Barcelona has passed the baton to Mexico City as the host of the Best Bar in the World, which was the Barcelona bar Sips last year and is now the Handsake Speakeasy in Mexico City, crowned last night as the Best Bar in the World according to the renowned list The 50 Best Bars, presented at the Madrid Arena in the Spanish capital. Located in the Colonia Juárez neighborhood, according to the ranking’s organizers, it is “one of the best-kept secrets in the city, where the Dutch bartender Van Beek combines tradition and innovation, elevating classics through avant-garde techniques developed in his laboratory, revolutionizing familiar recipes with unexpected flavors and a complex palate.”
This establishment, also named Best Bar in North America, is followed by Bar Leone in Hong Kong, with Barcelona’s Sips taking third place, a spot it held as number one last year. Before knowing their placement, the team at this establishment, led by Marc Álvarez and Simone Caporale, accepted the award for Best Bar in Europe. Additionally, Paradiso in Barcelona, the Best Bar in the World in 2022, has moved down the ranks and now sits at number ten, meaning Barcelona boasts two of its cocktail bars in the top ten of the British list.
The ranking
Two Barcelona restaurants that reached the number one spot on the list remain in the top ten
In fourth place in the ranking is the London-based Tayêr + Elementary, and in fifth place is Jigger & Pony, from Singapore. They are followed by Line in Athens, Tres Monos in Buenos Aires, which has been chosen as the Best Bar in South America, Alkímico in Cartagena, Zest in Seoul, and the aforementioned Paradiso in Barcelona, which rounds out the top ten.
Mexico’s Handshake Speakeasy receives the award for Best Bar in the World at the World’s 50 Best Bars 2024 ceremony
From the organization of The World’s 50 Best Bars, they pointed out that Barcelona is the city with the best cocktail bars in Spain and a global reference in this field. In addition to the two establishments representing the Catalan capital, Sips and Paradiso, the Spanish presence is completed by the Madrid-based Salmón Gurú, managed by Diego Cabrera, which this year has dropped seven positions to rank 23rd in the list.