World's 50 best bars 2025: Four familiar London names make the list

Tayēr + Elementary has been named as London’s number one bar by this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars list.

The Shoreditch hangout, famed for its one-sip martini, made number five on the list overall, with the 50 Best panel writing: “Now in its sixth year, Tayēr + Elementary feels as fresh as the day it opened while also becoming the blueprint for progressive cocktail bars. From its exposed, industrial aesthetic, ingredient-led minimalism and constantly evolving drinks list, the philosophy refined by co-founders Monica Berg and Alex Kratena has become bartending scripture.”

The bar is run and owned by Monica Berg and Alex Kratena.

On its tail at number six was the Connaught, a staple of this list and a favourite of the Standard. Its bartenders Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani were both singled out for praise.

The two other London bars to make the cut were Satan’s Whiskers at number 21, a Bethnal Green hangout known as the bartenders’ favourite, and Scarfe’s Bar at number 31. Scarfes, inside the Rosewood London, is named for Gerald Scarfe, whose cartoons have made frequent appearances in the Evening Standard.

Interestingly, Satan’s Whiskers was earlier this year named as the UK’s best bar by Top 50 Cocktail Bars. This list is published by William Reed, who are also behind the World’s 50 Best.

Other London staples of the list, such as Swift and A Bar with Shapes for a Name, failed to crack the top 50.

The only other UK bar to make the list was Panda & Sons in Edinburgh.

The world’s number one bar was named as Hong Kong’s Bar Leone, which is run by Lorenzo Antinori, who previously bartended in the Savoy at both the American Bar and the Beaufort Bar. It had previously been named the best bar in Asia in 2024 and 2025.

The full list is below, with London entries in bold and new entries in italics.

1. Bar Leone, Hong Kong
2. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
3. Sips, Barcelona
4. Paradiso, Barcelona
5. Tayēr + Elementary, London
6. Connaught Bar, London
7. Moebius Milano, Milan
8. Line, Athens
9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
10. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
11. Alquímico, Cartagena
12. Superbueno, New York
13. Lady Bee, Lima
14. Himkok, Oslo
15. Bar Us, Bangkok
16. Zest, Seoul
17. Bar Nouveau, Paris
18. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
19. Caretaker's Cottage, Melbourne
20. The Cambridge Public House, Paris
21. Satan's Whiskers, London
22. Locale Firenze, Florence
23. Tlecān,Mexico City
24. Tan Tan, São Paulo
25. Mirror Bar, Bratislava
26. CoChinChina, Buenos Aires
27. Baba au Rum, Athens
28. Nouvelle Vague, Tirana
29. Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou
30. Danico, Paris
31. Scarfes Bar, London
32. Svanen, Oslo
33. Sastrería Martinez, Lima
34. Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
35. Röda Huset, Stockholm
36. Mimi Kakushi, Dubai
37. Salmon Guru, Madrid
38. Coa, Hong Kong
39. Sip & Guzzle, New York
40. Drink Kong, Rome
41. Double Chicken Please, New York
42. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
43. 1930, Milan
44. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
45. Virtù, Tokyo
46. Overstory, New York
47. The Bar in Front of the Bar, Athens
48. The Bellwood, Tokyo
49. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
50. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore

For more information, visit theworlds50best.com