Our favourite cocktail bars across the world
Get festive as our experts name their favourite cocktail bars across the globe.
Get festive as our experts name their favourite cocktail bars across the globe.
Long Bar, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund
Noel Coward, resting his head on the bar, observed the marble and mahogany marvel was so long, “one could see the curvature of the Earth in it”. Tea king Thomas Lipton wasn’t so lucky, being denied entry to the Shanghai Club, home of the Long Bar, because he was merely in retail. At the end of the 34m bar overlooking the Huangpu River, the best-born members of the British men’s club clustered; down the darker recess, the lessers. And so life rolled reliably on in the Long Bar from 1910 until World War II and the Japanese occupation. After the Communist Revolution, the baroque revival building became the International Seamen’s Club, then housed Shanghai’s first KFC. Eight years ago, it reopened as a Waldorf Astoria hotel with meticulously restored Long Bar, a gem on the prosperous-once-again Bund. The room hangs heavy with history and I love it. The ceiling is high, the leather couches deep and comfortable, cocktail menu a whiz, service impeccable, and ultra-cool clientele a people-watcher’s joy.
Must try
Although it’s the Waldorf, it seems wrong to order a Manhattan cocktail in Shanghai. Bartender Sid suggests a Pu-Erh Tea Margarita (with tequila, gin and lemon juice) poured from a traditional teapot. But, of course.
Graham Erbacher
Lucky Bee at Frankie’s Rooftop, Woy Woy, NSW
Woy Woy, you say? Why why? This central coast town, less than 90 minutes north of Sydney, has overcome its jokey image (thanks, Spike Milligan) to become a bit of a drinking and dining destination. Local chap gone international Rupert Noffs and chef Matty Bennett have swapped the bright lights of New York to transplant their Southeast Asian street food concept to the open-sided top of a pub with views of fishing boats and pelicans. You’d be happy here in this super-cool space with a craft beer or chilled bubbles but the cocktails are next level. At the timber and tiled counter, merry barmen concoct about a dozen signature mixes, including watermelon and basil smashes, pineapple daiquiris and popcorn negronis. The classics are well in evidence, too, from mojitos and margaritas to sours and holiday-coloured Aperol spritzers. There are about 40 whisky blends, 20 types of gin (Monkey 47, please), and beers and wine by the mile. I like that there are teetotaller and DD choices, too, with the Honey Blossom (pineapple, lemon, vanilla and bitters) a sweet standout. Spice it all up with betel leaf-wrapped poached prawns, peanuts, ginger, kaffir lime and just enough chilli to make your tongue tingle.
Must try
Who could resist a Pornstar Martini? Think of it as an adults-only summer holiday Passiona. Ingredients are vanilla vodka, passionfruit liqueur, passionfruit puree and vanilla bean sugar, all frothed up and served in a bosomy glass with a censoring side of prosecco to tone down the heady flavours.
Susan Kurosawa
Bar Palladio, Jaipur, India
In the famous pink city of Jaipur lies a shockingly blue bar to take the breath away. Occupying a restored garden house in the grounds of Narain Niwas Palace Hotel, Bar Palladio’s brazen design and Mediterranean menus have made it one of the city’s hippest social hubs. The decor is an exuberant fusion of Renaissance Italy and Mughal India rendered in royal blue walls frescoed lavishly in scrolling florals and wildlife, a bit like a Wedgwood set writ large. Mughal arches, chequerboard marble floors, bas-relief lions fronting the bar, tented ceilings and block-printed ottomans add to the impression this is the liquored-up love child of a European salon and a maharajah’s palace.
Outdoors, there’s an adult sandpit shaded by mangoes and studded with blue-and-white tented pavilions that are cushioned, bolstered and just big enough for two. At night the scene is all sensuously candlelit and, in cooler months, warmed by flaming braziers. With brisk bar service and Italian stuzzichino-style snacks (arancini, bruschetta), the place is a wish fulfilled for drinkers of the romantic persuasion.
Must try
Palladio Iced Tea, a delightfully refreshing but intoxicating muddle of vodka, gin, white rum, triple sec and a splash of cranberry juice. Two’s the limit; three’s amnesia.
Kendall Hill
Broken Shaker, New York
The rooftop bar sits atop the Freehand Hotel New York, which opened this year in the Flatiron District. Breaking away from the luxe look, Broken Shaker’s tropical decor captures a summer holiday, with bamboo walls, colourful cane chairs and a collection of plants that’s surely second only to Central Park. On display are artworks and curiosities gathered from markets and garage sales across the world. Much like NYC, it’s an ambiguous, multicultural experience. The main room feels Afro-Caribbean but the balcony is Brooklyn and the doormen wear Hawaiian shirts. The food menu meanders from the Middle East to South America, while the background music flows through reggae, funk and soul. This bizarre, beautiful mishmash extends to the cocktail list. Among the original, seasonal recipes are classic New York flavours such as a poppy seed bagel fizz with hints of cream cheese. Happy hour offers $US9 ($12) specials and a $US7 punch. Freehand houses another great bar, The George Washington, and restaurant Simon & the Whale, so you can make a whole night of it, or linger longer by booking the hotel’s sensibly priced accommodation.
Must try
Go for the Butterface, a word used in unkind circles to describe a woman who has a great body, but her face … So it’s ironic that everything about the Butterface is hot; the coconut is toasted, the pineapple charred, and yes, the butter is melted. Served warm, this rum-based beauty does have a cool surprise, though, in the form of salted caramel ice cream.
