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World's 50 Best Bars 2022: Two Australian bars named in top 50 list (and they're both in Sydney)

Andrea McGinniss
Andrea McGinniss

Maybe Sammy has featured in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since opening in 2019.
Maybe Sammy has featured in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since opening in 2019. Anna Kucera

The World's 50 Best Bars have been announced in Barcelona, with two Australian bars included in the prestigious list voted by a global academy of bartenders, critics and other industry insiders.

Maybe Sammy in The Rocks, Sydney, was named best bar in Australasia (as it has every year since opening in 2019), coming in at number 29, with judges praising its "golden age cocktails and ratpack vibes, with a unique sense of fun."

Co-founder Stefano Cantino says he was excited and proud to be able to receive the award among his peers in Barcelona, after two long years of border closures.

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"It's really very special to be among the community we love," Cantino says.

"When we opened Maybe Sammy in 2019 we never would have dreamed we'd be one of the World's 50 Best bars four years in a row, let alone the best bar in Australasia each four years in a row.

"We're so grateful the bar and our team continues to be recognised for the brilliant work they do."

Tiny mezcal bar Cantina OK! is the 41st best bar in the world.
Tiny mezcal bar Cantina OK! is the 41st best bar in the world. Nikki To
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Coming in at number 41 is Sydney's Cantina OK!, set in a site that was once a single car garage. Co-owners Alex Dowd and Jeremy Blackmore's labour of mezcal love is a shipping container-sized bar hunkered off Clarence Street in the city. There's room for just 20 standing punters who sip on agave-based spirits from all around Mexico.

Ryan Bickley is the general manager of Mucho Aloha, the hospitality group behind Cantina OK! Bickley says the team is "incredibly humbled" to have received the award.

"It's still sinking in. It's mind-blowing for us to have even been considered," he says.

Maybe Sammy's Stefano Catino and Martin Hudak with their trophy at the World's 50 Best Bar awards in Barcelona.
Maybe Sammy's Stefano Catino and Martin Hudak with their trophy at the World's 50 Best Bar awards in Barcelona.Supplied
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"With Cantina, it was just a place we wanted people to come and to feel at home ... and enjoy the things we're passionate about: mezcal and hospitality.

"The bar has achieved so much over the years but I think the thing we're most proud of is the development of our team ... each and every day they put so much work in and everyone strives for the best they can do."

No Melbourne bars made the list. Last week tiny but mighty new Melbourne bar Caretaker's Cottage and hyper-sustainable Sydney bar Re were named at number 60 and number 87 respectively in the World's 50 Best Bars top 100 longlist.

The number one spot was awarded to Barcelona bar, Paradiso, with judges lauding the team's creativity as well as their sustainability.

Cantina OK!, a tiny mezcal bar, in Sydney.
Cantina OK!, a tiny mezcal bar, in Sydney.Nikki To

Barcelona was also the first city outside of London to host the ceremony. It is sure to be some afterparty.

Maybe Sammy, 115 Harrington St, The Rocks maybesammy.com

Cantina OK! Council Place, Sydney okokok.com.au

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worlds50bestbars.com

The World's 50 Best Bars 2022

  1. Paradiso, Barcelona
  2. Tayer + Elementary, London
  3. Sips, Barcelona
  4. Licoreria Limantour, Mexico City
  5. Little Red Door, Paris
  6. Double Chicken Please, New York
  7. Two Schmucks, Barcelona
  8. Connaught Bar, London
  9. Katana Kitten, New York
  10. Alquimico, Cartagena
  11. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
  12. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
  13. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
  14. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
  15. Salmon Guru, Madrid
  16. Drink Kong, Rome
  17. Coa, Hong Kong
  18. Floreria Atlantico, Buenos Aires
  19. The Clumsies, Athens
  20. Baba au Rum, Athens
  21. Cafe La Trova, Miami
  22. Attaboy, New York
  23. Satan's Whiskers, London
  24. Tropic City, Bangkok
  25. Kumiko, Chicago
  26. Sidecar, New Delhi
  27. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
  28. Argo, Hong Kong
  29. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
  30. Swift, London
  31. Line, Athens
  32. Baltra Bar, Mexico City
  33. Manhattan, Singapore
  34. Overstory, New York
  35. 1930, Milan
  36. Dante, New York
  37. A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
  38. Zuma, Dubai
  39. Locale Firenze, Florence
  40. Red Frog, Lisbon
  41. Cantina OK!, Sydney
  42. CoChinChina, Buenos Aires
  43. Himkok, Oslo
  44. Carnaval, Lima
  45. Galaxy Bar, Dubai
  46. L'Antiquario, Naples
  47. Employees Only, New York
  48. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
  49. Lucy's Flower Shop, Stockholm
  50. Bulgari Bar, Dubai

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Andrea McGinnissAndrea McGinniss is digital editor for Good Food.

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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/eating-out/worlds-50-best-bars-2022-two-australian-bars-named-in-top-50-list-and-theyre-both-in-sydney-20221004-h26wmt.html