Barcelona’s bar scene is vibrant and diverse, offering something for everyone, whether you’re into trendy cocktail bars, traditional taverns, or lively nightclubs. Barcelona boasts several bars that are ranked among the best in the world. During our trip to the city, we stopped in three of their best bars.

Dr Stravinsky
Much of Dr Stravinsky’s cocktail menu is focused on their in-house ingredients that are carefully fermented and distilled. They use a lot of different techniques to develop their ingredients, including fat washing, vacuum cooking, cold brew dripping, milk washing, and macerative aging. The bar itself has a fun theme with infusing jars lining the walls and old-school lab equipment all over. Their menu is divided into several categories, such as sweet, fruity, spicy, etc. that are represented on a world map. You can use the map to figure out which combination route that you want to explore with each drink.

We tried a variety of drinks at Dr Stravinsky, including the Cheese Knees, which has Roku Gin, Laphroaig, cheese and ginger syrup, lemon, and honeycomb. This was so cheesy, but also oddly good at the same time. The gin and Laphroaig made it a bit smokey alongside the sweetness of the honey. For my second drink, I had the Date Me, which has Zacapa rum, Branca Menta, strawberry shrub, sage cordial, cocoa bitters, and chocolate dates. This was fruity with just a touch of sweetness and acidity.

The interior of the bar is super interesting and we had a great time. We never felt rushed – or that we had to get more drinks. It’s laid back, and chill.

Paradiso
Hidden behind a pastrami sandwich shop in El Born, Paradiso its unique speakeasy concept and innovative drinks. On San Pellegrino’s The World’s 50 Best Bars list, it currently ranks #10. In 2022, Paradiso held the top spot. In addition to creative cocktails, Paradiso is also known for its commitment to sustainability, employing zero-waste practices in cocktail crafting. On Thursdays, they run a Macallan Experience in their backroom speakeasy, where they craft 6 special cocktails using Macallan whiskey.

I am a big Scotch whisky fan, so when I heard about their Macallan Experience, I knew that I had to book it. It’s a series of 6 mini-cocktail tastings along with nibbles. There’s a little bit of blindfolded activity happening during the tasting, so it was a very interactive experience. I really enjoyed it and all the drinks were great. It lasted about 1.5 hours and then we were offered the chance to have a drink in the main bar.

Between the two of us, we tried 6 of the drinks on the menu. One of the most unique drinks that I had was the Enigma, which was fruity and refreshing. I loved the presentation of this drink. We also had the Great Gatsby, which was very strong and a great old fashioned-themed drink. The Tlaloc, which was served in the cutest cup, was just a bit spicy. All of the drinks were excellently presented and were so much fun. The vibes in the bar were fantastic and it was just a super great time.

Sips
Sips, located in Barcelona’s Eixample district, held the title of the world’s best bar according to San Pellegrino’s 2023 World’s 50 Best Bars list. Currently, Sips is sitting at #3, in 2024’s list. In the back of Sips is Esencia, a separate space that focuses on curated tasting menus of mini cocktails, offering an immersive and experimental drinking experience. Esencia uses local ingredients and liquors to take you on a journey through Catalonia.

The bartenders in the Esencia space were wonderful – very friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. Esencia is basically a cocktail tasting menu. We had about 11 “courses” with 10 drinks or “sips” and a sweet treat at the very end. A lot of the drinks were absolutely fantastic. They really have it down to an art form and it’s definitely a very elevated experience. They really make great use of local ingredients to take us on a journey through Catalonia.