Athens’ Line Named 50 Best's Best Bar in Europe For 2026

Line, in Athens’ Kato Petralona neighbourhood, has been unveiled as Europe's best bar.

Co-founders Vasilis Kyritsis and Nikos Bakoulis opened the bar in a former art gallery in February 2022, and it has been a fixture of the World’s 50 Best Bars list ever since. 

This year also marks the first time in four years that the top spot in Europe hasn’t been awarded to a bar in Barcelona, after Line dethroned longtime ranking bar Sips.

For the past three years, Sips has maintained its streak as Europe’s highest-ranking venue on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, even clinching the global number-one spot in 2023. This continued a powerhouse run for Barcelona, following the footsteps of fellow local icon Paradiso, which swept both the European and worldwide top spots in 2022.

Sips remained the top-ranking bar in Spain, coming in third.

London maintained its title as the cocktail capital of Europe, with seven bars on the list. Barcelona continued to have a strong showing, with two Madrid bars added to the roster from Spain.

Special Awards

Panda & Sons in Edinburgh was given the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award for Transcend, the bar’s signature experimental cocktail menu built entirely around sub-zero freezing techniques.

Salvatore “The Maestro” Calabrese has received the Roku Industry Icon award for his lasting impact on the global cocktail scene. He is widely credited with putting London's Dukes Bar on the map as a world-class Martini destination and inventing iconic modern classics like the Breakfast Martini.

Parisian bar De Vie won the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award for its eco-conscious approach. The venue operates on a hyper-seasonal ethos, sourcing ingredients exclusively from within France.

Hide in Budapest earned the SevenRooms Best Bar Design Award for its "striking and thoughtfully executed" interior, while Poland’s Art Katowice took home the prestigious Campari One to Watch title.

Prior to the ceremony, Giorgio Bargiani of the Connaught was revealed as the winner of Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award.

Europe’s 50 Best Bars 2026

1. Line, Athens, Greece
2. The Bar in Front of the Bar, Athens, Greece
3. Sips, Barcelona, Spain
4. Himkok, Oslo, Norway
5. Bar Nouveau, Paris, France
6. Moebius Milano, Milan, Italy
7. The Cambridge Public House, Paris, France
8. Mirror Bar, Bratislava, Slovakia
9. Paradiso, Barcelona, Spain
10. Connaught Bar, London, UK
11. Satan’s Whiskers, London, UK
12. Tayēr + Elementary, London, UK
13. Barro Negro, Athens, Greece
14. Baba au Rum, Athens, Greece
15. Svanen, Oslo, Norway
16. Nouvelle Vague, Tirana, Albania
17. Wax On, Berlin, Germany
18. Camparino in Galleria, Milan, Italy
19. Danico, Paris, France
20. Panda & Sons, Edinburgh, UK
21. Locale Firenze, Florence, Italy
22. 1930, Milan, Italy
23. Waltz, London, UK
24. Bird, Copenhagen, Denmark
25. Alma Prague, Czechia
26. Aldea, Barcelona, Spain
27. Harry’s Bar, Paris, France
28. L’Antiquario, Naples, Italy
29. Gucci Giardino, Florence, Italy
30. The Clumsies, Athens, Greece
31. Freni e Frizioni, Rome, Italy
32. Drink Kong, Rome, Italy
33. Gorilla, Thessaloniki, Greece
34. De Vie, Paris, France
35. 14 De La Rosa, Barcelona, Spain
36. Boadas, Barcelona, Spain
37. Tjoget, Stockholm, Sweden
38. Forbína Bar, Prague, Czechia
39. Tag, Krakow, Poland
40. Kwãnt Mayfair, London, UK
41. Three Sheets Soho, London, UK
42. Super Lyan, Amsterdam, Netherlands
43. Röda Huset, Stockholm, Sweden
44. Late Bloomers, Zurich, Switzerland
45. Angelita, Madrid, Spain
46. Salmon Guru, Madrid, Spain
47. Scarfes Bar, London, UK
48. Foco, Barcelona, Spain
49. Rita, Milan, Italy
50. Dunlin, Innsbruck, Austria

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team