World's 50 Best Bars 2017: The American Bar at The Savoy named the world's top cocktail spot
The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2017/10/05/13/american-bar.jpeg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)
London proved itself as the planet’s cocktail capital at the World’s 50 Best Bars awards, with the American Bar at the Savoy taking title for the first time and seven of the city’s other bars making the prestigious list – narrowly beating New York by one.
London won four of the top 10 spots, with Ryan Chetiyawardana’s Dandelyan coming in second, up from third last year, the Connaught Bar maintaining fourth position and Soho bolthole Bar Termini climbing 21 places to claim ninth.
Hoxton’s Happiness Forgets came close behind at number 12, while Oriole (17) and The Gibson (21, down from 6 last year) also both made the top half of the list. Old Street’s Nightjar – Oriole’s sister bar – dropped to number 43 from 19 last year and third in 2015. One London bar did drop off the list; Callooh Callay, which last year rejoined the list at number 48, did not make the cut this year. Likewise, no other UK bars were included, with last year's number 47, Bramble in Edinburgh, not included.
The American Bar, which has been serving since 1893, reclaimed the title for a London bar after losing out to New York’s Dead Rabbit last year.
What makes the American Bar so good?
The American Bar has a fair claim to having always been London’s best bar; it’s a place where Harry Craddock first penned bartender’s bible The Savoy Cocktail Book, where Churchill used to keep his own whisky and where Marilyn Monroe would recharge with a glass of champagne on press tours.
Such history can sometimes be a burden, but the Savoy’s strength – guided by the deft and talented duo of Erik Lorincz and Declan McGurk – is in its constant ability to repurpose its past as inspiration for its future.
Drinks here are more than liquid sloshed in the glass; cocktails come with flourishes of theatre, and style is everything. Staff tell stories, talking through the menu – or not, if you’re not in the mood. Knowing when to make a fuss and when not to is what keeps the American Bar popular: if you’re only after a Gn’T, they’ll happily serve one up with the minimum of fuss.
The popular Manhattan bar placed fifth, with the team in town following their one-night pop-up at Bethnal Green’s Sun Tavern on Wednesday, which followed a previous takeover at Claridge’s in August.
The awards also revealed that aside from homegrown talent, Londoners have been drinking some of the finest cocktails from across the globe during the past 12 months, with Athens bar The Clumsies (6), New York’s Dante (16) the Dead Rabbit’s sister bar BlackTail (32) and Sydney’s Baxter Inn (45) all in residence in the city over the past year, many at the Bloomsbury Club Bar.
It was the first time the American bar has won since it first made the list six years ago. The bar, which recently appointed its first female bartender in 100 years, Philippa Guy, has been staffed by head bartender Erik Lorincz and bar manager Declan McGurk since 2010, when it re-opened after a three year refurbishment. Speaking to the Standard, Mr Lorincz said: "I feel amazing, incredible, it's like a dream come true, I've waited 7 years since I've been at the Savoy.
"We've been so close and today was the day all our hard work paid off. I had no idea we'd win, because I have so much respect for all the bars in the top ten. It all felt very new, very interesting, because this year lots of bars finished in different positions.
"I love Dandelyan, it's my neighbourhood bar, just across the river from us. We'll try to hold onto the title for next year, we just need to work even harder. We'd be very happy to keep it, but if it doesn't happen we'll be happy to celebrate with someone else."
An proud Mr McGurk, manager of American Bar, spoke with tears glistening in his eyes: "I'm feeling really, really over the moon. I don't think you ever think you're going to do it. I was surprised about Dead Rabbit; I thought they would be higher. And it's great to see NoMad come in at number three, they're amazing."
Ryan Chetiyawardanan said the awards were as good for London as for his bar Dandelyan: "To have numbers one and two on the list be London just shows how ahead of the curve what's happening in London is. It's amazing and to be part of that, it's just incredible. The list is spreading to new places and new styles and that's so wonderful to see, it's amazing to see what else can be done with drinks.
"The American bar is an institution, it's one of those places that every young bartender is always excited to go to and get a seat at the bar and get a drink. Declan and Erik are exactly the right team to bring it into a new era.
"Do I think we can topple them next year? Not at all. I'm really proud of what we do but it's an institution. I would love Dandelyan to be around in 120 years, like them, that would be incredible and we've given it enough room to expand and evolve. I would love to say it'll be there but it's very hard to lay those kind of legacies."
It was the fifth year the awards have been held in London. The list decided by a panel of over 500 anonymous drinks specialists across six of the world’s seven continents, and includes bars from all of them.
See the London winners on the map below.
The full list can be seen here, while the top 10 is below, with London bars highlighted in bold. Interestingly, the top four bars are all hotel bars.
1. American Bar, London
2. Dandelyan, London
3. The NoMad, New York
4. Connaught Bar, London
5. The Dead Rabbit, New York
6. The Clumsies, Athens
7. Manhattan, Singapore
8. Attaboy, New York
9. Bar Termini, London
10. Speak Low, Shanghai
For more information, visit worlds50bestbars.com
Flick through our pick of London's best bars below.
The best bars in London
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2016/01/29/15/Rosewood-London-scarfes-lon.jpg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)