Sip in style at these stunning bars, where great cocktails meet drop-dead gorgeous interiors. From vintage glamour to modern flair, each spot is a feast for the eyes and the palate
Looking for a drink with a twist? These bars aren’t only for lovers of cocktails and champagne, they’re for aesthetes too, where the artistry of interior designers and mixologists merges. From nostalgic, gilded glamour to contemporary pizazz, these nine photogenic drinking spots will leave you shaken, stirred and swooning.
Bemelmans Bar, New York
@bemelmansbar
Best for: old-fashioned Manhattan glamour
No beautiful-bars-in-the-world list would be complete without Bemelmans at The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, which ranked No.30 on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024. The cosy cocktail lounge and piano bar is pretty as a picture… literally. Adorning the walls are large-scale murals of Central Park, painted in the 1940s by Ludwig Bemelmans, best known for his Madeline children’s books. Upper East Siders and jazz aficionados have been sipping their dirty martinis beneath his whimsical illustrations ever since. Renowned French architect Thierry Despont oversaw a refurb in 2002, careful to retain the retro-decadent aesthetic, from the 24-carat gold-leaf ceiling and nickel-trimmed glass tables to the black granite bar, where bartenders in smart crimson jackets expertly mix the drinks.
CoChinChina, Buenos Aires
@CoChinChinaBar
Best for: cosmopolitan-meets-comfort
When Inés de los Santos opens a bar, you sit up and listen. The revered Argentine mixologist is behind CoChinChina, a watering hole in Buenos Aires that has garnered quite the following since it opened in 2020. The drinks and design have been created to take the visitor on a nostalgic journey through both France and Asia, specifically Vietnam, which are places close to the owner’s heart. Designer Eme Carranza juxtaposes different textures and colours – red lampshades, woven rattan, jade subway tiles, dark woods, neon signs – to create a chic space with a strong South-East Asian undercurrent. This is a bar for creative cocktails and fun.
Atlas Bar, Singapore
@atlasbarsg
Best for: sumptuous Great Gatsby allure
Everything about Atlas dazzles. The grand lobby and bar occupy the ground floor of Singapore’s Gotham City-esque Parkview Square building, its decor as sparkling as the 250 types of champagne it serves. Owner Vicky Hwang masterminded the bar’s upgrade in 2017, respecting the richly layered interior, which harks back to the 1920s and the ornateness of Europe’s luxury hotels. Beneath the soaring frescoed ceiling, the Art Deco-style design is a wonder to behold, with gleaming marble and shimmering gilt as far as the eye can see. And that’s before we mention the illuminated 12-metre-high tower perching above one of the two bars, housing no less than 1,300 bottles of gin accessed via… a golden staircase, of course.
Connaught Bar, London
@theconnaught
Best for: low-key elegance
Not many drinking establishments in London – or the world for that matter – can rival the understated charm and grace of the Connaught Bar, which came in at No.13 at The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024. Everything whispers indulgence. It was designed by David Collins, who has woven the architectural heritage of the building and its Mayfair environs throughout the intimate space, with intricate cornicing and geometric lines here, overstuffed leather chaises and bespoke pendant lighting there. Textured wall panels of dusty pink, pistachio green and pale lilac – a 21st-century spin on Cubist art of the 1920s – bring an ethereal beauty, offset by the cool, grey bar. Order from the iconic martini trolley and have it stirred at your table, marvelling as it’s expertly poured from a height.
Galaxy Bar, Dubai
@galaxybardxb
Best for: cocktails with a cosmic twist
You’ll go starry-eyed when you step into Galaxy Bar, No.50 on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023. Unlike many of the city’s drinking establishments, this bijou, late-night lounge is a lesson in discretion, tucked away in the Dubai International Finance Centre, think more speakeasy than showy. As the name suggests, it takes its design cue from the night sky, the inky-hued ceiling adorned with hundreds of twinkling lights. The overall effect is seriously seductive. Settle into one of the velvet couches or sit at the sculpted bar and admire its Lemurian Blue granite backdrop as you sip one of the constellation-inspired cocktails. Will it be the Cloud 9 or the Pillar of Heaven – or maybe the Rocket Man? Either way, they’ll transport you to another world.
Rock Bar, Bali
@rockbarbali
Best for: unadulterated Instagram gold
While sundowners are always a joy, Rock Bar in Bali sets the bar high. The 270-metre-long, open-air space is carved into the cliffside on a stretch of the Jimbaran coast. Architect Yasuhiro Koichi of Japan’s Design Studio Spin has kept the aesthetic minimalist, allowing nature to do the talking. And talk it does. There are no less than 880 seats, all offering a front row view of the fiery hues that streak the sky as the sun dips into the Indian Ocean. When darkness descends, the bar area is illuminated in coloured lights to reflect these epic vistas as the DJ spins tunes from a booth that’s carved directly into the cliff.
Bar Les Ambassadeurs, Paris
@barlesambassadeurs
Best for: rococo-style lavishness
For le chic, where else but Hôtel de Crillon? Set on the Place de la Concorde, the 18th-century Louis XV palace-turned-hotel (No.15 on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024) reopened in 2017 following a painstaking four-year restoration overseen by architect Chahan Minassian. The 60-seater Les Ambassadeurs bar is undoubtedly a jewel in its crown, with decor that is no-expense-spared. Painted clouds float across the ceiling and chandeliers bathe the champagne-sipping clientele in a soft glow; wraparound frescoes, marble and mirror walls, a glittering horseshoe-shaped bar and waiters in silk cravats add to the majesty. It’s so palatial, Marie Antoinette would surely approve.
Bar Raval, Toronto
@bar_raval
Best for: lively, authentic atmosphere
Bar Raval may be in Little Italy, in the heart of Toronto, but this place is Spanish through and through. The cosy neighbourhood tapas bar is the brainchild of restaurateur Grant Van Gameren and mixologist Mike Webster, whose love of both Barcelona’s Art Nouveau architecture and its buzzing pintxos scene come through in the design, conceived by architecture firm Partisans. The space is hewn from what appears to be one undulating piece of mahogany which wraps around the room, creating its curvaceous bar, walls and seating areas; the sweeping sculptural creation even extends to the ceiling. It’s like being in a Gaudí-designed treehouse –but one that serves small plates and sherry.
Charles H Bar, Seoul
@charleshseoul
Best for: 1920s speakeasy vibes
Charles H Baker’s job was the envy of many: travelling the world, drinking exotic cocktails and writing about them for glossy magazines. Any bar named after the 20th-century bon vivant is bound to have dash and the Charles H more than delivers (Seoul was one of his favoured cities). Tucked away on the lower level of the Four Seasons hotel, it is entered via a discrete passageway that recalls the speakeasies of the Prohibition era. The decor hints of this, too; it’s glamorously dark and moody, with deep leather seats, ambient lighting and intriguing wall art that takes its cue from Korean history. It’s the perfect spot to raise a toast to Baker.
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