About Barhopper’s Guide

Barhopper’s Guide is dedicated to finding the best cocktail bars in the world and putting them in one place.

How it started

We’re software engineers, and we travel a lot. Wherever we go, we ask for bar recommendations: from bartenders, from friends, from whoever is sitting next to us. After years of this, people started asking us, too.

The tips ended up in different notes apps and chat threads, copied and forwarded again and again. At some point we got tired of it and did what software engineers do: we built an app. One place for every bar anyone had recommended to us over the years, and every bar we had recommended to others.

That app grew into Barhopper’s Guide. It still runs on recommendations, and every bar in it comes down to the question behind every good tip:

The test

Would you send a friend who loves cocktails to this bar, without a second thought?

Beyond the big lists

We want to show the best bars in the world, and there are far more of them than any top 50 or top 500 list can hold. Plenty of great bars never make it onto one. Showing them is the reason this guide exists.

So we keep a close eye on the bar scene around the world. We talk to a lot of people: bartenders, bar owners, travelers and others from the industry. We go to bar events and trade shows. And we keep asking for recommendations, the same way we did before there was an app.

Know a bar we should know about?

Tell us. You can suggest a bar in the app. Many people have, and some of the bars in the guide got here that way, after we checked them out ourselves.

Has your team been to every bar?

No. We are a small team, and most of us are volunteers. We have been to many of the bars ourselves, but not to all of them. For almost every bar, at least one of the bartenders and travelers we work with has.

Sometimes a bar gets in that shouldn’t have. If you think that happened, tell us.

Where does the information come from?

Menus and prices

Photos of menus that guests upload. We check every upload before it goes live. The bar’s own menu always has the final word.

Opening hours

Several public sources, such as map services and the bars’ own websites. Hours change, so check with the bar before you travel far for it.

Awards and lists

The lists the award programs publish.

Found something wrong?

Every bar page has a “Suggest an edit” link. Use it for wrong hours, a wrong address or a bar that has closed.

For bars

Run a bar? Here is how the guide works for you.

Can I add my bar to the guide?

There’s no application, and no way to ask to be let in. If your bar is good, we’ll find you sooner or later. If you’d like to help us along, suggest your bar in the app like any guest would. We look at it the same way as every other suggestion.

One thing won’t help: pointing to another bar in town that’s already listed. We judge every bar on its own.

Can I manage my bar’s profile?

Yes, once your bar is in the guide. Use “Claim the listing” on your bar’s page. After we’ve confirmed that you run the bar, we can give you full access to its profile: photos, contact details, events and more.

How do I keep my opening hours up to date?

Update your business hours on Google Maps. That’s usually the most reliable way to keep them current in the guide.

Who runs Barhopper’s Guide?

Barhopper’s Guide is run by Nightly Build Group by Unbogify GmbH. For questions, corrections and press: info@barhoppers.guide. Company details are on the Legal information page.