Spain has won the World's Best Bar award two years running — Paradiso (2022), Sips (2023). The 10 below show how. From Barcelona's modern speakeasy revival (Paradiso, Sips, Dr Stravinsky) to Madrid's vermouth and sherry tradition (La Venencia, Viva Madrid) to Seville's 1670 institution El Rinconcillo (Spain's oldest tavern), this is the country that's currently the world's most exciting place to drink.
The 10 best bars in Spain
01 · Barcelona
Barcelona (El Born)
$$$
World #1 (2022) · Pastrami fridge
World's Best Bar 2022 — entered through a pastrami fridge.
Order: Supercool
02 · Barcelona
Barcelona (Eixample)
$$$
World #1 (2023) · Counter
World's Best Bar 2023 — stand-up counter only.
Order: Whatever Simone Caporale serves
03 · Madrid
Madrid (Las Letras)
$$
World #15 · Theatrical
Diego Cabrera's theatrical Las Letras cocktail bar.
Order: Chipotle Chillón
04 · Madrid
Madrid (Las Letras)
$
Iconic 1929 · Sherry only
Iconic 1929 sherry-only bar.
Order: A glass of Manzanilla, no photos
05 · Barcelona
Barcelona (El Born)
$$$
Iconic · Apothecary
Apothecary-styled cocktail laboratory.
Order: A bartender's-choice infusion
Weekly editorial
The bars worth going to, weekly.
One email per week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 60 cities worldwide.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
06 · Madrid
Madrid (Las Letras)
$$
Iconic 1856 · Tiles
Iconic 1856 Las Letras taberna.
Order: A vermouth on draft
07 · Barcelona
Barcelona (Raval)
$$
Iconic 1933
Barcelona's first cocktail bar — opened 1933.
Order: A Boadas Daiquiri
08 · Seville
Seville (Old Town)
$
Iconic 1670 · Spain's oldest
Iconic 1670 Seville taberna — Spain's oldest tavern.
Order: A glass of fino with the croquetas
09 · Madrid
Madrid (Gran Vía)
$$
Iconic 1931
Iconic 1931 Gran Vía cocktail bar.
Order: A Chicote Old Fashioned
10 · Valencia
Valencia (El Carmen)
$$
Iconic · Aigua de València
Iconic El Carmen bar — invented Aigua de València.
Order: An Aigua de València
The full guide, city by city
Each entry below is a deep dive into the best 10 bars in that city — picked by editors who live there.
Browse the full Spain bar indexBars by Spanish city — every featured venue has a profile.
See the full list
What makes a great Spanish bar
Forget the tapas tour. The best Spanish bars work because they treat drinking as seriously as food — vermouth on draft, sherry by the glass, the world's best modern speakeasies. The 10 above all do that. Pick the city that matches the night you want.
