The best bar in North America doesn’t even sound like it would be a bar.
New York City’s Double Chicken Please was just bestowed that honor by the 50 Best organization on Thursday evening. Led by GN Chan and Faye Chen, the Lower East Side cocktail spot serves up libations inspired by culinary delights, like Cold Pizza (Don Fulano Blanco, Parmigiano Reggiano, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey, egg white) and Waldorf Salad (Dewar’s 15-year, Laphroaig 10-year, apple, celery, ginger ale, walnut bitters). Last year, Double Chicken Please came in at No. 17 on the North American list, and at No. 6 on the list of best bars in the world.
“We commend Double Chicken Please and its visionary founders, GN Chan and Faye Chen, for reaching the peak of cocktail excellence on the North American continent,” Mark Sansom, the director of content for 50 Best, said in a statement. “Double Chicken Please is truly pushing the boundaries of flavor in cocktails and doing so with staggering creativity and precision, not to mention a wonderful sense of humor, humility, and always flawless hospitality.”
In total, the United States saw 28 bars make the grade, with 12 of those being in New York City. Mexico had 14 bars appear on the list, with Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy (No. 2) nabbing the country’s highest ranking. Canada has seven of the 50 best bars, with Toronto’s Civil Liberties topping out at No. 12, and the Caribbean has just one bar on the list: Puerto Rico’s La Factoría.
Last year’s No. 1 winner, N.Y.C.’s Attaboy, fell to the thirteenth spot in the ranking, making room for other bars to move up the list. Notably, Overstory climbed the highest, moving from No. 27 last year to No. 7 this year. The U.S. also saw a number of first-timers break into the top 50: New York’s Martiny’s (No. 29) and Milady’s (No. 50), Chicago’s Milk Room (No. 38), San Francisco’s Pacific Cocktail Haven (No. 28), Phoenix’s Platform 18 (No. 48), San Diego’s Youngblood (No. 49), Washington, D.C.’s Allegory (No. 45), and Denver’s Yacht Club (No. 42).
Thankfully, all of the winners know exactly where to celebrate over a delicious cocktail.
The full list of North America’s 50 Best Bars is below.
- Double Chicken Please, New York City
- Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
- Katana Kitten, New York City
- Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
- Jewel of the South, New Orleans
- Dante, New York City
- Overstory, New York City
- Kumiko, Chicago
- Café La Trova, Miami
- Thunderbolt, Los Angeles
- Zapote Bar, Playa del Carmen
- Civil Liberties, Toronto
- Attaboy, New York City
- Employees Only, New York City
- Bar Pompette, Toronto
- Baltra Bar, Mexico City
- Rayo, Mexico City
- Mace, New York City
- Botanist Bar, Vancouver
- Hanky Panky, Mexico City
- El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara
- Sabina Sabe, Oaxaca
- Arca, Tulum
- La Factoría, San Juan
- Café de Nadie, Mexico City
- Kaito del Valle, Mexico City
- Herbs & Rye, Las Vegas
- Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco
- Martiny’s, New York City
- Death & Co (Los Angeles), Los Angeles
- Selva, Oaxaca
- Atwater Cocktail Club, Montreal
- Service Bar, Washington, D.C.
- Sweet Liberty, Miami
- Cloakroom, Montreal
- Cure, New Orleans
- Mother, Toronto
- Milk Room, Chicago
- Maison Premiere, New York City
- Aruba Day Drink, Tijuana
- Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu
- Yacht Club, Denver
- Bar Mordecai, Toronto
- The Dead Rabbit, New York City
- Allegory, Washington, D.C.
- Clover Club, New York City
- Brujas, Mexico City
- Platform 18, Phoenix
- Youngblood, San Diego
- Milady’s, New York City
