first entry was San Juan’s La Factoría (No. 12).

Check out the full list below.

1. Attaboy, New York
2. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
3. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
4. Katana Kitten, New York
5. Kumiko, Chicago
6. Café La Trova, Miami
7. Baltra Bar, Mexico City
8. Dante, New York
9. Thunderbolt, Los Angeles
10. Civil Liberties, Toronto
11. Zapote Bar, Playa del Carmen
12. La Factoría, San Juan
13. Kaito del Valle, Mexico City
14. Sweet Liberty, Miami
15. Café de Nadie, Mexico City
16. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
17. Double Chicken Please, New York
18. Service Bar, Washington, D.C.
19. Raised by Wolves, San Diego
20. Sabina Sabe, Oaxaca
21. El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara
22. Selva, Oaxaca
23. Amor y Amargo, New York
24. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
25. The Keefer Bar, Vancouver
26. Dear Irving, New York
27. Overstory, New York
28. Herbs & Rye, Las Vegas
29. El Pequeño Bar, Montreal
30. Employees Only, New York
31. The Dead Rabbit, New York
32. Broken Shaker, Miami
33. Friends and Family, Oakland
34. Death & Co (Los Angeles), Los Angeles
35. Mace, New York
36. Death & Co (Denver), Denver
37. Arca, Tulum
38. Mother, Toronto
39. ABV, San Francisco
40. El Floridita, Havana
41. Bar Raval, Toronto
42. Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu
43. Clover Club, New York
44. Bitter & Twisted, Phoenix
45. Cloakroom Bar, Montreal
46. Julep, Houston
47. Bar Mordecai, Toronto
48. Teardrop Lounge, Portland
49. Bar Kismet, Halifax
50. Genever, Los Angeles