In a narrow street in central Athens sits the most decorated rum bar in the world. Baba au Rum has spent well over a decade on The World's 50 Best Bars, powered by a back bar of more than 400 rums and the vision of its founder Thanos Prunarus. This is why we rank it the third best rum bar on earth.
A rum and cocktail society in the heart of Athens
Baba au Rum opened in central Athens in 2009 and has played a defining role in shaping the city's modern cocktail identity ever since. It describes itself, memorably, as a rum and cocktail society, a phrase that signals both its specialism and its ambition to be a community around the spirit rather than simply a place to drink. Founded by Thanos Prunarus, it arrived at a moment when Greece was not on anyone's map of world-class drinking, and it proceeded to put Athens firmly there.
What makes the achievement so striking is the room itself. Baba au Rum is not a sprawling flagship; it is an intimate, warmly lit bar on Klitiou Street, a short walk from Syntagma Square, with a personality closer to a beloved neighbourhood haunt than an international institution. That a room this size has become one of the most awarded bars in Europe, and a global reference point for rum, tells you everything about the quality of what happens inside it.
Thanos Prunarus, the founder
Baba au Rum is inseparable from the man who created it. Thanos Prunarus studied hospitality management at the University of Crete, a course wide-ranging enough to include mixology, before moving to London in 1998, in his late twenties, to work in the trade. Starting as a waiter in Covent Garden and other establishments, he was drawn into the cocktail world at exactly the moment London was becoming its global capital, and he brought that education home to Athens.
Since founding Baba au Rum, Prunarus has become the leading evangelist for rum in Greece and a respected voice in the wider drinks community, involved in rum education and events that have helped build an appreciation for the category in a market that once had little. His advocacy is part of why Baba au Rum reads as more than a bar: it is a mission with a room attached, and that sense of purpose is felt in the seriousness of the pours and the knowledge of the team, which has included well-regarded bartenders such as Elias Stergiopoulos.
The rum collection
The back bar is the reason rum lovers travel to Athens. More than 400 rums line the shelves at Baba au Rum, making it one of the most comprehensively stocked rum programmes anywhere in Europe. The range is deliberately broad and deep: agricultural rhums from Martinique and Guadeloupe, aged expressions from Jamaica and Barbados, funkier pot-still productions, and a tier of vintage and rare bottles that serious collectors travel specifically to encounter.
That breadth turns a visit into an opportunity to taste across the whole spectrum of the spirit, guided by staff who genuinely know the collection. For a drinker wanting to understand the differences between a grassy agricole, a heavy Demerara and a funky Jamaican pot-still rum, few bars on the continent offer a better classroom, and fewer still pair that depth with cocktails of this calibre.
What to drink
Baba au Rum balances faithful classics with inventive originals, and its menu rewards exploration. The namesake house cocktail is a signature worth ordering: a take on the daiquiri built around Barceló Imperial rum with sweet sherry, vanilla, oak, basil and lime, a drink that captures the bar's blend of tropical roots and modern refinement. Among the other creations, the Supremus, a riff on the classic Ti Punch enriched with falernum, tea and summer fruits, shows the same instinct for taking a rum foundation somewhere unexpected.
The tiki canon is treated with respect, too. The menu runs to fiery Zombies, including the bar's own Baba's Zombie and Star-5-Zombie, and a Mai Tai made to Trader Vic's original 1944 recipe, alongside more recent, ingredient-driven builds. Whether you want a precise classic, an adventurous original or simply a great neat pour from the collection, the bar delivers, and its willingness to move between tradition and invention is a large part of its appeal.
The atmosphere
Part of Baba au Rum's charm is that it wears its accolades lightly. The room is small, convivial and unpretentious, with a warmth that makes it feel like a local secret even as the awards pile up. It is the kind of place where you can perch at the bar, strike up a conversation with a bartender about rum, and lose an evening happily. That accessibility, combined with world-class drinks, is unusual: many of the most decorated bars can feel like temples, whereas Baba au Rum manages to be both a serious rum destination and a genuinely enjoyable hang.
Awards and recognition
Few bars anywhere can match Baba au Rum's record of sustained recognition. It has appeared on The World's 50 Best Bars for well over a decade of consecutive years, an extraordinary run of consistency, and it was ranked No. 27 on the 2025 list. In 2025 it also received the Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award, a special honour recognising bars with a long and distinguished presence on the ranking. It features prominently on Europe's 50 Best Bars as well, cementing its status as one of the continent's essential rooms. For a rum specialist of this scale to earn such durable acclaim is genuinely rare.
Who should go, and who shouldn't
Baba au Rum is the ideal bar for anyone who wants to explore rum at the highest level in a warm, unstuffy setting. It suits the enthusiast who wants to taste rare and unusual bottlings, the cocktail lover who wants both faultless classics and creative originals, and the traveller who wants to experience a genuine world-class bar without the formality that sometimes accompanies that status. If you are in Athens and care about drinks at all, it is essential.
