Moebius Milano is No.2 in The 50 Best Bars 2026, revealed in Milan on Wednesday 7 October. Last year it was No.7, and the organisers also named it The Best Bar in Europe 2026. The No.1, for the second year in a row, is Bar Leone in Hong Kong, a bar that takes its inspiration, in the organisers’ words, from “the traditional bars” of Rome’s Trastevere district. Italy has six bars in the extended ranking of 100: Moebius and Locale Firenze in the top 50, and four more between No.51 and No.100. The ceremony came to Milan this year, to the Palazzo del Ghiaccio, after Hong Kong in 2025 and Madrid in 2024.
Six Italian bars, from No.2 to No.94
The list arrives in two parts. The 51-100 came out on 23 September. The top 50 came on the night. These are the Italian placings, with last year’s rank beside each, as published by The 50 Best Bars.
| 2026 | Bar | City | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Moebius Milano | Milan | 7 |
| 33 | Locale Firenze | Florence | 22 |
| 62 | Freni e Frizioni | Rome | 58 |
| 91 | Gucci Giardino | Florence | 99 |
| 92 | Drink Kong | Rome | 40 |
| 94 | 1930 | Milan | 43 |
Milan, Florence and Rome have two bars each, and none of the six sits inside a hotel. Europe as a whole does well: the organisers count 18 European bars in the top 50 and 18 more in the 51-100. They also note that, for the first time, Paris has overtaken London as Europe’s most represented city, with four bars.
Moebius Milano, No.2 and The Best Bar in Europe
Moebius Milano presents itself as a space for food and cultural entertainment, at Via Alfredo Cappellini 25. According to The 50, it brings together a cocktail bar, a tapas bistro and a fine-dining restaurant, Moebius Sperimentale, with the chef Enrico Croatti, in a former textile warehouse, and its bar manager is Giovanni Allario. The climb has been quick. In 2025 it won the Nikka Highest Climber Award, rising 31 places to No.7, and this year it has moved up five more. The release puts it plainly: “The title of The Best Bar in Europe 2026, sponsored by Torres Brandy, goes to Milan’s Moebius Milano, which ranks No.2.” That title belongs to the global list. The separate Europe’s 50 Best Bars ranking, published in June, was topped by Line in Athens, which this year is No.5 in the world and won the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award.
Florence and Rome: Locale, Gucci Giardino, Freni e Frizioni, Drink Kong
Florence comes next. Locale Firenze, No.33, sits in Palazzo Concini, according to The 50, a historic palazzo with medieval cellars and Renaissance rooms, where the cocktails follow a lab-driven, low-waste approach and pairings are served in the medieval basement. Gucci Giardino, No.91, is “the House’s all-day café and cocktail bar” on Piazza della Signoria, in the words of Gucci’s site, inside the Palazzo della Mercanzia, and Martina Bonci leads it. In Rome, Freni e Frizioni, No.62, occupies a former car mechanic’s workshop on the edge of Trastevere, with DJs and an aperitivo crowd, as The 50 describes it. Drink Kong, No.92, on Piazza di San Martino ai Monti, is a multi-room bar of neon light, dark wood and Japanese-influenced design that opened in 2018, in The 50’s description. Milan’s second entry, 1930, at No.94, calls itself the city’s most famous speakeasy. Founded in 2013, it now sits on the lower level of Mag La Pusterla, near the Colonne di San Lorenzo, where members book ahead and other guests can ask at the door.
“Beyond the No.1, this year’s rankings are a powerful reflection of the extraordinary talent, dedication and hospitality that continue to elevate bar culture around the world.” Faye Huggett, Director of Community, The 50 Best Bars, Milan, 7 October 2026.
Bar Leone and the rest of the top 10
Bar Leone keeps its title. In 2025 it became the first No.1 from Asia, in the organisers’ words, and this year it held on. Behind Moebius come Alquímico in Cartagena, at No.3, which also took the Art of Hospitality Award, then Bar Us in Bangkok, Line in Athens, Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, Zest in Seoul, the Connaught Bar in London and Lady Bee in Lima. Bar Mauro, also in Mexico City, entered at No.10 and won the Highest New Entry Award. The organisers count bars from 26 cities and 14 new entries in this year’s top 50. Now in its 18th edition, the list has been published every year since 2009, and its ceremony has moved from London to Barcelona, Singapore, Madrid and Hong Kong. This year it came to what The 50 called, in May, the home of the aperitivo.
The Luxury.it perspective
The night belonged to Italy twice. The world’s best bar is a Hong Kong room built on the memory of Roman neighbourhood bars, and the second best is in Milan, the city that hosted the ceremony. For a traveller, the six Italian names make a short itinerary across three cities: Moebius and 1930 in Milan, Locale and Gucci Giardino in Florence, Freni e Frizioni and Drink Kong in Rome. Book Moebius Sperimentale for the full Moebius evening, since restaurant and bar share the same building. Keep 1930 for last. It rewards the people who ask.
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