The Voting System

Organised by William Reed, the people behind The World's 50 Best Bars, The World's 50 Best Hotels and The World's 50 Best Restaurants, Europe's 50 Best Bars is a snapshot of the opinions and experiences of 300 bar industry experts across the region.

What constitutes 'best' is left to the judgment of these trusted and well-travelled experts. The list is the result of a simple computation of votes. Given that this list is based on personal experiences, it can never be definitive, but we believe it is an honourable survey of current tastes and a credible indicator of the best places to drink in Europe.

How the voting works

Europe's 50 Best Bars (and the awards ceremony hosted to celebrate the inaugural list's unveiling) is organised and compiled by William Reed. None of the employees of the organiser or any of the sponsors associated with the awards has any influence over the results.

The list is compiled by votes from the Europe's 50 Best Bars Academy, which comprises 300 drinks experts, including bartenders, bar owners, drinks media and well-travelled cocktail connoisseurs from across Europe.

The Academy is divided into 11 regions, each with its own gender-balanced panel of members including a chairperson, called the Academy Chair. The Chairs each then select a voting panel, ensuring a balanced selection.

Each voter casts seven votes based on their best bar experiences of the previous 18 months. For the debut 2026 list, each European Academy member will vote for a maximum of five bars in the country where they are based. Voters also have the option to vote for a further two (or more) bars outside of their home country if they have been able to travel internationally during the voting period. Voters are required to remain anonymous and voting is confidential and secure.

The main rules of voting are:

• Voting is strictly confidential
• Panellists vote for seven bars, in order of preference
• Voters must have visited the bars they nominate within the voting window
• Panellists will be asked to confirm the date and time of their visit fact when voting and asked to upload an 'evidence of visit' image, such as a booking confirmation, receipt or time-stamped photo of the bar or cocktails
• Voters are not permitted to vote for bars they own or have a financial interest in
• Nominations must be made for the bar and not for the bar owner or bartender (except in the case of special individual awards)
• Panellists cannot vote for a temporary bar, 'pop-up', or 'guest shift', or for a bar based on an experience that does not take place at the bar itself
• Bars must receive votes from more than one country to feature on the list

These criteria are designed to allow our panellists to vote far and wide. They could vote for a small, unknown bar in a remote location, or select the best-known venue in their own country or region – it is their opinion and the experiences they have had that matter.

This method means that bars cannot apply to be on the list, and cannot be nominated, and no external influences (from William Reed or its sponsors) can influence the list. It also means that every bar in the region is eligible, unless it is closed at the time that the list is announced, or we receive notice that it will be closing in the near future.

There are no criteria that a bar has to meet. It certainly does not have to sell a certain product. It does not need to have been open a certain number of years and it does not need to have won any other accolades.