The Best Places to Drink in Halifax
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The best places to drink in Halifax, according to the experts: Air Canada, Canada's 100 Best, and Spirited Awards have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Bar Kismet comes out on top.
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Dear Friend and Highwayman hold the next two places. Canada's 100 Best and Curated Magazine show up on more of this list than any other guide.
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Rank 1. Bar Kismet
French Seafood
The awards
- Air Canada Air Canada: 2018 · Finalist · Best New Restaurants
- Canada's 100 Best Canada's 100 Best: Recommends
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2024 · Top 4 Finalist · Best International Restaurant Bar
- Air Canada 2018 · Finalist · Best New Restaurants
- Canada's 100 Best Recommends
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 4 Finalist · Best International Restaurant Bar
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Rank 2. Dear Friend
Cocktail Bar
Bentwood bar stools and the general feeling of a European café that got off the ferry in Dartmouth and decided to stay. Dear Friend is a cocktail and oyster bar that helped put this side of the harbour on the map, and the drinks have a culinary lean that earns the comparison: dashi, spruce, sea buckthorn. Beers and ciders run local; wines run funky. Ranked among Canada's 100 Best Bars in 2026.
The awards
- Canada's 100 Best Canada's 100 Best: #15 · Best Bars
- Curated Magazine Curated Magazine: #13 · 50 Best Places to Eat
- Nova Scotia Restaurant Awards Nova Scotia Restaurant Awards: Best Beverages Award
- Canada's 100 Best #15 · Best Bars
- Curated Magazine #13 · 50 Best Places to Eat
- Nova Scotia Restaurant Awards Best Beverages Award
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Rank 3. Highwayman
American Cocktail Bar
The awards
- Air Canada Air Canada: 2016 · Top 10 · Best New Restaurants
- Curated Magazine Curated Magazine: #10 · 50 Best Places to Eat
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
- Air Canada 2016 · Top 10 · Best New Restaurants
- Curated Magazine #10 · 50 Best Places to Eat
- The 50 The 50 Discovery
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Rank 4. The Narrows
British
A Victorian house in Halifax's North End that survived the 1917 Halifax Explosion and got turned into a public house that feels like your most hospitable grandparent lives there. Rooms cluttered with memorabilia, hand-pumped cask ale, and fiddlers who sometimes bring a bagpiper along for weekends. In winter, a crackling fire makes it very easy to lose an afternoon. Ranked 12th on Canada's 100 Best Bars list in 2026.
The awards
- Canada's 100 Best Canada's 100 Best: #12 · Best Bars
- Curated Magazine Curated Magazine: #6 · 50 Best Places to Eat
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
- Canada's 100 Best #12 · Best Bars
- Curated Magazine #6 · 50 Best Places to Eat
- The 50 The 50 Discovery