When Lorenzo Antinori opened Bar Leone in Hong Kong’s fashionable Sheung Wan neighbourhood in 2023, he wanted the Italian bar to feel “like my grandmother’s living room.” That mood is captured by the simple dark wood counter, the framed photos of everyone from Al Pacino to the pope, and the laid-back mid-century “dolce vita” feel – although not everyone’s nonna does such a delicious line in filthy martinis and olive oil sours. Bar Leone has for the second year running taken the No. 1 spot in the annual list of the world’s best bars put together by UK-based media company The 50. Its global academy of voters has anointed Milan’s Moebius Milano as the world’s No. 2 bar. Named for the sci-fi illustrator Moebius, it’s an avant-garde drinking spot in a former textile warehouse with a huge two-story-tall olive tree right in the centre. At No. 3 is Alquímico, three stories of carnival-esque fun choreographed by an all-female bartending crew in a colonial building in the Colombian coastal city of Cartagena. The top 5 is rounded out by Bar Us in Bangkok (No. 4), a dimly lit “drinking room” that takes its cocktail flavors very seriously, and Line in Athens (No. 5), where drinks are fermented right on site. In recent years, The 50 has grown to become quite the list factory, turning out influential annual verdicts on the world’s best restaurant (Maido in Lima), hotel (Rosewood Hong Kong) and vineyard (Vik in Chile’s Millahue Valley). Those lists are mighty useful for publicists and for in-the-know travellers who love that zeitgeist zest – but, personally, my favorite bar of 2026 is an Irish pub in North London with a pool table, karaoke and 10 flavors of Baileys. Just follow the checklist in your heart. Maureen O’Hare, CNN
