The Coolest Wine Bars Around the World You Need to Visit

A global guide to the wine bars making us want to book a table — & a flight.

“Wine is bottled poetry,” Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote. And perhaps that is why there is something so lovely about sitting down with a glass of wine. The right setting can make a glass of vino hard to forget — the lighting, the music, the people around you, even the table you happen to be sitting at, all have supporting roles.

There is something about a good wine bar that naturally makes you slow down a bit and stay a little bit longer. You walk in for one glass and, more often than not, end up staying a little longer than planned. Some are tucked away on quiet streets, others are lively neighbourhood spots, but the best ones have the same pull, asking you to settle in.

From old favourites in Europe to newer natural wine spots around the world, these are the best wine bars around the world.

Wineyard, Goa, India

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Wine feels right at home at Wineyard. The drive to Merces takes you away from Panjim’s busier streets and towards paddy fields, ending at Sadhana Dell’Arte, a restored Indo-Portuguese home that houses the bar. Inside, there are old tiled floors, high ceilings, arches and mismatched furniture; outside, a large garden looks out across the fields towards the Mandovi River. The wine selection, curated by Arijit Bose, moves from skin-contact Georgian wines and Burgundian whites to natural pét-nats and Italian reds, with plenty available by the glass. There’s no fuss about the drinking either— pick a bottle from the fridge, collect your glasses and ice, and find a spot on the lawn. Add a few plates of cheese, jamón, olives or chilli beef — and, if you’re lucky, a few dogs wandering around — and you have a very easy evening in Goa.

Leo’s Wine Bar, Cape Town, Sputh Africa

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Bagel shop? Wine bar? By day, 120 Bree Street is home to Max Bagels, but in the evenings, the space becomes Leo’s Wine Bar. The interiors are simple, with clean lines and rotating art exhibitions from Hoick Studios bringing colour to the room. It is small, easygoing, and indeed a completely different ambience once the bagel crowd has gone home.

The wine selection leans towards low-intervention bottles from smaller producers, with around 20 on the list and roughly 10 available by the glass. There are olives, bagel chips, antipasti and pizza bagels to snack on, too. Then there are the vinyl listening sessions, held in partnership with A11, when the music becomes as much a part of the evening as the wine.

The 10 Cases, London, United Kingdom

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Ten cases, then on to the next. That is the idea behind The 10 Cases, a bistro and wine bar on Endell Street in Covent Garden. They never order more than 10 cases of a single type of wine, so once those bottles are gone, they move on. The list currently has a mix of whites and reds, alongside sparkling, rosé and sweet wines, with a relaxed French-style menu made for sharing.

Next door, the Cave à Vin has more than 300 bottles, from classic producers to newer discoveries. It is walk-in only, with cheese, charcuterie and small plates to go with the wine. The best thing about the 10-case idea? Come back a few weeks later and there is a good chance the bottle you loved last time has been replaced by something completely different.

Augustine Wine Bar, Los Angeles

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Here, it's like drinking wine at a very well-stocked friend’s house. Augustine Wine Bar in Sherman Oaks is known for its rare and vintage bottles, with the daily chalkboard selection sometimes reaching back to the 19th century. There are dozens of wines available by the glass, so you can try something unusual without committing to the whole bottle.

The room is low-lit and lived-in, with vintage typewriters, books and radios alongside worn-in seating. Tater tots, cheese plates and other unfussy dishes make up the food side, now led by Chef Miguel Gonzalez, who returned to Augustine after previously running its kitchen in 2017–18. It’s the sort of place where you go in curious about the wine and let the chalkboard decide what happens next.

Gordon’s Wine Bar, London

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London’s worst-kept secret, Gordon’s Wine Bar has been around since 1890, hidden in a vaulted, candlelit cellar between Charing Cross and Embankment. The walls are covered with old photographs and newspaper clippings, wooden tables fill the cave-like rooms, and oak barrels hold sherry and port. There is no beer or cocktail menu here. Just wine and water.

The list stretches from French Pinot Noir and Spanish Rioja to bottles from Lebanon, Macedonia and India. What's more? Forget your phone, because there’s no signal either, so it’s back to the old-fashioned routine: wine and conversation.

Embla, Melbourne

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No reservations, no overthinking. Embla is the sort of Melbourne wine bar where you can walk in, take a seat at the bar and see what happens. Most of the space is kept for walk-ins, which gives it an easy, spontaneous feel. The wines by the glass are not organised around the usual Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio choices either. Instead, the list moves through different styles from Australia and Europe.

There are around 150 bottles to choose from, ranging from classic Burgundy to skin-contact wines from Friuli. The food is just as thoughtful, with small plates built around flame grilling and fermentation.

MUST Wine Bar, Bangkok

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It’s a Must-go. Tucked into Sodality on Thong Lo Soi 13, MUST has more than 500 labels in its cellar and over 30 wines available by the glass. “Shades of Natural” moves through Portuguese Loureiro, Austrian rosé and Teroldego from the Italian Alps, while “Big, Bold, Beautiful” sticks to the more familiar territory of Chianti, Bordeaux and Rioja.

