And 8 overall are in British Columbia!
Time to raise a toast to the top cocktail spots across the nation, with the announcement of the 2024 edition of Canada’s 50 Best Bars rankings.
Once again, Toronto drinks the competition under the table, with 19 of its watering holes ranking on the list, which was revealed on Monday, May 13 (alongside the 10th edition of the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list). Toronto’s Bar Pompette takes the top spot, ousting last year’s reigning champ Civil Liberties (which follows in second place).
Vancouver has a respectable four establishments on the list, with the venerable Keefer Bar taking 8th place. Laowai (17), Bagheera (20), and Botanist (21) round out the Vancouver cocktail bars that made the cut this time around.
Both The Keefer Bar and Botanist were recently named among North America’s 50 Best Bars of 2024, a separate ranking with different judges.
Bagheera, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar in Chinatown, is new to the list this year. The bar, which opened in early 2023, is accessed via the Happy Valley Turf Club storefront with a “secret password” and is themed along the lines of the era of Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling’s work.
Sadly, Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions, The Bar At L’Abattoir, Lobby Lounge, Bar Susu, and Key Party dropped off the list for 2024, after ranking last year.
Elsewhere in British Columbia, Clive’s Classic Lounge (15), Citrus & Cane (29), and Humboldt Bar (36) represent Victoria, and north of Vancouver, Whistler’s The Raven Room (23) appears in the top half of the cocktail bar rankings.
Canada’s 50 Best Bars of 2024
1 Bar Pompette (Toronto, ON)
2 Civil Liberties (Toronto, ON)
3 Cloakroom Bar (Montreal, QC)
4 Atwater Cocktail Club (Montreal, QC)
5 Bar Mordecai (Toronto, ON)
6 Library Bar at The Fairmont Royal York (Toronto, ON)
7 Dear Friend Bar (Dartmouth, NS)
8 The Keefer Bar (Vancouver, BC)
9 Cocktail Bar (Toronto, ON)
10 Proof (Calgary, AB)
11 Mother Cocktail Bar (Toronto, ON)
12 Coldroom (Montreal, QC)
13 Missy’s This That (Calgary, AB)
14 The Narrows Public House (Halifax, NS)
15 Clive’s Classic Lounge (Victoria, BC)
16 jjacques (Quebec City, QC)
17 Laowai (Vancouver, BC)
18 Cry Baby Gallery (Toronto, ON)
19 Clockwork (Toronto, ON)
20 Bagheera (Vancouver, BC)
21 Botanist (Vancouver, BC)
22 Bar Banane (Toronto, ON)
23 The Raven Room (Whistler, BC)
24 Overpressure Club (Toronto, ON)
25 Bar Raval (Toronto, ON)
26 BarChef (Toronto, ON)
27 El Pequeño (Montreal, QC)
28 Milky Way (Montreal, QC)
29 Citrus & Cane (Victoria , BC)
30 Rain Dog Bar (Calgary, AB)
31 416 Snack Bar (Toronto, ON)
32 Simpl Things (Toronto, ON)
33 Clementine (Edmonton, AB)
34 Reposado (Toronto, ON)
35 Gift Shop (Toronto, ON)
36 Humboldt Bar (Victoria, BC)
37 Bisou Bisou (Montreal, QC)
38 Nacarat (Montreal, QC)
39 Roost (Winnipeg, MB)
40 Bar Bricco (Edmonton, AB)
41 1608 (Quebec City, QC)
42 Pop Wine Bar (Saskatoon, SK)
43 Le Majestique (Montreal, QC)
44 Paper Lantern (Calgary, AB)
45 Archive (Toronto, ON)
46 Bar Henrietta (Montreal, QC)
47 The Bar At Alo (Toronto, ON)
48 Stillwell Beer Bar (Halifax, NS)
49 Paris Paris (Toronto, ON)
50 Baijiu & Little Hong Kong (Edmonton, AB)