These Are 50 Best Bars In America For Summer Vacation 2023

The seasons are changing, and as we head into summer, you might be doing some pre-planning for your next date night or a mini vacation to get away. For those just wanting to fantasize about elaborate cocktails or for folks putting together solid summer date plans, there’s a new list of the 50 best bars in the U.S. that might help narrow down where you want to visit — whether the bars are in your city or a summer travel destination.

“North America’s 50 Best Bars was launched in 2022 as a new annual list to celebrate the best of the region’s drinks industry and shine a much-deserved spotlight on North America as a first-class cocktail destination,” World’s 50 Best says. While the list includes bars from all of North America, the U.S. dominates the list, comprising nearly half of the best bars on the list.

The winners are voted on by a group of 260 “gender-balanced anonymous bar industry experts, including bartenders, bar owners, drinks media, and well-traveled cocktail connoisseurs” from different parts of the continent.

“Each voter casts seven votes based on their best bar experiences of the previous 18 months,” the voting rules state. Voters can vote for a maximum of five bars in their state or country. They also have the option to vote for two bars outside their state or country.

World’s 50 Best says bars cannot apply to the list, and there are no nominations or external influences.

“There are no criteria that a bar has to meet,” according to the voting rules, and “that every bar in the region is eligible, unless it is closed at the time that the list is announced, or we receive notice that it will be closing in the near future.”

One of the interesting takeaways from the list of 50 best bars is if you’re looking to go to one of these chart-topping bars, you’ll basically have to travel to the biggest, most vacation-destination cities in America, from New York City to Mexico City, to New Orleans. Is Toronto your summer vacation destination? There’s a bar for that. Chicago, Miami, or San Juan? Keep reading. As for the rest of us, well, these “best bars” in America might require a plane ride.

Here are the 50 best bars in North America:

1. Double Chicken Please, New York City
2. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
3. Katana Kitten, New York City
4. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
5. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
6. Dante, New York City
7. Overstory, New York City
8. Kumiko, Chicago
9. Café La Trova, Miami
10. Thunderbolt, Los Angeles
11. Zapote Bar, Playa del Carmen
12. Civil Liberties, Toronto
13. Attaboy, New York City
14. Employees Only, New York City
15. Bar Pompette, Toronto
16. Baltra Bar, Mexico City
17. Rayo, Mexico City
18. Mace, New York City
19. Botanist Bar, Vancouver
20. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
21. El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara
22. Sabina Sabe, Oaxaca
23. Arca, Tulum
24. La Factoría, San Juan
25. Café de Nadie, Mexico City
26. Kaito del Valle, Mexico City
27. Herbs & Rye, Las Vegas
28. Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco
29. Martiny’s, New York City
30. Death & Co (Los Angeles), Los Angeles
31. Selva, Oaxaca
32. Atwater Cocktail Club, Montreal
33. Service Bar, Washington D.C.
34. Sweet Liberty, Miami
35. Cloakroom, Montreal
36. Cure, New Orleans
37. Mother, Toronto
38. Milk Room, Chicago
39. Maison Premiere, New York City
40. Aruba Day Drink, Tijuana
41. Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu
42. Yacht Club, Denver
43. Bar Mordercai, Toronto
44. The Dead Rabbit, New York City
45. Allegory, Washington D.C.
46. Clover Club, New York City
47. Brujas, Mexico City
48. Platform 18, Phoenix
49. Youngblood, San Diego
50. Milady’s, New York City

To see more and dig into the data from the ranking, visit World’s 50 Best.