The Best Cocktail Bars in Boston
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The best cocktail bars in Boston, according to the experts: Esquire, James Beard Awards, and Spirited Awards have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Equal Measure comes out on top.
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Merai and The Koji Club hold the next two places. Eater and Spirited Awards show up on more of this list than any other guide.
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Dark wood, sink-in seating in bold colors, and cocktail names that tip you off early: this is a cocktail bar that wants you to stay longer than you planned. The menu leans playful and genuinely inventive, and the room has enough tucked corners for a long conversation. A James Beard Best New Bar semifinalist and an Esquire Best Bars pick, it earns both without trying too hard about either.
The awards
- Esquire Esquire: The Best Bars in America
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Esquire The Best Bars in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
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Rank 2. Merai
Modern Thai Cocktail Bar
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Nominee · Best New Bar
- Eater Eater: Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best New Bar
- Eater Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
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Rank 2. The Koji Club
Sake Cocktail Bar
The Koji Club is a sake bar of about sixteen seats in the Allston Speedway, where the bottle storage doubles as a coat rack and a rice cooker sits behind the bar like it pays rent. The staff will walk the sake-curious through the list, so no one gets quizzed. The snack of choice is a bowl of rice with furikake, miso, and pickles. It's dim and cozy, and it's on the Esquire list of best bars in America.
The awards
- Esquire Esquire: The Best Bars in America
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
- Eater Eater: The Best Bars Around Boston
- Esquire The Best Bars in America
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Boston
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
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Rank 4. Backbar
Cocktail Bar
Backbar is a cocktail bar tucked down a concrete hallway behind a steel door in Union Square, which is how you know the drinks are serious. Weekends bring a line of people waiting to find out what the menu is themed around this month, sometimes an animation studio, with drinks named for scenes. Tell the bartender your mood and let them handle the translation, because the ingredient lists read like a botany final.
The awards
- Eater Eater: The Best Bars Around Boston
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
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The awards
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Rank 5. Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks
American Cocktail Bar
The freezer martinis section of the menu says a lot about Eastern Standard's priorities. This Fenway cocktail bar has been around forever and carries itself accordingly, all dark wood and low hum, the kind of room that makes a dirty martini feel like the only logical choice. The classics-heavy list also wanders into margarita territory, with a Tajin-dusted mezcal version alongside fruitier options, and the white negroni is never far from someone's hand.
The awards
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery