The world’s hottest bar openings from spring 2026
With the arrival of spring came an array of new bar openings, stretching from Rome and London to New York and Sydney.
Dig out your pen and paper, as spring saw several arrivals that require urgent adding to your bucket list, from a new spot from the Drink Kong team in Rome to a trio of drinking destinations in London and a speakeasy in the Bahamas.
Read on for our pick of the season’s most exciting new bar openings from around the world.
For more inspiration, revisit our round-ups of the best new openings from autumn and winter.
Bar Bridge, Sydney
Bar Bridge is the latest from Mucho Group, which is behind other cocktail venues in Sydney, such as Bar Planet, Herbs Taverne, and agave bars Cantina OK and Centro 86. In other words: strong pedigree.
For Bar Bridge, the team are emulating a sophisticated establishment you might find somewhere in Europe, dubbing it ‘a classic Martini bar for modern Sydney’. Three Martinis – The Bridge, Citron, and a Kimchi version – lead the menu, with five signatures in support, including the Pippin (pictured above, made with Tequila, cucumber and sour apple).
Bar Bridge also debuts a new flavour of the group’s now signature complimentary popcorn with nori seaweed. “The cocktails are excellent, the new popcorn flavour is my favourite yet, we have selected an inspiring team – we all feel very positive,” said Mucho Group CEO Daisy Tulley.
Address: 6 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000
Mitsi, Los Angeles
In Mitsi, Ben Lovett of British folk rock band Mumford & Sons has opened what he calls a ‘love letter’ to Los Angeles and the city’s creatives.
“Los Angeles has been a host to many memories for me, and I’ve wanted to give something back to the neighbourhood and the people who shape it,” Lovett shared. The space he’s created – developed through his entertainment hospitality company TVG – sounds like it’s worth making a song and dance about, sprawled across a mix of indoor and outdoor spots where guests can linger over reimagined classic cocktails such as a Rosé Martini created with house-made rosé cordial.
The third-space, all-day concept that Mitsi falls under was one of our top cocktail trends to watch for 2026.
Address: 1737 Naud St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
FlipDog, London
A hot opening indeed: FlipDog came into London brandishing a 1200°C iron poker as its bartending tool of choice.
The team use the heated poker – known also as a flipdog or loggerhead – to shape the texture and flavour of some of their drinks. For instance, the Morning At The Platform uses the method to evoke the sensory experience of a London platform at dawn with toasted sesame Bourbon, Scotch and Disaronno amaretto. Other serves on the Flip10 menu include the Sunday Roast and Half Pint, which capture some of the team’s other London pastimes in cocktail form.
The venue is set across two floors: 12 seats in the street-level space upstairs, and room for 80 in the underground area below, which features three booths designed by Ukrainian artist Waone.
“The bar is a meeting point of design, flavour, technique, and the cultural roots that inspire us,” said co-founders Artem Skapenko and Alex Kostenyuk. “Our vision is to craft a space that challenges conventions in the cocktail scene while remaining genuinely approachable.”
Address: 104-122 City Rd, London EC1V 2NR
Cocktail Omakase, New York
New York’s Cocktail Omakase takes the Japanese dining experience of omakase and applies the concept to cocktails, guided by the expertise of Tokyo’s Bar Libre.
The concept is a collaboration between Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality Group (which is behind Superbueno, Katana Kitten and more) and the Tokyo-based bar, which placed 49th on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list. Head bartender Mathew Resler travelled from New York to Ikebukuro in northern Tokyo to immerse himself in the bar’s approach; the Bar Libre team has contributed in kind with recipes and hospitality training. The idea is to create a ‘long-term bridge’ between the two cities.
The omakase area is set up like a traditional sushi bar with 12 seats. Guests are taken through a four-course cocktail menu with serves such as a Sushi Sazerac, which is poured into a glass via a fish-shaped vessel.
Outside of the omakase, the space also houses Bar 7, which is described as a ‘discreet seven-seat cocktail den that offers a more informal extension of the experience’, as one might find in Tokyo.
Address: 217 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
Papi, Mumbai
Self-described as ‘somewhere between a late-night European bar and a house party that got out of hand in the best possible way’, Papi is the new kid on Mumbai’s cocktail block.
The bar’s ‘ingredient-led’ menu offers savoury, tropical and floral serves, but for more concrete information? Well, that’s for guests to discover through their own guesswork. Instead of names, Papi numbers its cocktails (eg, Cocktail No.1) in a move designed to invite conversation and comparison.
The menus and music, meanwhile, adapt throughout the evening to create a different atmosphere depending on when a guest arrives. “Every detail, the way the light shifts, how the cocktails are structured, the pacing of the menu, has been considered to contribute to a certain feeling,” said co-founder Ansh Kapoor.
Address: 712, Linking Rd, Khar, Khar West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400052, India
Brutes, London
London’s formidable Martini map got one bar bigger in spring with the addition of Brutes in Mayfair.
It joins the ranks from James Stevenson and Guy Mazuch, who worked together on drinks at JKS Restaurants, which includes Michelin-starred London venues Gymkhana, Sabor, and Kitchen Table. The pair’s programme enables full-on Martini geek-outs, with guests able to customise the cocktail using a checkbox system, from choosing the base spirit and style,to garnishes from blue cheese olives and picked onion Monster Munch.
Brutes avoids pre-batching with the bartenders at the centre of the experience, for which Muzuch explained: “We want things that feel immediate – using fresh ingredients, squeezed or zested in front of a guest. If we did all that back of house, we’d lose that immediacy.”
Address: 34A Bruton Pl, London W1J 6NR
Bar Ferdinand, Melbourne
Bar Ferdinand opened in Melbourne’s CBD in spring in a heritage-listed venue that dates to 1885.
While the bar part speaks for itself, the name Ferdinand takes after one of the venue’s old regulars in Ferdinand von Mueller, a leading botanist of the time. It leans into botany heavily throughout the menu, structuring the drinks list as a walk through a fictional garden. Each cocktail is tied to a plant, such as the Fern, which is made with Cognac, kaolin clay, pu erh tea and petrichor.
Décor-wise, the interior features marble-topped tables, brass finishes, a large hanging installation of dried Queen Anne’s Lace – and yes, lots of greenery…
Address: Level 1/7 Alfred Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Drink Kong Campo Marzio, Rome
Drink Kong, one of the World’s 50 Best Bars (it ranked 40 in 2025), gained a sibling in Italy’s capital in spring.
The bar is anything but a rehash of the original, instead describing itself as an ‘evolution’. “Drink Kong Campo Marzio is a temple for those who believe a bar is not just a place to drink, but a universe to inhabit – among soft lights, velvet, jazz and digital vibrations,” said founder Patrick Pistolesi.
Located in Rome’s historic Campo Marzio district, at Via dei Prefetti, the bar is split into three areas. The moody atmosphere is reminiscent of Blade Runner, with marble, wood, and brass meeting blue lights and a three-dimensional installation inspired by one of the film’s most iconic scenes. Among the drinks, there’s a dedicated Martini section showcasing the classic in five forms. Need we say more…
Address: Via dei Prefetti, 22, 00186 Roma RM
Kees, New York
Kees is from veteran bartender Jeff Bell, who (if that name doesn’t ring a Bell) runs celebrated New York speakeasy Please Don’t Tell.
The venue is the final bar concept of the One Cornelia Street building in West Village, which also houses an agave bar called Mixteca, which Bell opened with fellow longtime Please Don’t Tell bartender Victor Lopez, as well as Mexican restaurant Tacos 1986.
The concept takes after the old-world glamour of post-Prohibition New York in a room of vintage armchairs and green velvet banquettes, with a chamfered stone bar turning out classic cocktails served both traditionally and with ‘subtle and seasonal’ variations.
Address: One Cornelia St, New York, NY 10014
Kitty’s Cosmopolitan Club, Chicago
An opulent emerald velvet interior, table-side Martinis, ice-cold table-side Martinis… Kitty’s Cosmopolitan Club had us sold pretty quickly when it opened in Chicago this spring.
The bar boasts what it claims to be the city’s ‘first dedicated’ -9ºC walk-in freezer cocktail station, as well as a cocktail trolley. The aforementioned decor was designed by David Collins Studio, which previously worked on Chicago-based restaurants Tre Dita and Crying Tiger.
Kitty’s also has Kevin Beary as beverage director and partner, who opened Gus’ Sip & Dip at the end of 2024. The bar was one of our hottest openings from that winter.
Address: 51 W Hubbard St Ste 200, Chicago, IL 60654
El Siete, London
Down a pink door on Soho’s Brewer Street lies El Siete, a subterranean agave bar from the team behind El Pastor (the Mexican restaurant located next door).
El Siete’s Margarita proposition offers the cocktail in seven variations. A frozen melon version is served inside a whole cantaloupe for the theatre, while the signature 777 is presented in a stainless steel flask to keep your Marg ice-cold. Seven agave-based cocktails and seven non-alcoholic cocktails round out the rest of the menu.
The seven theme holds dear for founders Sam Hart and Crispin Somerville. El Siete (meaning The Seven) references Colmillo, a cult nightclub they opened in Mexico City in the 1990s, located at 52 Versalles Street. They say the sum of its street number makes seven, though ‘admittedly a little tenuously’. “With El Siete, we come full circle, channelling that same spirit into the heart of Soho with an agave-led bar shaped by Mexico City that has given us so many memorable times and lasting friendships,” Somerville said.
Address: 66-70 Brewer St, London W1F 9UP
Horse to Water, The Bahamas
Baha Mar added an intimate speakeasy to its Bahamian resort called Horse to Water in spring from the team behind Bon Vivants, the first venue in The Bahamas to break into North America’s 50 Best Bars list.
It pairs a world-class cocktail programme (featuring fig-leaf infusions, edible paint and pistachio-dusted glassware) with a rare spirits library and a premier backgammon salon, which nods to the golden age of Nassau’s social scene when the board game was synonymous with Caribbean lifestyle and leisure.
“Partnering with Baha Mar to elevate Caribbean spirits and Bahamian history has been incredibly rewarding,” said Kyle Jones, co-founder of Bon Vivants. “This venue puts regional craftsmanship on the global stage, and we can’t wait for guests to experience it.”
One for the next time you find yourself in The Bahamas: manifest it.
Address: One Baha Mar Blvd, Nassau, The Bahamas
Related news
The world’s hottest bar openings from winter
