The leaders of Handshake Speakeasy of Mexico City captured the No. 1 prize at the North America’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony in Vancouver on Tuesday night. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
For years, Canada’s food and drink scene has felt underrepresented on the global stage. That has changed dramatically in 2025, because of initiatives from the World’s 50 Best program.
Operated by United Kingdom-based William Reed, a marketing research and publishing company, the organization’s annual rankings have propelled interest in restaurants and bars around the world. Canada has felt left out, though. The nation’s leading restaurants don’t crack the coveted Top 50 and deserving chefs and restaurateurs are left frustrated and feeling disrespected. While the Michelin guide has brought broader recognition to Toronto and Vancouver, it is a program focused on urban centres, leaving destination establishments — of which Canada has many — off the radar.
Although North America’s 50 Best Bars was established in 2022, this year marked the first time that a ceremony was held to recognize the rankings. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
In March, the World’s 50 Best announced the launch of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants and on Tuesday night North America’s 50 Best Bars was celebrated at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver Hotel. Attended by 1,100 people, many coming to the city from leading cocktail bars in the United States, Mexico and elsewhere, the event was the first that the World’s 50 Best brand has held in Canada. It marks a deepening commitment to recognize the country and its achievements in food and drink.
Claudia Cabrera of Mexico City’s Kaito del Valle, ranked No. 4o in 2025, had spent 10 months living in Vancouver in 2012 and witnessed a noticeable shift during her week in the city for the festivities.
“It has changed so much. When I was here, there was maybe one or two cocktail bars, now there is a whole scene. There are so many,” said Cabrera, who in 2024 was named the Icon of the Year for the awards. “And it’s not just Vancouver. In all of Canada, the scene is really good.”
Amber Bruce, beverage director at The Keefer Bar, the downtown Vancouver pioneer that ranked No. 28, concurs. She said that the change in the number of bars is also matched by the knowledge of the consumer.
“Cocktail tourism is huge. Back in 2010, there was a smaller more niche group of people who would go to the cocktail bars and now people are coming to Vancouver with the intention to eat and drink. That’s what I do when I travel, too,” she said. “The average guest is a lot more informed now and that keeps us on our toes.”
The Botanist Bar was the highest-ranking Vancouver entry among the 2025 list of North America’s 50 Best Bars. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
Among the 2025 North America’s 50 Best Bars, Toronto led the Canadian representation, landing four bars in the primary rankings and another five in the secondary 51-100 list. Bar Pompette, the standout in Little Italy, ranked No. 7 on the continent and earned the Best Hospitality Award prize. The Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim placed 26th overall, the highest ranking Vancouver entry, and Montreal’s 25-seat The Cloakroom was 31st.
Top spot went to Handshake Speakeasy, the renowned star of Mexico City that is also rated the No. 1 bar in the world by the 50 Best group.
Perhaps more importantly than the single-night gala was the lasting impact of the awards on Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. There are huge numbers of consumers who travel the globe to try the establishments that make the rankings. The positive effects on a business and its destination can be life-changing, said Max Wolff, co-founder of the Caribbean’s No. 1-rated bar, The Library Bar by the Sea in the Cayman Islands.
“When we first opened, people would come in not knowing what we had to offer. They would then go off for their dinner and come back to spend the rest of their night with us. Now, people arrive with the intention to come to our bar every night,” Wolff said, calling the recognition that the World’s 50 Best and its affiliated rankings provide as a “seal of approval of quality.”
“They come in with an expectation of greatness whereas before you had to win people over. Now they’re won over before they walk in the door and they’re saying, ‘Okay, show us what you’ve got.’”
Held at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver Hotel, the North America’s 50 Best Bars ceremony featured global leaders in the drinks scene pouring classics and new novelties. Campari offered up the beloved negroni, of course. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)
The Library Bar by the Sea is emblematic of the movement towards truly artistic and sophisticated cocktail bars, tying in culture and history to tell a story of a place. Dedicated to literature, the bar features cocktails devoted to famous works of prose and poetry. They are matched with drinks, such as the E. Hemingway Special that sells for about $400 USD and includes Bacardi rum from 1930s Cuba, a pre-Revolution rarity that is nearly impossible to find anywhere. It’s among the vintage spirits collection that Wolff and his team have amassed, and which drive connoissuers to them.
They’re doing what Eric van Beek, the visionary behind Handshake Speakeasy, says bartenders and bar owners must do to ascend the rankings. Specifically about the country that was hosting the event, Van Beek said, “You have to do something unique. Don’t follow the masses. Try to invent your own and put Canada on the map in its own way.”
Disclosure: Vacay.ca Publisher and Managing Editor is the Western Canada Chair for North America’s 50 Best Restaurants, a program operated by the World’s 50 Best group.
