The top ten bars that enchanted us in 2024
From menus filled with poetry to cocktails poured inside a vintage airplane, this year’s travels brought us to some of our most interesting bar experiences yet.
I think this line-up is a good reflection of who we are as travelers: always looking for interesting and immersive locations that focus on storytelling and flavor. I never drink to get drunk, but I sip cocktails to taste ideas. And there were a lot of great ideas this year! So without further ado and in no particular order, here are our ten favorite bars we discovered in 2024:
Mírate, Los Angeles
Tucked away in a cozy corner courtyard of the Los Feliz neighborhood, Mírate feels sort of like a fancy, grown-up treehouse. Diners choose between a seasonal menu of Mexican-inspired dishes while seated in booths with giant pillows and nestled between trees draped with eclectic lanterns. But the real star of Mírate is their cocktail program - in fact, 50 Best ranks it among the best bars in North America. Mírate has a robust beverage program inspired by the flavors of Mexico, going beyond the popular tequilas and mezcals to introduce drinkers to less common spirits like bacanora and pulque. We loved it so much we visited twice within the span of a few months, and managed to try nearly every cocktail on that season’s menu. I loved the bold experimentation with flavors, like La Sonadora (Nativo gin, passion fruit, almond, green tea, goat milk, lemon and absinthe), a savory-meets-sour clarified milk punch. They play on a paloma with a house-made grapefruit soda or riff on a gold rush with tostada-washed mezcal. It’s an unapologetically culinary approach to cocktails in the best way. And, as a bonus, if you, too, loved the Netflix rom-com “Nobody Wants This,” you’ll be delighted to know Mirate is featured in both the first and last episodes of Season 1. Joanne clearly has great taste.
Mírate 1712 N. Vermont Ave, Los Feliz, CA 90027 mirate.la
Rita’s Tiki Room, Milan
There are only a handful of genuine tiki bars in Italy – the kind of funky, rum-forward establishments with bamboo-lined walls and Polynesian playlists popular in America. So while planning a visit to northern Italy, we were elated to discover Rita’s Tiki Room in our research. And after visiting, we were surprised to find that Rita’s is not on more lists of the best cocktail spots in Europe! It sits along a traditional canal in the Navigli district in Milan, a trendy corridor dotted with cafes slinging Aperol spritzes and heaping plates of pasta. But if you stroll all the way to the end of the canal, you’ll happen upon Rita’s, where you can be instantly transported to that intoxicating amalgamation of the tropics so closely associated with “tiki.” Moody lighting, large palms and plenty of bamboo create an upscale atmosphere as a steel-guitar beckons you to sit and stay awhile. The menu is a stunning combination of well-executed classics and reinterpreted originals. They boast an entire section of “Appertiki” – a portmanteau of apertivo and tiki – blending Italian spirits, bitters and liqueurs with tropical flavors for some truly stunning results. I was blown away by the Banana Boulevardier (Campari, Italian vermouth, banana, Maker’s Mark bourbon, Pusser’s Navy Strength Rum) and the Patchouli Mulata Daiquiri (Patchouli infused Cuban rum, Maker’s Mark bourbon, cacao and vanilla, Muscovado sugar, lime) for its originality and expert use of flavor. And after watching several locals order the off-menu Missionary’s Downfall, we were equally impressed by their masterful elevation of the tiki classics. It must be mentioned that – this being Italy – they also served a stunning tray of Apertivo snacks along with the cocktails that won my heart. Will you go all the way to Italy to drink at Rita’s? I can only hope. But should you visit Rita’s if you’re visiting Milan? Without a doubt!
Rita’s Tiki Room Ripa di Porta Ticinese 69, 20143 Milano ritastikiroom.com
The Connie Cocktail Lounge, Queens
We may have to devote a separate blog post to all the reasons that we (and Gimlet) are obsessed with the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport, but in the meantime, allow us to tell you about the most unique environment we drank in this year: the interior of a historic 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane. Dubbed “The Connie,” the plane is permanently parked just outside the lobby of the TWA Hotel – the site of the original TWA wing of the airport and the filming location for productions with retro aesthetics like “Catch Me If You Can” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The Connie boasts a handful of cocktails and snacks, but the real fun is climbing the aircraft stairs into the interior and sipping a drink in the converted lounge. You can’t go wrong with a Paper Plane (Old Forester bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Montenegro and a lemon twist), but rest assured that all of the drinks have aviation-inspired names. Oh, and a word on capacity - we snuck onboard right when The Connie opened for the day and found plenty of seating, but The Connie has limited capacity and is first come, first served.
