Once again, the Best Bar in North America is in Mexico

The level of Vancouver’s J.W. Marriott ballroom reverberates from the creation euphony and buzz of speech astatine the 2025 50 Best Bars of North America awards ceremony. Lining the edges of the country are stands sponsored by the event’s patron — Cointreau, Perrier, Rémy Martin and others. Team members from Mexico City’s Rayo barroom marque spritzes and negronis, arsenic they basal bathed successful the blistery pinkish airy of the Campari stand, unaware that Rayo volition became 1 of the night’s astir high-profile casualities, disappearing from the database completely, contempt ranking 5th successful past twelvemonth — the lone Mexican barroom to beryllium removed this clip around. 

But determination were fewer different chaotic surprises for anyone who’s been paying attraction to Mexico’s barroom country successful caller years, arsenic a full of 18 bars made the apical 100. 

Mexico City instauration Handshake Speakeasy scooped archetypal spot successful the rankings. (50 Best)

The long-established Limantour, Baltra and Hanky Panky each maintained positions connected the list, with Baltra and Hanky Panky moving up and Limantour holding dependable astatine #9. Other past winners — Aruba Day Drink successful Tijuana, Café de Nadie successful Mexico City, and Selva successful Oaxaca besides continued their streak arsenic members of the winners’ club.

There are a fistful of first-timers from Mexico City this year, but nary of the additions volition daze cocktail aficionados successful the capital. Bar Mauro successful Roma Norte has been lauded since it opened a fewer months agone and deservedly won a spot astatine #14. Bijou, a speakeasy hidden astatine the apical of the Escuela de Gastronomia successful Condesa entered the database astatine #34.

“I deliberation 50 Best has been astonishing for the Mexico City barroom country but I besides deliberation that the bars that person been opening up, that person been pushing the country forward, they person truly been the biggest change,” said Erik Van Beek, co-owner of Mexico’s Handshake Speakeasy, which aft 2 years successful the fig 1 spot connected the database erstwhile again took the coverted apical spot. 

“When I arrived successful 2019, determination were Fifty Mils, Limantour, Hanky Panky and Baltra, that was it. And present radical are truly pushing their cocktail program, their service, and their standards. Of course, 50 Best has helped tremendously with that due to the fact that radical person the recognition, but astatine the extremity of the day, it’s the bars that bash it.”

“There’s a bully web of bartenders sending radical to antithetic bars crossed the city,” explains Claudia Cabrera, co-owner and barroom manager astatine Mexico City’s Kaito del Valle, different database victor coming successful astatine #40 this year. “Even my friends who aren’t truly into cocktails volition abruptly archer maine astir a trendy caller cocktail barroom they went to and inquire maine if I cognize it.”

San Miguel de Allende’s Bekeb was amongst the winners connected the night. (50 Best)

“We saw a large change,” Cabrera says. “We are successful a household vicinity and abruptly erstwhile the database came retired radical started coming to [Del Valle].” Kaito del Valle has been operating for the past 8 and fractional years successful Colonia del Valle, a vicinity conscionable southbound of Condesa and somewhat disconnected of the tourer way successful Mexico City. “There’s thing other truly astir us, truthful we cognize it has to bash with that. Our vibe is has been a small divey, much similar a vicinity place, but we person seen present radical specifically seeking america retired and we didn’t person that before.”

“I deliberation the database reflects the plurality of the scene,” says Eli Martínez, proprietor of Tlecān, which won the #3 spot this twelvemonth aft entering astatine #10 successful 2024. “It’s bully to spot bars wrong of hotels that person endless resources astatine their fingertips and connected the aforesaid database places who person made an tremendous effort to rise their ain wealth and beforehand themselves. The communal denominator for maine is hospitality.”

Martínez won this year’s Bartenders’ Bartender award. The grant is voted connected by the different bartenders from the 50 Best database and recognizes idiosyncratic who has made a important interaction connected the trade of bartending and connected their peers successful the manufacture and is 1 of the astir prestigious awards handed retired connected the night.

Cocktail bars and mixology successful Mexico person been connected the emergence for longer than the past 3 years of the 50 Best Bars successful North America list, but there’s nary uncertainty among participants that the database has encouraged the professionalization and enlargement of the industry. 

“The level of mixology has intelligibly improved,” says Martínez, “and it’s present communal to find a drinks paper with a existent communicative to tell.”

Bartenders’ Bartender grant winner, Eli Martínez. (50 Best)

“You spot good eating restaurants with a bully drinks programme and hotels and chefs and different radical are paying attention,” says Cabrera. “I deliberation successful the past six oregon 7 years we person each go truly arrogant of our products. We’re utilizing much agave, much section products, much section brands, and determination are much collaborations among everyone. Drinks are going minimalist, which you would person ne'er seen successful Mexico before. There are nary analyzable garnishes, radical are moving with truly bully crystal programs. We are each pursuing trends but trying to marque them local, ‘tropicalizing’ them, if you will.  It’s truly moving fast.”

Martinez agrees. “I deliberation the inclination is much and much successful the absorption of showing disconnected each the culinary and taste richness of Mexico,” she finished.

The winners successful full:

1. Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City)

3. Tlecān (Mexico City)

8. El Gallo Altanero (Guadalajara)

9. Licorería Limantour (Mexico City)

14. Bar Mauro (Mexico City)

20. Baltra (Mexico City)

22. Aruba Day Drink (Tijuana)

27. Arca (Tulum)

29. Selva (Oaxaca)

34. Bijou Drinkery Room (Mexico City)

35. Hanky Panky (Mexico City)

40. Kaito del Valle (Mexico City)

47. Café de Nadie (Mexico City)

49. Bekeb (San Miguel de Allende) 

Longlisted

54. Sabina Sabe (Oaxaca)

65. Brujas (Mexico City)

82. Ticuchi (Mexico City)

94. Casa Prunes (Mexico City)

Lydia Carey is simply a freelance writer and translator based retired of Mexico City. She has been published wide some online and successful print, penning astir Mexico for implicit a decade. She lives a treble beingness arsenic a section circuit usher and is the writer of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her municipality adventures connected Instagram and spot much of her enactment astatine www.mexicocitystreets.com.