The Best Places to Drink and Stay in Halifax
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The best places to drink and stay 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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Muir, Halifax and Dear Friend 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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The building juts into Halifax Harbour like a ship that forgot to leave, which is the point: Muir is a luxury hotel whose seafaring references stop well short of nautical kitsch. Rooms are lined in gray oak, bar shelves curve like portholes, and nearly every window faces water. A spa, a gallery, and a well-regarded restaurant fill out the rest. It holds a Forbes Four Star and a Michelin Key.
The awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide: Forbes Four Star
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 1 Key
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Rank 3. 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 4. 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 5. 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
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Check-in happens at the bar, and the first drink is free, which tells you everything about what kind of hotel this is. Rooms are compact and deliberately so, with open closets and walk-in showers, while Bar Moxy does triple duty as lounge, library, and weekend DJ venue. Grab-and-go runs around the clock for the chronically hungry. The waterfront and convention center are minutes away, and the Michelin Guide has it listed among selected hotels.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Hotels