With a diverse hospitality scene boasting an incredible caliber of watering holes ranging from elegant cocktail bars to cozy neighborhood taprooms, it comes as no surprise that Chicago is consistently attributed awards and accolades.
This week, however, Chicago outdid itself in The World’s 50 Best 2024 list of the Best Bars in North America which were announced last night (Tuesday, April 24) during a ceremony hosted at Live Aqua in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Decided by a vote of 500 drinks experts, the ranking provides “the ultimate guide to the continent’s top bars and drinking destinations” and this year was Chicago’s best year to date with 3 different Chicago establishments making the cut and 2 recognized with special awards.
Highest up the list was the returning Kumiko which has represented Chicago for the last two years running. Following an eighth-place ranking in last year’s list and a 25th-place finish in the list of the 100 best bars in the world, this year Kumiko was placed at number 19 and named The Best Bar in Midwest for the third year.
Located on the corner of Lake and Desplaines, 630 West Lake Street in West Loop, Bar Kumiko, is “a Japanese Dining Bar” according to the bar’s website which calls itself “an expression of elegance, commitment, and passion, from the mind of creative director and bartender Julia Momosé.”
The ranking paid tribute to Momosé’s “signature elegance and razor-sharp attention to detail” that go into the drinks while highlighting the sophisticated bar’s minimal interiors, flower arrangements, and offering as a “quiet and upscale respite from the bustle of Chicago’s West Loop bar scene.”
Last year Kumiko was joined for the first time by the eight-seat microbar Milk Room located inside the Chicago Athletic Association. This year, while Milk Room unfortunately misses out, two new entries make it in.
The first of these is the young and exciting Meadowlark which came in at number 32 and was also awarded the individual award of Best Cocktail Menu Award 2024.
“Since opening in late 2022, Chicago bar Meadowlark has embodied the spirit of the Windy City in look, feel, and ethos,” wrote The World’s 50 Best. “It is a welcoming, cozy drinking den where neighborhood regulars rub elbows with industry types and tourists alike — and the bar’s menu is no exception, as each drink similarly celebrates the culture of the Midwest.”
The bar’s 2023 The Magic City menu received special mention for exploring the lasting impact of the World’s Fair of 1893 on the city of Chicago through 16 cocktails inspired by World Fair landmarks accompanied with historical notes.
Slightly further down the list was Logan Square’s Best Intentions, another new entry this year, which squeezed into North America’s 50 Best Bars list at 48th.
“Sometimes it is the most unassuming of neighborhood bars that leave the biggest mark on the drinking culture of a city, and that’s certainly the case with Best Intentions,” wrote The World’s 50 Best.
“A beloved neo-dive with a thoroughly Midwestern vibe. A true community gathering place that has more than its fair share of Logan Square regulars. One could easily spend an hour perusing all of the quirky photographs and artwork lining the bar’s wood-paneled walls.”
The final Chicago shoutout went to the bar-cum-bowling alley Avondale Bowl which took home the inaugural Bareksten Best Bar Design Award.
Having first started out as a classic, all-American bowling alley, Avondale Bowl won the award for its “thoughtfully and reverently crafted space” which blends new and old.
“Housed in a nondescript building decorated only by a small neon sign, you’d be forgiven for not realizing what lies beneath as you stroll along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago” reads the eulogy.
“The bar itself is almost entirely new and flooded with light thanks to the ingeniously installed central skylight. What has remained, however, is the curved mahogany bar rail that sweeps around, creating an inviting and stylish place to prop yourself and enjoy one of the bar’s 80s-inspired cocktails.”
The list was dominated by bars in New York and Mexico City with each city boasting 4 in the top 10 alone. It was the latter that took the crown with Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City’s Colonia Juarez neighborhood named the Best Bar in North America 2024.
New York bar’s Superbueno and Overstory came in second and third respectively.