For years the honest answer to "where is Dublin's cocktail scene?" was "behind London and Edinburgh, and catching up". In 2026 the city has receipts.

Bar 1661 enters the world list

On 23 September 2026, Bar 1661 on Green Street, off the top of Capel Street, was named No. 98 on The World's 50 Best Bars 51–100 list, a new entry and the only Irish venue on it. The bar built its name on poitín: one of the longest menus of modern poitíns anywhere, and a house serve, the Belfast Coffee, that put the spirit back on Irish back-bars. Its younger sibling, The Sackville Lounge, won Best Newcomer at the 2026 Bar of the Year Awards and is known for a savoury Olive Oil Martini.

Who won what this year

  • Irish Bar & Cocktail Awards 2026 (June, Mount Wolseley): Cocktail Bar of the Year overall went to Vintage Cocktail Club in Temple Bar, one of the city's first speakeasy-style rooms. 9 Below on St Stephen's Green won Interior Design, The Bath Pub took City Bar and Dog-Friendly Bar, Juno at Hera won Gastro Bar, The Whiskey Reserve won Whiskey Bar, and Daata in Blackrock was the Dublin regional winner for Signature Cocktail.
  • Bar of the Year Awards 2026 (24 August, Clayton Burlington Road): Café en Seine was City Bar of the Year, The Collins Club at The Leinster was Hotel Cocktail Bar, The Cellar Bar at The Merrion was Five-Star Hotel Bar, The George won People's Choice and Late Bar/Nightclub, and Rascals Brewing Company won Craft Bar. The overall Bar of the Year went to Pig's Lane in Killarney.

The hotels are back in the game

Three of the most talked-about cocktail rooms in the city are now inside hotels: Sidecar at The Westbury, where the Martini is shaken tableside from an art deco cart; The Collins Club at The Leinster; and Sophie's on the roof of The Dean, whose rooftop reopened after renovation in spring 2026. Add The Sitting Room above Delahunt on Camden Street and No Name Bar on Fade Street, and the city has a real circuit.

What the trade should take from it

  • Signature serves win awards and margin. Poitín, an olive-oil Martini, a tableside cart: the bars being recognised each own one drink. A pub with a decent back-bar can do the same with one well-made house cocktail at 78–82% GP.
  • Training is the gap. Hotel groups can staff a cocktail room with trained bartenders; independents often can't. That is why our cocktail foundations course is free, and why the certified bar exam exists.
  • Enter the awards. The Irish Pub Awards (LVA/VFI) has a Best Cocktail Experience category, free to enter for members; the national final is on 18 November 2026. The Bar of the Year Awards and Irish Bar & Cocktail Awards both run Cocktail Bar categories.

We will keep this page current. If your bar should be on it, tell us, with the drink you are known for.