Line from Athens has tonight (June 30) been named Europe’s Best Bar at the inaugural Europe’s 50 Best Bars ceremony, held at De Kromhouthal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The bar, owned by Vasilis Kyritsis, Nikos Bakoulis and Dimitris Dafopoulos, is housed in a former art gallery and specialises in fruit wines and crafted cocktails.

On winning, Bakoulis said at the ceremony: “I think we need to continue investing in people, that’s one of the most important things for the whole team. We need to find the right people who have the same passion as us and can inspire us.”

Runner-up was The Bar in Front of the Bar, also from Athens, while Sips from Barcelona placed third and Himkok in Oslo was fourth. Completing the top five was Bar Nouveau in Paris.

Moebius in Milan took sixth place, followed by The Cambridge Public House in Paris in seventh. Mirror Bar in Bratislava was eighth, Paradiso in Barcelona ninth, and Connaught Bar in London rounded out the top 10.

London was named the cocktail capital of Europe, with seven bars featured in the list.

Europe’s 50 Best Bars follows in the footsteps of World’s 50 Best Bars spin-offs, Asia’s 50 Best Bars, founded in 2016, and North America’s 50 Best Bars, launched in 2022.

Faye Huggett, director of community for Europe’s 50 Best Bars, said: “We are immensely proud to name Line as the first-ever winner of the title The Best Bar in Europe, sponsored by Perrier. Their remarkable hospitality and stunning creativity have not only earned them this accolade but have truly cemented Athens’ position on the global map.

“We hope that this inaugural list of Europe’s 50 Best Bars will shine a bright spotlight on an even greater number of outstanding bars across this vibrant continent and inspire epicures around the world to explore everything it has to offer – from long-established cocktail capitals to fresh, emerging scenes that are pushing boundaries in new and exciting ways.”