The Connie 1 Idlewild Dr, Queens, NY 11430 twahotel.com
Red Dwarf, Las Vegas
We have sipped at many a cocktail lounge in Sin City, but our favorite Las Vegas discovery of 2024 is an off-strip dive bar. Our friend Will was given this pizza-shop-slash-tiki-bar recco by a former local and we will be forever grateful. I’m not exaggerating when I say their White Pie is one of the best slices of pizza I’ve had this year, and we went to Italy, dang it! While the decor screams gritty neighborhood rock venue meets nautical pirate décor, don’t let that deter you – the staff is friendly, the drinks are impressive, and have I mentioned their Detroit-style pizza? Not all of our favorite spots have to be fancy, but they do have to make for a good story. I was impressed with one of their fall seasonal cocktails infused with beet juice, but their classics like the Painkiller and Mai Tai were also delightful in their own right. We will absolutely day drink at Red Dwarf anytime we are in Vegas in the future.
Red Dwarf 1305 Vegas Valley Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89169 Website
Here Nor There, Austin
As speakeasy and experiential drinkie enthusiasts, we have had more than our fair share of experiences this year that took some work to get through the door. Sometimes installing a special app or purchasing a one-time membership just to get a table reservation can set expectations impossibly high. But I’m so pleased to report that Here Nor There is exactly the right amount of work. If you do install their app and do get a reservation and do look for their secret speakeasy door, you will be rewarded with a stunning cocktail encounter. What impressed us so much about Here Nor There was the attention to detail in every element of the experience – from the tiny glasses of bubbly to start, to the dramatic lighting and soft hand towels in the restrooms, and the care of each member of the staff. When we visited Austin in Spring 2024, the menu was inspired by “Moments in Time.” As you browsed the offerings, full-page pencil sketches and poems introduced concepts like Birthday Party, Day at the Beach, Heartbreak, and Picnic. We were mesmerized by the complexity of the flavors and presentation, with many of the cocktails accompanied by complementary bites or expressive glassware. Hands down, my favorite was Going to the Movies (Mount Gay XO Rum, Cognac, Vermouth, Homemade Cola, Buttered Popcorn) – a spirit-forward tribute to flavors in a movie theater. Here Nor There is a cocktail concept I will continue to both dream of and envy. It’s experimental and exclusive in all the right ways, and I cannot wait to go back to see what new delights they have concocted.
Here Nor There 612 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701 hntaustin.com
Bible Club, Portland
We didn’t really know what to expect when we hopped in a Lyft and headed to a Craftsman-style bungalow in the suburban Sellwood neighborhood of Portland. When we arrived, it looked like a residential street. But as we neared, a glimmering gold “BC” doorknob told us we were in the right spot. Inside, we cozied up to the bar in an old living room littered with prohibition and temperance antiquities, like posters cautioning against “sinful drink” and an ancient mechanical cash register. The friendly bartender walked us through the menu and made excellent recommendations. The menu feels true to a speakeasy-style bar with feet in both Portland and Osaka, Japan. Fruits and botanicals are interspersed with Japanese spirits in lovely and modern craft cocktails. Our favorite was the floral Dreamcatcher (Union Gin, Clear Creek Pear Brandy, cognac, black pepper and bergamot tea syrup, lavender, rose water, and lemon), because there is no such thing as too many clarified milk punches in one year. The icing on the cake at Bible Club is that, contrary to most speakeasies, Bible Club has a food menu. And not just any food menu - an exceptional line-up of bites. (The pretzel board, y’all. The pretzel board!) Like most bars we visit, we arrived at Bible Club within minutes of opening to ensure we could get a spot and chat with the bartenders before things got busy. We understand this little beauty gets quite popular in the evenings!
Bible Club 6716 SE 16th St, Portland, OR 97202 bibleclubpdx.com
Backdoor 43, Milan
The website for Backdoor 43 has only one option: Reserve Your Table. And after seeing the bar’s name pop up on multiple lists for best bars in Italy, we did just that. We reserved a table a few months in advance and didn’t think much about it until we arrived in Milan. There wasn’t much more information provided other than a booking confirmation to my email, so when we walked up to the little window below the address number 43, we had no idea what to expect. After confirming our information, the window snapped closed and the door swung open to reveal the smallest room. We stepped inside, feeling a little like Alice tumbling into Wonderland. The rest was magic. We were greeted by Giacomo, the bar manager for the space, who explained the bar was entirely ours for the next hour. There were no other guests. There were no menus. And behind him was a variety of bottles, tinctures, and glassware for anything we might want. We spent the entire hour entranced by Giacomo’s improvised potions and pleasant conversation. We can’t even tell you what we drank because those drinks can never be replicated again, but Alex continues to be haunted by Giacomo’s cocktail built with Bitter Fusetti Cacao, a local Italian liqueur that he spent the remainder of our trip searching for It was a transcendent experience, and one that I would highly recommend to any cocktail nerd visiting Milan. Just make sure to book well in advance!
