Matt’s Top Bars and Signature Drinks, Ranked

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For many travelers, the measure of a great city often comes down to a single barstool and a perfectly made drink. Longtime travel blogger Matt, known for chronicling his journeys through food and nightlife, has quietly built his own personal ranking of favorite bars and go to orders around the world. His list spans polished cocktail lounges, historic dives and neighborhood haunts, united by one simple standard: a drink so good it becomes part of the itinerary.

New Orleans: Classic Cocktails in a Modern Temple

New Orleans is where Matt’s ranking begins, and it starts in the city’s thriving, award winning cocktail scene. Among the crowded field, one bar stands out for him as the platinum standard: a contemporary cocktail lounge known for deep spirits knowledge, polished service and a constantly evolving menu of house creations. Food and travel coverage has repeatedly highlighted this spot as one of the world’s leading bars, citing its ambitious drink list and its role in shaping the city’s modern cocktail reputation.

Matt’s favorite order here reflects the bar’s mix of heritage and innovation. He gravitates to a meticulous riff on the Sazerac, the local icon, built with high rye whiskey, a carefully selected absinthe rinse and a restrained sweetness that lets the grain and anise lead. When he wants something brighter, he switches to a bartender original built around agricole rum, bitter aperitif and citrus, a drink that has become a quiet signature among regulars and visiting cocktail enthusiasts. For him, the appeal is as much about precision as it is about place: New Orleans history in a glass, updated for a global audience.

New Orleans also earns high marks in Matt’s rankings for atmosphere. He favors bars that balance serious drinks with an easygoing energy, and here the low lighting, thoughtful soundtrack and polished yet unfussy hospitality make lingering over a second round feel inevitable. It is the rare venue that he recommends not just for cocktail devotees, but also for travelers taking their first step beyond basic mixed drinks.

Minneapolis: A Dive Bar Icon and a Beer to Match

Far from the Gulf Coast, Minneapolis makes Matt’s list thanks to a neighborhood institution that has become a national name. Matt’s Bar, a compact, no frills corner spot, is best known for the Jucy Lucy, the cheese stuffed burger that has appeared in national media and on multiple food television programs. Reports on the bar emphasize its near unchanged interior since the 1950s and its status as a local landmark for burger pilgrims.

For Matt, the reason it ranks is not just the food but the way the drinks fit the room. His standard order here is a cold Midwestern lager served in a frosted glass, a pairing that mirrors the simplicity of the menu on the wall. The beer selection leans straightforward rather than experimental, and that is part of the charm. In his notes, this stop is where travelers should skip the cocktail list, sit shoulder to shoulder with regulars and let an inexpensive beer and a classic burger do the work.

This Minneapolis bar also holds a special place in his ranking as a reminder that “favorite” does not always mean elaborate. In a list that includes globally recognized cocktail temples, Matt’s Bar demonstrates that atmosphere, history and a well poured draft can compete with rare spirits and complex recipes. For travelers driving across the Upper Midwest, he considers it a must detour.

San Francisco: Craft Cocktails and Storied Dive Bars

On the West Coast, San Francisco earns multiple entries in Matt’s notebook, and together they occupy a single, high ranking slot. On one hand are the city’s polished craft cocktail rooms, which writers like spirits expert and blogger Matt Pietrek have profiled for their technique forward approach and inventive menus. On the other is a constellation of dive bars that local coverage describes as some of the city’s most beloved, places where analog jukeboxes, worn bar stools and cash only policies are part of the appeal.

Matt’s favorite drink here depends on the address. In the cocktail dens, he leans toward a Negroni variation built with small production gin and amaro in place of standard vermouth, stirred cold and served over a single block of ice. It is an order that reflects the city’s affinity for bitter, spirit forward drinks and its deep bench of bartending talent. In the dives, however, he keeps to a simple whiskey highball or a classic gin and tonic served in a tall, no nonsense glass, a deliberate contrast that lets the bar’s history, murals and regulars set the tone.

San Francisco ranks so highly on his list because it rewards bar hopping across neighborhoods. A traveler can move from a Mission District cocktail bar that appears regularly in enthusiast blogs to a Haight Street institution that has been pouring martinis for generations, all in one evening. For Matt, that range elevates the city into rare company and makes it one of his most recommended stops for visitors who plan itineraries around what they drink as much as what they see.

New Orleans to the Midwest: Neighborhood Spots Worth a Detour

Beyond the marquee names, Matt’s personal ranking includes smaller, neighborhood focused bars that seldom show up on global lists but are well regarded in local coverage. In Fort Worth, for instance, lifestyle reporting has highlighted a modest pub on Magnolia Avenue that jokingly brands itself the “Eighth Best Bar” in town. Matt appreciates that sense of humor and the way it matches a menu centered on straightforward beers on tap, local music and an unpolished but welcoming room.

He takes a similar approach to neighborhood bars in cities like Pittsburgh and Detroit, where city magazines and local outlets regularly publish ranked lists of cocktail bars and late night hangouts. When traveling, Matt consults these roundups not just for the top one or two venues, but for the places that repeat across several guides. His favorite orders in these rooms track closely with what regulars are drinking: a regional lager in a Detroit cocktail bar with a strong kitchen, or a simple Old Fashioned at a Pittsburgh spot known for its whiskey list.

In his rankings, these neighborhood favorites serve as a reminder that bar culture is often hyperlocal. While international awards and national media coverage help guide travelers to headline experiences, Matt finds that the most memorable nights often happen in smaller spaces, where the bartender remembers a face after a second visit and where a house special beer or a no garnish highball becomes a trusted standby.

How Matt Builds His Bar and Drink Rankings

Underlying Matt’s list is a method that blends personal taste with publicly available information. He tracks industry awards, magazine rankings and travel features to identify bars that consistently appear in discussions about the world’s best. He then cross references those names with local coverage and traveler reviews to see how venues perform beyond a single season of buzz. Only after that research does he add them to his itinerary, where his own experiences and repeated visits determine whether they make his personal ranking.

His favorite drinks at each bar often emerge after a few rounds of experimentation. In cities known for particular classics, such as New Orleans and its Sazerac, he almost always orders the local standard first. Elsewhere, he pays close attention to a bar’s house specials, trusting that a thoughtfully composed menu reflects the team’s strongest work. Over time, this approach has led to a pattern: a shortlist of go to orders that he can recommend with confidence to readers seeking a reliable starting point at unfamiliar bars.

For travelers mapping out their next trip, Matt’s ranked favorites offer both specific inspiration and a loose framework. Start with one acclaimed bar and its most talked about drink, then set aside time for a neighborhood spot where the recommendation might simply be the house beer or a well made highball. In his experience, that mix of headline destinations and unassuming locals results in the kind of nights that turn a city from a place visited into a place remembered.