The Top 5 Cocktail Bars Near Shelter
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Rank 1. Proof
Cocktail Bar
Proof is a serious cocktail bar that somehow never takes itself too seriously, and that balance is the whole thing. The backbar is floor-to-ceiling and comes with a library ladder, which tells you everything. The menu is organized by spirit and goes deep, so let the staff steer you if it gets overwhelming. The crowd runs from whisky nerds squinting at rare bottles to people who just want a well-made gin drink on a Tuesday.
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Rank 2. Missy’s This That
Cocktail Bar
Upstairs from a convenience store in Calgary, Missy's This That is the kind of cocktail bar that tricks you with its shady exterior before hitting you with a 12-page wine list that includes vintage Champagne and rare Burgundy. Cocktails are smart and a little cheeky, snacks are good enough to keep you planted, and the crowd tends to be the sort who knows exactly what they walked into. Canada's 100 Best Bars agrees.
- 50 Best 2026 · #79 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best International Cocktail Bar – Canada
- Canada's 100 Best 2026 · #9 · Best Bars
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Rank 3. Business & Pleasure
Cocktail Bar
Part bodega, part cocktail den, Business & Pleasure is an Inglewood spot where the front room does coffee and sandwiches by day and wine-to-go whenever, while the back gets serious with nostalgia-driven cocktails and a genuinely passionate single malt program. The crowd is the kind that looks like they stumbled in and somehow stayed for dinner. The vaulted ceiling makes it feel a bit grander than it has any right to, which is exactly the point.
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Rank 4. Paper Lantern
Vietnamese Cocktail Bar
You duck below a Chinatown restaurant and land in a red-lantern-lit Vietnamese speakeasy that feels like someone's very good secret. The cocktail list leans tropical but gets creative with things like a pandan riff on a Painkiller or a Vietnamese iced coffee done properly boozy. The food, bánh mì, skewers, shaken beef, is the kind of bar snack situation that makes you order more than you planned. Dress however, just show up curious.
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