Louise Goldsbury
Le Bar, L’Hotel, Paris
Tucked away in the heart of St-Germain, a champagne cork’s pop from the Seine, this jewel box of a Left Bank hotel is most famously associated with Oscar Wilde, who breathed his last in what is now the tiny bar. Over the years the property has attracted a slew of film stars and famous guests, including Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, who might easily have designed Le Bar, where plump velvet chairs, walls swagged in silk and marble and gold gilt columns resemble a stage set from Moulin Rouge (actually this old-world glam is the work of legendary French designer Jacques Garcia). A popular haunt for the Parisian beau monde and one of the most romantic and downright sexy bars in the city, this is the perfect spot for a discreet aperitif or assignation or both. The adjoining Michelin-starred restaurant is just as gorgeous and would be likely unrecognisable to Wilde, whose last words were along the lines: “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has to go.”
Must try
Anything with Oscar’s name on it. On my visit, I love the Dorian Gray (gin, tarragon, sirop de passion, pineapple juice and bitter rhubarb) although I’m not sure anyone would be looking any younger after a second order. At the moment the cocktail menu lists a rye whiskey-based Into the Wilde. Give it a spin.
Christine McCabe
The Grass Skirt, La Jolla, California
Cocktails with special effects, an unprepossessing entrance through the cool room of a beachside poke shop, and the world’s largest Mai Tai. Welcome to The Grass Skirt, a Tiki speakeasy that takes you well and truly down the rabbit hole, rum punch in hand. The Pacific kitsch fit-out is the ultimate escapist fantasy, complete with roaring volcano, glowing totem poles and more hula girls than you could poke a pineapple at. It would be no surprise to see Captain Morgan and Sailor Jerry clinking glasses at the bar. Libations are expertly shaken by some of the city’s best and are an ode to Tiki stalwarts. The Mai Tai is the most popular, while boozy concoctions such as Professor Feathers and Tipsy Tentacle are served in classic parrot-shaped mugs and goblets. Tiki cocktails are by no means minimalist with their elaborate garnishes and audacious names (I Cantaloupe Without You, anyone?), but you’ll discover a couple on the menu that dial up the theatrics served with a rumbling tropical storm light and sound show that stops the entire bar. Expect some of the most remarkable rums of your life from a selection of about 150, and fresh Pacific and Southeast Asian plates. Executive chef Brian Redzikowski’s pork belly bao, okonomiyaki fries and poke bowls are on the menu nightly from Monday to Saturday and for Sunday brunch, when you can wash it all down with the (self-proclaimed) world’s largest Mai Tai, which is an immodest punch bowl for six.
Must try
A flaming Lava & Ice shaken with serrano-infused tequila, Jamaica rum, pineapple, lime, coconut and pomegranate.
Shannon Harley
Floreria Atlantico, Buenos Aires
Walking down Calle Arroyo in the chichi Retiro neighbourhood of the Argentinian capital, you’ll pass hip coffee shops, vintage stores and contemporary art galleries. You’ll also come across a gem of a florist shop. But there’s more to this storefront than meets the eye. After 10pm, the shop assistant is quick to realise you’re probably not after the gladioli on display and opens the cool-room door to reveal a staircase leading down to the best bar in the Argentinian capital — even South America, according to some. Floreria Atlantico has once again made it on to the World’s 50 Best Bars list (No 14 this year), and for good reason. Celebrating the immigrant story of Argentina, it features ingredients and beverages from those groups that have helped give the country its unique, multi-faceted identity. The decor and food riff on the seafarer’s theme, with sea monsters adorning the walls, and a menu that has a great selection of fish. (Of course, being Argentina, steak still features heavily.) The buzz is palpable, while the mood is buoyant, and the cocktails will keep it there.
Must try
Its signature cocktail is the Negroni Balestrini, a multicultural twist on the Italian classic that is more than the sum of its parts. Arriving pre-prepared in a small cork-stoppered bottle, it’s infused with pine nuts and eucalyptus, and features Amaro Averna and the house’s own gin, Principe de los Apostoles. Just try to stop at one.
Glynis Traill-Nash
The Permit Room, London
There are hipper places to sip in the capital, but none is more fun than this nostalgic, dimly lit basement space. Set in a restored Victorian warehouse in the reinvigorated Granary Square precinct of Kings Cross, The Permit Room is the downstairs bar of Dishoom, which has four other diners across the city, beloved by Londoners for their buzzy atmosphere, vintage decor, bright service and brilliant menus based on the old Irani cafes of Bombay. Framed in dark timber, The Permit Room offers a playful but carefully curated take on old India — think bentwood stools and green leather banquettes, foxed mirrors, Empire-era signage and photos cramming the walls. At any time of day, there’s a happy clatter of punters and hand-chipped ice plinking into glasses that echo off the tiled floors as warm, appetite-building aromas fill the air. Get there just before lunch and you’ll catch the mixologists cracking eggs, smashing spices and swirling fruit concoctions for the pre-mixed batch cocktails, arrayed behind the marble-topped bar in backlit apothecary-style bottles. There are cask or bottle-aged Godown Cocktails, served by the peg, and an extensive list of other tipples including Sours & Fancies or Slings, Coolers & Fizzes, such as a Hoppy Butter Paanch made with Dishoom’s excellent own IPA.
Must try
The East India Gimlet. Served in a coupe glass, a delicate frond of dill skimming its surface, this Permit Room favourite is made with Portobello Road Gin and celery bitters, its underlying sharpness rounded out with the sweetness of Rose’s lime cordial. Terribly British and downright delicious.
Emma Ventura
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