Dandelyan’s title of World’s Best Bar will be short lived, as it was announced earlier this week that the Mondrian London hotel bar will soon close, reinventing itself with a new concept and name.
Dandelyan took top spot ahead of the 2017 champion American Bar at the Savoy and Manhattan from Singapore. While Nomad Bar from New York and Connaught Bar from London completed the top five.
The 2018 list featured bars from 26 cities and 20 countries around the world.
There were 12 new bars announced; 10 making their debut and two returning to the list.
The UK and US lead the list, each featuring 10 bars, while London is the cocktail capital again this year with all 10 UK bars hailing from the capital.
The late John Lermayer, co-founder of Sweet Liberty in Miami (No.21), was honoured at the ceremony with the Industry Icon Award, while Himkok in Oslo, Norway (No.19) became the inaugural recipient of the Sustainable Bar Award.
Joe Schofield, recently of Singapore’s Tippling Club (No.58), was named the Bartenders’ Bartender, while Carnaval in Lima, Peru (No.68) was named One To Watch.
The 2018 list:
1. Dandelyan – London, UK
2. American Bar – London, UK
3. Manhattan – Singapore
4. The NoMad – New York, USA
5. Connaught Bar – London, UK
6. Bar Termini – London, UK
7. The Clumsies – Athens, Greece
8. Atlas – Singapore
9. Dante – New York, USA
10. The Old Man – Hong Kong, China
11. Licorería Limantour – Mexico City, Mexico
12. Bar High Five – Tokyo, Japan
13. Native – Singapore
14. Florería Atlántico – Buenos Aires, Argentina
15. Attaboy – New York, USA
16. The Dead Rabbit – New York, USA
17. Oriole – London, UK
18. Coupette – London, UK
19. Himkok – Oslo, Norway
20. Speak Low – Shanghai, China
21. Sweet Liberty – Miami, USA
22. Baba Au Rum – Athens, Greece
23. Operation Dagger – Singapore
24. Le Syndicat – Paris, France
25. Lost & Found – Nicosia, Cyprus
26. Employees Only – New York, USA
27. Central Station – Beirut, Lebanon
28. Scout – London, UK
29. Three Sheets – London, UK
30. Black Pearl – Melbourne, Australia
31. Tales and Spirits – Amsterdam, Netherlands
32. Linje Tio – Stockholm, Sweden
33. Little Red Door – Paris, France
34. 28 HongKong Street – Singapore
35. Happiness Forgets – London, UK
36. La Factoría – Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
37. Paradiso – Barcelona, Spain
38. Indulge Experimental Bistro – Taipei, Taiwan
39. El Copitas – St Petersburg, Russia
40. Tommy’s – San Francisco, USA
41. BlackTail – New York, USA
42. Candelaria – Paris, France
43. Schumann’s – Munich, Germany
44. Trick Dog – San Francisco, USA
45. Fifty Mils – Mexico City, Mexico
46. Swift – London, UK
47. Salmon Guru – Madrid, Spain
48. Buck and Breck – Berlin, Germany
49. Bar Benfiddich – Tokyo, Japan
50. Lost Lake – Chicago, USA