The food is no less interesting, with Southern Thai crab curry croquettes and Scotch eggs with sai ua among the drinking snacks. MUST is also part of Fin Wine, a Thai wine importer, and its wine programme has been recognised by Star Wine List. There is a bottle shop attached, which is probably best avoided if you have already had a few glasses.

Ruffian, New York

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Eastern European wine in the East Village. Ruffian has been a neighbourhood fixture since 2016, built around natural wine, seasonal food and a chef’s table. Its 250-plus bottle list travels through Georgia, Greece, Austria, Slovenia and other historic wine regions, with a particular focus on natural and biodynamic producers.

Inside, the room is small and dimly lit, with a U-shaped bar overlooking the open kitchen and shelves stacked with bottles. The menu changes with the seasons and leans towards vegetable-forward dishes, with tasting and à la carte options.

La Buvette, Paris

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Paris and natural wine go rather well together. Run by Camille Fourmont, La Buvette is a tiny wine bar with no kitchen and no chef, yet somehow there is always something good to eat. Fresh cheese, oysters, charcuterie and Fourmont’s famous white beans arrive alongside a list of natural wines from small producers. The beans, dressed with Sicilian olive oil, lemon zest and chive blossoms, have become something of a signature.

The wine is available by the glass or bottle, and there are magnums to take away too. It is small, informal and can get quite hectic on weekends, with people squeezing around the bar and into whatever seat is free. But that is part of the charm.

Fountainhead, Brisbane

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Wine for every mood, tucked into a basement on Doggett Street, Fountainhead Winehouse is part wine shop, part bar, and deliberately a little less serious about the business of choosing a bottle. Founders Chris Banham and Dan Wilson want to make wine shopping feel more like a conversation than a lesson, so instead of talking tannins and body, tell them what you’re cooking, celebrating, or simply in the mood for.

The shelves move from affordable bottles to cellar-worthy finds, with Australian and international producers chosen simply because the team likes drinking them. There’s also an ever-changing by-the-glass selection and snacks to enjoy inside the intimate, living-room-like space. It’s the sort of place where buying a bottle for dinner can easily turn into staying for one.

Bar Brutal, Barcelona

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Since 2013, Bar Brutal has occupied a former bodega and wine cellar on Calle Princesa, helping put natural wine firmly on Barcelona’s drinking map. Its collection spans more than 300 wines, with organic, biodynamic and non-interventionist producers from Spain and beyond.

The food menu is short and changes with the seasons, with fresh oysters and marinated sardines alongside dishes such as gizzard with ponzu and watercress or monkfish with pakchoi and white horseradish juice. The menu depends on what looks good at the market, so there is always a little uncertainty about what will appear. In this case, that is a good thing.

Big Wine Freaks, Singapore

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A wine bar that doesn’t do quiet and restrained. Set in a heritage shophouse on Bukit Pasoh Road, at Big Wine Freaks' wine list is the real draw, with more than 500 labels and 2,000 bottles spanning Champagne and Burgundy to Jura, Beaujolais and the Loire, with plenty of attention paid to newer-generation producers. Food follows the same anything-goes spirit, bringing European tapas together with Japanese touches, from lightly cured seafood to vegetables cooked over an open fire.

Perch, Delhi

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Coffee by day, wine by night — Perch began in Delhi in 2015 with the idea of creating somewhere to linger over coffee, food and wine without the formality of a restaurant or the noise of a bar. Its Khan Market space has a living-room feel, with cosy corners and communal tables that work equally well for a morning coffee or an evening glass.

The wine list features more than 80 New World wines, including bottles from Lebanon and Greece, while coffee remains a big part of the story, with single-estate beans and creations such as its signature coffee sangria. The menu shifts throughout the day, moving from breakfast and sandwiches to pastas, sharing plates and bar snacks. It is easy to see why the place works as an everyday hangout.

Marché aux Vins, Yamada, Tokyo

A little French wine bar in Tokyo. Tucked away in Hiroo, Marché aux Vins Yamada has just eight seats, making the small counter feel particularly intimate. The wine list leans towards Burgundy, with Bordeaux and other French bottles making up the rest of the selection. Take a seat at the counter, order a glass and pair it with something from the French menu. It is quiet, low-key and far removed from the spectacle of some of Tokyo’s bigger drinking spots.

Bar Ninja, Stockholm

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Small, casual and very wine-focused. Niklas Jakobson, founder of natural wine importer Wine Trade, opened Bar Ninja in Wine Trade’s former offices in Södermalm. The intimate, hole-in-the-wall bar keeps things casual, with music, simple but well-made dishes and plenty of wine.

The list changes regularly and moves between classic wines and organically grown, natural bottles. There’s a small menu of snacks and mid-sized dishes to go alongside the wine, making Bar Ninja an easy spot to drop into, order a glass, and see what’s pouring.