Pinnacle Guide adds trio of three-pin bars
In the fifth announcement from The Pinnacle Guide, three bars have been awarded three-pin status for demonstrating ‘exceptional standards’.
The Pinnacle Guide has unveiled the latest additions to its world’s best cocktail bars list, with 46 newly recognised bars across all three pin levels: 30 with one pin, 13 with two pins, and three with three pins.
The new three-pin bars are first since Lyaness in London was achieved The Pinnacle Guide’s highest accolade in October 2024.
The three venues – Champagne Bar at The Surf Club in Miami, Kumiko in Chicago, and Line Athens in Athens – demonstrated exceptional standards both in their written application and across multiple anonymous reviews, earning them a place alongside Lyaness in an exclusive category of just four bars in the world.
To achieve three-pin status, a bar must submit ‘an exceptional written application’ and deliver ‘an exceptional guest experience’ across multiple anonymous visits.
Hannah Sharman-Cox, co-founder of The Pinnacle Guide, said: “When we created The Pinnacle Guide, we set the three-pin standard knowing it might take time for bars to reach it – and that was intentional. To see three venues achieve it in a single announcement, across three different cities and three very different concepts, is a genuine landmark moment for us. It tells us that exceptional hospitality is thriving globally, and that The Pinnacle Guide is becoming the benchmark that the world’s best bars are measuring themselves against.”
The US leads this round with the most new recognitions, including pins of all levels across multiple cities. As such, North America now accounts for more than a third of all pinned bars globally, with 62 bars across the USA and Canada.
The UK has added five one-pin bars, while two bars have achieved two-pin status.
Canada has seen recognitions across Toronto, Vancouver, Banff, and Calgary. Meanwhile, Italy has added five pinned bars, with recognition now spanning Bassano del Grappa, Vittorio Veneto, Cervia, and Sorrento.
Key trends
As in previous rounds, luxury hotel bars remain disproportionately represented among top-tier recognitions.
The American Bar at the Savoy (London), The Emory Rooftop Bar (London), Botanist Bar (Fairmont, Vancouver), Funky Claude’s Bar (Fairmont, Le Montreux Palace, Switzerland), Champagne Bar at The Surf Club (Four Seasons, Miami), and Stravinskij Bar at Hotel de Russie (Rome) all featured.
Hotel bars are seen to benefit from the infrastructure and investment needed to maintain consistent excellence across every element of the guest experience, which is said to be a key differentiator in the anonymous review process.
Destination-led venues have also continued to perform strongly across the guide. The Emory Rooftop Bar (London), Pilina (Maui, Hawaii), and Champagne Bar at The Surf Club (Miami) all represent venues where the setting is at the heart of the experience, reflecting the continued importance of experiential hospitality within modern cocktail culture.
This latest instalment from The Pinnacle Guide has also shown an acceleration in the recognition of bars located beyond capital cities, with this announcement being the most geographically diverse to date.
TBC* in Chester has become the UK’s first non-capital two-pin bar. Rundle Bar in Banff, Slowpour in Liverpool, Lowkey in Cardiff, The Domino Club in Leeds, CuCù in Bassano del Grappa, Alto in Cervia, Shub in Sorrento, Squisi in Vittorio Veneto, Pilina in Maui, and Furtivo Speakeasy in San Juan have all demonstrated that world-class hospitality is thriving far from the obvious centres.
Also thriving in this latest announcement are speakeasy and concept-led bars, and independent and owner-led venues.
In the former category, Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City has achieved two pins, while Furtivo Speakeasy in San Juan brings the format to the Caribbean. Bandista in Houston and Himitsu in Dubai have also further demonstrated the global appetite for bars built around strong identity, intimacy, and a highly focused drinks programme.
Plus, newly pinned venues Kumiko (Chicago), Line Athens (Athens), De Vie (Paris), Call Me Pearl (Denver), and Gus’ Sip & Dip (Chicago) are all personal concepts shaped by the vision of their founders. Their inclusion alongside large hotel institutions is said to reinforce one of The Pinnacle Guide’s core principles: that excellence in hospitality is not a function of scale or resource, but of intent, craft, and consistency.
There are now 192 pinned bars across 14 countries since The Pinnacle Guide launched in May 2024.
The full list of newly pinned bars can be seen below.
Click to read the first, second, third and fourth iterations of the list.
The Pinnacle Guide is considered to be the most comprehensive accolade for cocktail bars globally, rapidly becoming the ultimate symbol of excellence and a trusted resource for discerning drinkers around the world.
Pins are held for two years, and bars can reapply to retain or raise their current pinned status.
We explored the benefits of being formally recognised by awarding bodies such as The Pinnacle Guide last year.
New one-pin bars
- La Catedral Bar, Zürich, Switzerland
- American Bar at the Savoy, London, UK
- Andra Hem, Philadelphia, USA
- Bandista, Houston, USA
- Barro Negro Athens, Athens, Greece
- Call Me Pearl, Denver, USA
- Clockwork, Toronto, Canada
- Course, Phoenix, USA
- Danico, Paris, France
- Death & Co. DC, Washington DC, USA
- Fives Raw Bar, New Orleans, USA
- Furtivo Speakeasy, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Gus’ Sip & Dip, Chicago, USA
- Hello Hello Bar and Cafe, New York City, USA
- Lowkey, Cardiff, UK
- Marcelino’s Boutique Bar, Providence, USA
- Quinary, Hong Kong
- Reign Bar, Toronto, Canada
- Rundle Bar, Banff, Canada
- Shelter, Calgary, Canada
- Shub, Sorrento, Italy
- Simpl Things, Toronto, Canada
- Slowpour, Liverpool, UK
- Squisi, Vittorio Veneto, Italy
- St James Bar, London, UK
- Stravinskij Bar at Hotel de Russie, Rome, Italy
- The Domino Club, Leeds, UK
- The Flamingo Room, Vancouver, Canada
New two-pin bars
- Argo, Hong Kong
- Bateman’s, New York City, USA
- Botanist Bar, Vancouver, Canada
- CuCù Bassano del Grappa, Italy
- De Vie, Paris, France
- Funky Claude’s Bar, Montreux, Switzerland
- Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City, Mexico
- Himitsu, Dubai, UAE
- Pilina, Maui, USA
- Strong Water Anaheim, Orange County, USA
- TBC*, Chester, UK
- The Emory Rooftop Bar, London, UK
- The Upper Room at Duddell’s, Hong Kong
- Kabin, New York City, USA
New three-pin bars
- Champagne Bar at The Surf Club, Miami, USA
- Kumiko, Chicago, USA
- Line Athens, Athens, Greece
Related news
RTD sales near £200m in Britain's on-trade
