100. U Zlateho Tygra * – Prague, Czechia – 8.4/10
The heart of Czech pub-going, this famous traditional pivnice opens at 3pm – at 2.40pm you’ll find a queue around the corner. Click the link above to find our full write up, where you’ll discover why it’s still worth joining that line.
99. Modus Vivendi – Santiago de Compostela, Spain – 8.4/10
A curious bunker venue set into a slope, fitted with cabinets full of trinkets and a further basement area for folk music performance. Colourful, characterful and quite outside of the everyday type drinking venue, Modus Vivendi means ‘way of living’. We love it.
98. Pravda Beer Theatre – Lviv, Ukraine – 8.4/10
Craft beer and a house orchestra compete for your attention, delighting the punters in this enormous, jolly and oddly kitsch venue; a format that works better than you’d think it would. An intriguing blend of formal and informal, traditional and modern.
97. Csillag EzPresszó – Győr, Hungary – 8.4/10
Virtually tourist-free, beautiful Győr provides a respite from snakes of backpackers, busloads of pensioners and hucksters trying to tempt you into sleazy strip joints. This doesn’t make it a sleepy place though – the centre is abuzz at night, and the core pub is Csillag Ezpresszó, named after ‘Csillag Utca’, or ‘Star Street’ where it is situated. Taking its design cues from ruin bars and the ephemera of Ezpresszós long gone (and never to return), the intimate blend of nostalgia – and Pálinka – will set you up for a wonderful evening.
96. Mulligan’s – Dublin, Republic of Ireland – 8.4/10
A beautiful, characterful old pub that’s a city centre institution without the Temple Bar crush. While relying on passing trade, and a little less neighbourly as a consequence, Mulligan’s has not lost its underlying charm, a venue that makes a virtue of its character and history. You’ll finder a wider choice here than in some nearby pubs which will appeal to those tiring of Guinness. Mind you, when the Guinness is this good it’s difficult to look past it.
95. WM Hawkes – Hull, UK – 8.4/10
A pub based in an old gunsmith’s workshop, the décor in here takes great inspiration from that and the heritage of Hull old town. Brooding and candle-lit, even during the day this dark, rickety drinking hole drums up a terrific atmosphere – there’s always a host of people around the bar having a natter. At night, it’s a veritable throwback – in a good way, even the window looks out onto the beautiful face of the Manchester Arms, opposite.
94. Ellato Kert – Budapest, Hungary – 8.4/10
While overshadowed by some famous neighbours, this ruin pub nailed al fresco courtyard drinking better than most. Colourful, lively and, when the crowd arrived, very atmospheric. After almost a decade, the place permanently closed as of November 24th 2019. We include it here for some great memories as it really is the end of an era.
93. Delerium Café – Brussels, Belgium – 8.4/10
While corners of this cavernous venue can become obnoxiously backpackery, there is simply too much to explore and too much good beer to ignore. With a buzzing atmosphere and hyper-social affability, wherever you look, any shortcomings are being comfortably compensated for – you’ll find a space that suits you.
92. El Bosc Des Les Fades * – Barcelona, Spain – 8.4/10
Expensive and full of tourists? Yes, but click above to read our full review to find out why none of that matters in the Forest of the Fairies – a venue which will make you reappraise what a bar even is.
91. Cittie of Yorke – London, UK – 8.4/10
Is it a port cellar, a covered market, or a bar? There’s an incongruous sense of place and time in here that makes it unlike any other pub. Stillness, dust motes hanging in the dusky light, it’s like a portal to escape the modern world. Even better, this is home to some of the cheapest drinks in London.
90. Bar Marsella * – Barcelona, Spain – 8.4/10
Saved by the city council at a cost of 1.5 million euros. Follow the link above to discover what makes this century-old absinth bar in El Raval district worth saving.
89. The Blake Hotel * – Sheffield, UK – 8.4/10
Raised from the dead, this corner pub perched on a steep slope is part of a mission to revive the neighbourhood local. Follow the above link to our full write-up!
88. Pivnice Jamajka – Prague, Czechia – 8.5/10
87. Orzo Bruno * – Pisa, Italy – 8.5/10
86. Bodega Bellver – Palma di Mallorca, Spain – 8.5/10
A tiny kitchen pumping out pintxos and an old maestro plucking ice cold beers from a chest freezer, this small bodega comprised 90% of upturned barrels and candle wax is refreshingly unpretentious with a great feel of each 99 years to pass since its opening. A great alternative to Palma’s largely bland and stuffy central tapas bars.
85. Circus Tavern – Manchester, UK – 8.5/10
The smallest pub in the city – and one of the oldest – expect to find a tiny bar more akin to a hotel reception desk, and two snugs. So small, it bends the boundaries of what can be considered a pub. This place is not for everyone, but equally isn’t trying to be: If you can stomach the Manchester United décor and equally brash clientele keen on a late night sing-song, you’ll be swept along with the fun.
84. Oldenburg – Madrid, Spain – 8.5/10
This attractive blend of neighbourhood kneipe, brown café and simple bodega, offers exceptional beer offerings, tapas that grows in size after each order, and great atmosphere, whether quiet or busy – be warned the venue bursts at the seams by midnight. Unusually for us, we also recommend seating yourself by the bar, an attractive and inviting corner of the room.
83. Headrow House – Leeds, UK – 8.5/10
Several multi-use floors to explore, and two rooftop terraces, you’ll find tasteful décor of soft green and woozy orange lights, with the increasingly passé but nevertheless well-designed exposed industrial features of pipes, metal stanchions and pillars which guide you towards its former use. Headrow House is full of space and stocked with many amenities, but check their bar offerings – a carefully chosen array of drinks (the house beer being the exquisite tankovna Pilsner Urquell). We are pleased to report they have even democratised the pricing and improved customer service of late. The cornerstone of a night out in Leeds.
82. T.E.A Time – Krakow, Poland – 8.5/10
Though on the periphery, we included T.E.A Time on our suggested Bar Crawl (Click here!) through Krakow’s Jewish Quarter Kazimierz for good reason. Home brewed English style gravity-pulled hand-pumped cask ale (you know, the sort you can barely find anywhere in continental Europe) in good condition and an attractive simple corner pub that shows good taste and restraint, proving in the process that English-influenced bars don’t have to be strewn with Union Jacks and red phone boxes.
81. Lamb & Flag – London, UK – 8.5/10
With its Georgian interior and lurid back story of street fighting, you’ll feel the history seeping through during your visit. Unfortunately what could be one of the top 20 or 30 best pubs in the world loses points as inevitably the tourist churn in Covent Garden leaves it without the cast of regulars and sense of community it may otherwise have. As it is, it’s simply a very good pub in spite of that. As much as we hate seat reservations in pubs, they could take a leaf out of Prague’s book to help restore a crowd of local regulars in the evening.
