Best-of list · City Comparison
New York vs London bars — our editors spent months in both cities to settle the debate once and for all. Here is the honest answer, bar by bar.
The short answer
8 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
We have been arguing the new york vs london bars question in our editorial meetings for two years and have now been to both cities enough times to settle it honestly. The answer depends on what you want from a bar. New York wins on cocktail programming. London wins on variety, atmosphere, and the sheer range of experiences available below twenty pounds. This article makes the case for both, with the specific bars that anchor each city's claim.
New York invented the modern cocktail program as we know it. The city has a density of technical excellence that no other city on earth matches. London has closed the gap considerably in the past decade, but it has not crossed it. For cocktails specifically, New York wins. The question is by how much.
How we picked
New York wins on cocktails, late-night drinking, and the sheer ceiling of excellence available at the top end. London wins on pubs, variety, value, and the hidden bar scene. For a first visit to either city specifically for bars, we would send you to New York. For a second visit, we would send you to London and tell you to spend three days in Hackney, Bermondsey, and Soho.
The honest answer is that you should go to both. These are the two greatest bar cities in the English-speaking world, separated by a transatlantic flight and a fundamentally different idea of what a bar is for. New York thinks a bar is a place where craft is performed. London thinks a bar is a place where community is formed. Both are right.
James has been drinking his way through New York since 2011 and London since 2015. He has a strong opinion about which East Village bar has the best negroni and is wrong about it.
Last reviewed 2026-04-05 · The editors recheck hours and closures against current local coverage.