These 4 Chicago bars were just ranked some of the best in North America
Raise your glass, Chicago: four local bars just landed on the 2025 North America 50 Best Bars list—and a fifth is already being hailed as the next big thing.
The newly announced ranking celebrates cocktail excellence across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, with Chicago's Kumiko leading the city's showing at number 10 and earning the title of Best Bar in the Midwest USA, sponsored by Tia Maria.
But Kumiko isn't just a bar—it's a meditative escape in the West Loop. Created by Julia Momosé and the team behind Oriole, it's a place where welcome tea replaces party shots. The bar's serene, wood-accented omakase counter boasts just eight seats, where diners taste a progression of Japanese-influenced bites like seaweed-slicked uni, wagyu glazed in black garlic molasses and milk toast crowned with fermented honey ice cream, paired with imaginative sake and shochu cocktails. If mindfulness could be distilled and served in a glass, it might taste like Kumiko.
And then there's Lemon, which hasn't even cracked the top 50—yet. The cocktail spot was named the Campari One To Watch, an award given to a standout bar poised to make the list in the near future.
At the top of this year's ranking? Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, which held onto its number 1 spot for the second year in a row.
The 50 best bars in North America in 2025, according to 50 Best Bars:
1. Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City 2. Superbueno in New York 3. Tlecān in Mexico City 4. Jewel of the South in New Orleans 5. Sip & Guzzle in New York 6. Overstory in New York 7. Bar Pompette in Toronto 8. El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara 9. Licorería Limantour in Mexico City 10. Kumiko in Chicago 11. Clemente Bar in New York 12. Mírate in Los Angeles 13. Café La Trova in Miami 14. Bar Mauro in Mexico City 15. Martiny's in New York 16. Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco 17. True Laurel in San Francisco 18. Employees Only in New York 19. Double Chicken Please in New York 20. Baltra Bar in Mexico City 21. Civil Liberties in Toronto 22. Aruba Day Drink in Tijuana 23. Service Bar in Washington DC 24. Thunderbolt in Los Angeles 25. Best Intentions in Chicago 26. Botanist Bar in Vancouver 27. Arca in Tulum 28. The Keefer Bar in Vancouver 29. Selva in Oaxaca 30. Library by the Sea in Grand Cayman 31. Cloakroom in Montreal 32. La Factoría in San Juan 33. Maison Premiere in New York 34. Bijou Drinkery Room in Mexico City 35. Hanky Panky in Mexico City 36. Atwater Cocktail Club in Montreal 37. Bar Mordecai in Toronto 38. Meadowlark in Chicago 39. Bisous in Chicago 40. Kaito del Valle in Mexico City 41. Yacht Club in Denver 42. Katana Kitten in New York 43. Angel's Share in New York 44. Mother in Toronto 45. Allegory in Washington DC 46. Dante in New York 47. Café de Nadie in Mexico City 48. Silver Lyan in Washington DC 49. Bekeb in San Miguel de Allende 50.
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