Pop the Champagne! The accolades for Caretaker's Cottage just keep rolling in, with the teeny tiny, highly lauded CBD venue landing at 19th on the prestigious World's 50 Best Bars list for 2025. The news comes after we crowned it our Bar of the Year at the Time Out Melbourne Food & Drink Awards in March – so it's nice to know we can spot a good bar when we see one.
This is the 17th edition of the World's 50 Best Bars, with the winners announced on October 8 at a live ceremony in Hong Kong. The annual event is regarded as one of the most influential bar awards in the world, celebrating the best and most talented bartenders and drink enthusiasts on an international scale. The winners are voted on by an esteemed global academy made up of drink experts, bartenders and other top dogs.
Taking the gold medal was Bar Leone in Hong Kong – the first time a bar in Asia has ever won. The top five were rounded out by Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City; Sips and Paradiso, both in Barcelona; and Tayēr + Elementary in London. Bars from 29 cities across the globe were featured, including new entries from Oslo, Lima, Athens and Bratislava.
But back to our local hero. Caretaker's Cottage actually improved on its 2024 ranking, moving up two spots from 21st to 19th. And look, we're not surprised – this is a bar that our reviewer described as “quintessentially Melbourne: cool without being pretentious, creative but not overwrought, and intimate without being isolating". And, having visited it more than a few times, I can confirm it's home to one of the best Martinis in the city. Order and thank me later.
With the only other Aussie bar to make an appearance being Sydney's Maybe Sammy at number 42 on the list, that does mean Caretaker's Cottage also ranks as the best bar in Australia. Cheers indeed! In an extra win for Australia's hospo scene, the special Best Bar Design Award was presented to sibling bars Tigra and Disco Pantera, both located in Sydney's Quay Quarter Lanes precinct.
And after ranking 35th in last year's list, Melbourne CBD bar Byrdi dropped back to 91st – but hey, that's still a huge achievement in our eyes.
To check out the full ranking of the World's 50 Best Bars for 2025, head to the website.
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