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These U.S. bars were just named the best in North America

More than half of them are in the U.S.

Erika Mailman
Written by
Erika Mailman
San Francisco and USA contributor
Superbueno
Photograph: John Shyloski | Superbueno
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If you’re like a lot of us, you look forward to a bar visit on your vacation. It’s always fun to see seasonal or specialty cocktails on the list, and soaking up the boozy atmosphere and music can be elating. (Truth be told, we also love a great mocktail and staying sharp for the evening). So if you’re thinking of building a trip around visiting one of the continent’s best bars, we’re thrilled for you. Winners of North America’s Best Bars 2025 have just been announced, and 26 of those 50 are here in the U.S. There are also 14 in Mexico (including the No. 1 pick, Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City), eight from Canada and two from the Caribbean.

The first U.S. bar on the list is Superbueno in New York, which was also No. 2 last year—way to hold strong! Jewel of the South in New Orleans rose from the No. 6 spot to No. 4. Overstory in New York fell from No. 3 to No. 6, taking over the Jewel’s former spot. Other U.S. bars in the top 10 are Sip & Guzzle in New York, showing up at No. 5 out of nowhere (it wasn’t on the list last year) and Kumiko in Chicago, rising to No. 10 from No. 19. Sip & Guzzle has an enormously interesting backstory, based on an 1874 contingent of Japanese samurai who came to New York, where bartender Jerry Thomas invented a cocktail specifically for the Japanese diplomat Tateishi Onojirou Noriyuki. Today in Tokyo, Shingo Gokan’s The SG Club imagines the kind of bar those samurai would have opened upon returning, and in a playful turn, Sip & Guzzle (with the same initials) imagines the bar that the samurai would have opened if they returned to New York with everything they’d learned. That’s for sure on my visit list the next time I’m in New York!

The Best Bars in North America 2025:

1. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City

2. Superbueno, New York

3. Tlecān, Mexico City

4. Jewel of the South, New Orleans

5. Sip & Guzzle, New York

6. Overstory, New York

7. Bar Pompette, Toronto

8. El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara

9. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City

10. Kumiko, Chicago

11. Clemente Bar, New York

12. Mírate, Los Angeles

13. Café La Trova, Miami

14. Bar Mauro, Mexico City

15. Martiny’s, New York

16. Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco

17. True Laurel, San Francisco

18. Employees Only, New York

19. Double Chicken Please, New York

20. Baltra Bar, Mexico City

21. Civil Liberties, Toronto

22. Aruba Day Drink, Tijuana

23. Service Bar, Washington, D.C.

24. Thunderbolt, Los Angeles

25. Best Intentions, Chicago

26. Botanist Bar, Vancouver

27. Arca, Tulum

28. The Keefer Bar, Vancouver

29. Selva, Oaxaca

30. Library by the Sea, Grand Cayman

31. Cloakroom, Montreal

32. La Factoría, San Juan

33. Maison Premiere, New York

34. Bijou Drinkery Room, Mexico City

35. Hanky Panky, Mexico City

36. Atwater Cocktail Club, Montreal

37. Bar Mordecai, Toronto

38. Meadowlark, Chicago

39. Bisous, Chicago

40. Kaito del Valle, Mexico City

41. Yacht Club, Denver

42. Katana Kitten, New York

43. Angel’s Share, New York

44. Mother, Toronto

45. Allegory, Washington, D.C.

46. Dante, New York

47. Café de Nadie, Mexico City

48. Silver Lyan, Washington, D.C.

49. Bekeb, San Miguel de Allende

50. Cure, New Orleans

If you want to see the continuing list, here's No. 51-100, named for the first time this year.

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