Backdoor 43 Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 43, 20143 Milano MI, Italy Website
Paradise Lost, New York
A colleague had suggested Paradise Lost when visiting New York City, and I can’t believe I hadn’t come across it sooner. This East Village tiki riff feels like a tropical vacation in hell in all the best ways, removing the problematic cultural appropriation aspects of tiki and replacing them, quite literally, with campy demons and monsters. And if the interior décor wasn’t enough to get us all fired up (ahem – pun intended), then their cocktails sent us over the edge. Their Ancients (classic tiki cocktails) are playful and inventive, like their Saturn amped up with Thai chili. They sport a playful Uninitiated menu of clever non-alcoholic drinks, and don’t shy away from bowls and shareables in their Behemoths section. But in a portion of the menu called New Acolytes, the geniuses at Paradise Lost are doing some really amazing stuff with tiki-twists on modern cocktails. They’re infusing mezcal with Spam, and combining it with toasted rice syrup and Mexican rum for a pork-fried-rice play on an Old Fashioned. They’re fat-washing rum with pistachio and coconut, and mixing that with clarified matcha-infused gin, brandy and vermouth for their Martini. Who even does this? And while my first drink read like something out of my diary: Coconut Fat-Washed Bourbon, Scotch, Mango, Honey, Chinese 5-Spice, and Curry (Az’s Tsunami Kiss), it was actually an unassuming cocktail that stole my heart. Our server recommended Beelz’s Road Soda (Bajan and Jamaican Rums, Coconut, Pineapple, and Pandan), and I honestly ordered it more out of politeness than enthusiasm. Mistake made. Because I am ready to declare Beelz’s Road Soda my favorite cocktail of 2024. It was a clarified pina colada that was carbonated so perfectly that the toasted coconut was on full display. It was wizardry in a glass. Paradise Lost may have become my new favorite tiki bar and I am not sorry.
Paradise Lost 100 2nd Ave, New York, NY, 10003 paradiselost.nyc
Experimental Cocktail Club, Venice
This was our first visit to one of Experimental Group’s flagship bars, and it’s made us antsy to get to their other international locations. Located off the large Giudecca Canal, we – per usual – arrived right at opening and right at sunset. The menus at each location differ, and our visit to the Venice location in Fall 2024 brought us “Veniceland,” a playful, funhouse-mirror version of the floating city with cocktails inspired by local history, traditions and legends. Everything we sipped was incredible - and accompanied by a bevy of aperitivo bar snacks. The thing that surprised us about Experimental Cocktail Club was that, even with a menu so creative and enticing, the majority of the patrons defaulted to Aperol spritzes. I’m sure they were immaculately made, but how anyone could turn down the opportunity to drink one of these original cocktails was beyond us. I obsessed over Corn Thief (Mitcher’s Bourbon, fino sherry, prime uve nere, and corn milk), a tribute to the city’s pigeons served from a custom vessel that matched a playful illustration on the menu. We chatted with the bartender about the meticulously-crafted garnishes and house-made syrups that made the drinks so unique, from a “spooky cordial” in their Haunted Mansion cocktail made with soy sauce to a house-bottled Cocai Cola with tamarind and kombucha (cokai is Venetian for seagull). A night out at Experimental Cocktail Club introduced us to one of the best aspects of Venice: the return to your hotel is a stroll down quiet Venetian streets, where globs of fresh gelato and slices of cheesy bread tempt you from their windows. And, in our case, an evening made more perfect because we had a little cat patiently waiting for us in our room. A perfect evening.
Experimental Cocktail Club Venice Fondamenta Zattere Al Ponte Lungo, 1410, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy experimentalcocktailclub.com/venice
Youngblood, San Diego
And so we come to Youngblood. It’s a location that’s impossible to capture because it’s different every time. Tucked away as a speakeasy within a speakeasy, Youngblood is another standout from San Diego’s CH Projects hospitality group. We’d fallen in love with their Raised By Wolves, so it’s no surprise that this intimate 16-seat bespoke cocktail experience feels like something out of my diary. Your 90-minute experience consists of three custom drinks that are made just for you. We visited twice in 2024 because we were infatuated, and both times, our trio of cocktails was unique and perfect. The bartenders are kind and precise, asking all the right questions and delivering a stunning array of sips. Alex – a lover of gin and a hater of negronis – challenged the mixologist to make him a “nice negroni” and was treated to a lovely concoction that changed his mind about negronis altogether. On my last visit, I prompted our server with something inspired by a peanut butter cup and was flat-out dazzled with a chocolate and rhubarb sipper that was so distinctively Reese’s that I almost punched a wall. The décor feels like sitting in a jewelry box, made all the more cheeky with the phallic décor snuck around the space. Youngblood is perfect and exclusive, and worth every bit of the wait to get a coveted reservation. Do it. Go there. Everyone deserves to experience Youngblood.
Youngblood 777 G St, San Diego, CA 92101 youngbloodsucks.com
We spent our 2024 looking for the unique, and these bars did not disappoint. We’re not real “resolution makers” on this site, but you can bet on us chasing down more delicious sips in the new year!
Thanks for stopping by Seriously Nerdy. Cheers to you!