Double Chicken Please has been named the Best Bar in North America for 2023 by The World’s 50 Best Bars. The New York-based bar received the award during a ceremony at Hacienda Los Picachos in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Last year, during the 2022 World’s 50 Best Bar Awards, DCP was dubbed the sixth best part on the planet.
North America’s 50 Best Bars features establishments from across the continent, including the USA, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy ranked No.2 and claimed the title of The Best Bar in Mexico. Last year’s winner, New York City’s Katana Kitten, ranked No.3.
Toronto’s Civil Liberties (No.12) wins the title of The Best Bar in Canada for the second year in a row, while Puerto Rico’s La Factoría, at No.24, retains its title of The Best Bar in the Caribbean. Overall, the USA leads the list with 28 bars, with Mexico fielding 14, Canada boasting seven, and the Caribbean celebrating one top bar.
The brainchild of GN Chan and Faye Chen, Double Chicken Please is a groundbreaking New York City bar with a cocktail program based on the concept of “hacking design.” Drinks are inspired by food and food is inspired by drinks, creating surprising, delightful and unexpected sensory experiences. We caught up with the bar last year and they taught us how to make two of their top cocktails, Cold Pizza and Japanese Cold Noodles.
“We commend Double Chicken Please and its visionary founders, GN Chan and Faye Chen, for reaching the peak of cocktail excellence on the North American continent,” said Mark Sansom, Content Director for 50 Best. “Double Chicken Please is truly pushing the boundaries of flavor in cocktails and doing so with staggering creativity and precision, not to mention a wonderful sense of humor, humility and always flawless hospitality. This remarkable achievement did not come overnight. The duo persevered through the very challenging days of the pandemic, never once compromising their original vision for cocktails inspired by food dishes, even though their dream bar’s very viability was at risk. They not only survived but thrived, sending joyful shockwaves through the New York City drinks community that have reverberated across North America and globally. We congratulate GN, Faye and the team at Double Chicken Please for this deserved accolade, as well as all the other fantastic bars on this year’s list.”
Elisa Gregori, Perrier Global Business Unit Director, says: “Since its presence on the tables of the best bars and hotels in the 1800’s, Perrier has always had deep historic roots with the North American continent. Today, Perrier is proud to be the leading partner of North America’s 50 Best Bars and excited to be able to return for a second edition in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It’s our honor to recognize the hard work, creativity and innovation of the talented bartenders, mixologists and professionals who continue to elevate the international bar scene daily. Having our roots in the French café society, we’re proud to commemorate and shine a spotlight on the exceptional talents behind the awarded North America’s 50 Best Bars. The entire Perrier team is grateful to the bar community for the hard work and dedication that goes into creating unforgettable experiences for all who enter your doors. We raise our glass to you, congratulations!”
Among the evening’s other highlights, New York City’s Manhatta was presented the Campari One To Watch, an accolade given to a bar outside the main list that the 50 Best team believes has the ability to break into the ranking in future editions.
Allegory (No.45) in Washington, D.C., earned the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award. The pioneering menu allegorically tells the story of Civil Rights Activist Ruby Bridges as seen through the lens of Alice in Wonderland. Any bar on the North American continent was eligible to enter this award, which is graded by a panel of Academy Chairs. The Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award was introduced in 2021 and rewards innovation, design, drinks craft, and idea communication.
Julio Cabrera of Miami’s Café La Trova (No.9) received the Roku Industry Icon award. For this award, all 260 members of the voting Academy are asked to name the person who has done more for the progress of the bar industry than any other individual. The Cuban-born bartending legend is credited with transplanting the island nation’s proud cantinero-style to the U.S., where it has taken root and flourishes at Café La Trova in a high energy, modern guise.
Mexico City’s Rayo earned the London Essence Best New Opening title at No.17, as the bar that enters the list in the highest position of any that have opened during the voting period. Rayo celebrates Mexican and global spirits in cocktails that tell stories. Its name is inspired by the legend of the goddess Mayahuel, who took the form of an agave plant. When struck by a lightning bolt (rayo), it released a liquid that, when fermented, became pulque.
Denver’s Yacht Club, owned by Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges, nabbed the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award, which is bestowed on a bar that demonstrates the strongest commitment to sustainability. The Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award is independently adjudicated by 50 Best’s audit partner, the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
Additional special award winners announced in the run-up to the May 4 event included Vancouver’s Botanist Bar, which was feted with the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award and Christine Wiseman of Bar Lab Hospitality in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles, was celebrated as the winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award.
1-50 LIST
| Position | Bar | City |
| 1 | Double Chicken Please | New York City |
| 2 | Handshake Speakeasy | Mexico City |
| 3 | Katana Kitten | New York City |
| 4 | Licorería Limantour | Mexico City |
| 5 | Jewel of the South | New Orleans |
| 6 | Dante | New York City |
| 7 | Overstory | New York City |
| 8 | Kumiko | Chicago |
| 9 | Café La Trova | Miami |
| 10 | Thunderbolt | Los Angeles |
| 11 | Zapote Bar | Playa del Carmen |
| 12 | Civil Liberties | Toronto |
| 13 | Attaboy | New York City |
| 14 | Employees Only | New York City |
| 15 | Bar Pompette | Toronto |
| 16 | Baltra Bar | Mexico City |
| 17 | Rayo | Mexico City |
| 18 | Mace | New York City |
| 19 | Botanist Bar | Vancouver |
| 20 | Hanky Panky | Mexico City |
| 21 | El Gallo Altanero | Guadalajara |
| 22 | Sabina Sabe | Oaxaca |
| 23 | Arca | Tulum |
| 24 | La Factoriìa | San Juan |
| 25 | Café de Nadie | Mexico City |
| 26 | Kaito del Valle | Mexico City |
| 27 | Herbs & Rye | Las Vegas |
| 28 | Pacific Cocktail Haven | San Francisco |
| 29 | Martiny’s | New York City |
| 30 | Death & Co (Los Angeles) | Los Angeles |
| 31 | Selva | Oaxaca |
| 32 | Atwater Cocktail Club | Montreal |
| 33 | Service Bar | Washington, D.C. |
| 34 | Sweet Liberty | Miami |
| 35 | Cloakroom | Montreal |
| 36 | Cure | New Orleans |
| 37 | Mother | Toronto |
| 38 | Milk Room | Chicago |
| 39 | Maison Premiere | New York City |
| 40 | Aruba Day Drink | Tijuana |
| 41 | Bar Leather Apron | Honolulu |
| 42 | Yacht Club | Denver |
| 43 | Bar Mordecai | Toronto |
| 44 | The Dead Rabbit | New York City |
| 45 | Allegory | Washington, D.C. |
| 46 | Clover Club | New York City |
| 47 | Brujas | Mexico City |
| 48 | Platform 18 | Phoenix |
| 49 | Youngblood | San Diego |
| 50 | Milady’s | New York City |
For more information, head over to the World’s 50 Best Bars’ official website.