Best Bars in America: How USA TODAY picked the 2025 finalists
Was it the one where you first discovered a pre-Prohibition-era cocktail, shaken by a bartender who figured out your tastes? Or was it the one where you slid onto your favorite barstool and ordered your favorite draught beer? Maybe it's the one where you watched the sun set over the water, margarita in hand.
Our USA TODAY Network food writers have these favorite bars, too. And we are sharing them with you. With more than 200 sites in 42 states, the experts at our publications nominated the best bars where they live.
We gathered their suggestions – speakeasies and honky tonk joints, cocktail meccas and neighborhood dives – to create the 2025 USA TODAY Bars of the Year, a companion to our Restaurants of the Year list published earlier this year.
More: What's the best restaurant near you? Check out USA TODAY's 2025 Restaurants of the Year.
We realize other 'best bars' lists exist. What makes our list different? Our writers are not flying into a city for a weekend to check out what others have already reported or posted on Instagram. They work for our newspapers and websites across the country. They live in these communities. And the bars they recommend are spots where they have spent more than a few late nights.
"Great bars – the best bars – can mean different things to different people," said project leader Liz Johnson, senior director for NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network. "Delighting in an inventive new cocktail in a sleek setting might be the bee's knees for some. Others might love to chill out with a whiskey and listen to some great music. This list has the best of all worlds."
Whether you want to sip whiskey in South Dakota, dance the night away in Nashville or soak up the sun in Florida, our writers can show you where to go.
We asked for their favorites, and then a team of experienced editors narrowed that list down to 29 bars, ranging from humble dives to high-end lounges. We present them to you here.
Now, raise a glass and savor our USA TODAY Bars of the Year 2025.
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