It is a less obvious pick for those seeking a large venue, bottle service or a spirit other than rum; this is a small room built around the cane spirit, and it is busiest in the evenings. Arrive ready to sit, taste and talk, and it rewards you richly.
The verdict
Baba au Rum ranks third on our list because it pairs one of Europe's deepest rum collections with a level of critical recognition almost no other rum specialist has sustained, all inside a room that never loses its warmth. It gives up ground to Smuggler's Cove and Trailer Happiness only on sheer scale and on their longer roles in the tiki story; on the quality of its rum programme and the strength of its accolades, it stands with anyone. Thanos Prunarus set out to prove that world-class rum culture need not be confined to London or the tropics, and Baba au Rum is the emphatic, award-laden proof. It is one of the great rum bars of the world, and a joy to drink in.
Athens and the making of a scene
To understand why Baba au Rum matters, it helps to picture the city it opened into. In 2009, Athens was not on the international drinking map, and Greece had little in the way of a modern craft-cocktail culture. Baba au Rum was among the venues that changed that, and in the years since, the Greek capital has become one of Europe's most exciting cocktail cities, with multiple bars now appearing on continental and global rankings. Baba au Rum is widely credited as a founding room of that movement, the place that proved world-class drinks could be made in Athens and helped train and inspire the bartenders who followed.
Its setting reinforces the point. The bar sits on Klitiou Street, in the tangle of lanes between Syntagma Square and the old commercial district, a short walk from the ancient heart of the city. There is a pleasing contrast in drinking some of the world's most decorated rum cocktails in a small, characterful room in a city better known for two and a half thousand years of history than for tropical spirits. That sense of the unexpected is part of the bar's charm, and part of why visiting drinkers make a point of seeking it out.
How to approach the rum list
With more than 400 rums on the back bar, Baba au Rum can be as deep or as easy as you want it to be. For a newcomer, the smart move is to lean on the staff and the cocktail menu, which is designed to introduce the spirit through approachable, balanced drinks such as the house Baba au Rum and the tropical classics. For the more experienced, the collection is an invitation to explore, and the bar's team can steer you toward the grassy agricoles of the French islands, the funky pot-still rums of Jamaica, the richer aged expressions of Barbados and Guyana, or the rare vintage bottlings that draw collectors.
The pleasure of a bar like this is that a single visit can be a genuine tasting education. Order a cocktail to start, then ask for a neat pour or two that contrast styles, and you will leave understanding rum better than when you arrived. That combination of encyclopedic depth and welcoming guidance, delivered without a trace of intimidation, is exactly what has kept Baba au Rum on the world's best-bar lists for well over a decade.
Frequently asked questions
What is Baba au Rum best known for? Two things: one of the deepest rum collections in Europe, at more than 400 bottles, and an exceptional run of recognition on The World's 50 Best Bars, where it reached No. 27 in 2025 and also received the Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award.
What should you order? The namesake Baba au Rum cocktail, a refined daiquiri riff, is the signature to try. The Supremus, a Ti Punch riff, and the bar's takes on the Zombie and the classic 1944 Mai Tai are also standouts, and neat pours from the collection reward the curious.
Is it a large venue? No. Baba au Rum is an intimate, warmly lit room, which is part of its appeal. It is busiest in the evenings, so arriving earlier gives you a better chance of a relaxed seat at the bar.
Do you need to know about rum to enjoy it? Not at all. The cocktail menu is welcoming to newcomers, and the staff are generous guides. The depth is there if you want it, but the bar is designed to be enjoyed at any level of knowledge.
Who is behind it? Founder Thanos Prunarus, one of the leading figures in Greek drinks culture and a tireless advocate for rum, who opened the bar in 2009 and has guided it ever since.
How does Baba au Rum fit into the Athens bar scene? It is widely regarded as one of the founding rooms of the city's now-celebrated cocktail culture. Athens has become one of Europe's most exciting drinking cities, with several bars on continental and global rankings, and Baba au Rum helped make that possible while remaining the definitive rum specialist among them.
Is it worth travelling for? For a rum lover, yes. Between the depth of the collection, the quality of the cocktails and a record on The World's 50 Best Bars that stretches across more than a decade, it is one of the essential rum destinations in Europe and a highlight of any drinks-focused trip to Greece.
What is the single reason to go? To drink from one of the deepest and most decorated rum programmes on the continent, in a room that manages to be world-class and completely unpretentious at the same time. Baba au Rum proves that you do not need to be in London, San Francisco or the Caribbean to experience rum at the highest level, and for the curious drinker willing to lean on the staff and explore the collection, few bars anywhere offer a richer or more welcoming education in the spirit.
Details such as opening hours, menu specifics and the size of the rum selection change over time; please confirm directly with the bar before visiting. Facts in this review are drawn from public sources including the bar's own materials and established drinks-industry press, in line with our editorial policy. Drink responsibly.