Comeback of the Year 2025
The room everyone had written off — and the team who quietly fixed it.
A full editorial reset. The team behind Bar High Five took the room down to its bones in 2024, rebuilt the cocktail programme over six months, and reopened to a quietly brilliant first quarter of 2025. Voted Comeback of the Year by all five barsforKings editors.
How the vote works
All five barsforKings regional editors submit a shortlist after the year's final round of visits in early December. Shortlists are debated at the December editorial meeting; ties are broken by the senior editor for the relevant region. Final winners are ratified before the second Tuesday of January.
No bar can pay to appear on a shortlist. Sponsorships do not influence editorial decisions. Past winners are reviewed annually and may be moved to the Hall of Fame after a third consecutive top-five finish.