The 2023 selection of the prestigious World's 50 Best Bars awards includes five of London's stylish drinking dens. That's the same number as last year and there's a newcomer on the list, but overall, the rankings have slipped somewhat.
The World's 50 Best Bars list is a highly coveted honour awarded by a voting academy of nearly 680 bar industry experts from around the world. Following on from the reveal of the extended 51–100 list last week, the top spots were unveiled at a ceremony in Singapore on 17 October. These five London bars made the cut:
- Connaught Bar at #5 (#8 in 2022)
- Tayēr + Elementary at #8 (#2 in 2022)
- Satan's Whiskers at #28 (#23 in 2022)
- 🔶🟥🔵 A Bar with Shapes for a Name at #35 (#37 in 2022)
- Scarfes Bar at #41 (new entry)
As you can see, though London has kept the same total number of bars on the list, most of them have slipped a few places. The biggest blow comes at the top, where the former second-best bar in the world Tayēr + Elementary dropped down to eighth place. Connaught Bar, which claimed the top spot in 2021, is again the leading London bar, but only in fifth place. Meanwhile, Swift, ranked at #30 last year, dropped off the list (it comes in at #76 on the extended list) and was replaced by newcomer Scarfes Bar at #41.
Regardless of the somewhat downward shift, the results are still a marvellous accomplishment and prove there's no shortage of quality places for a quality drink in London.
Oh, and the top spot on the list? That went to Barcelona for the second year in a row, but to a different bar – last year it was Paradiso, this year it's Sips. You can find the full list here.
Congratulations to all the winners!