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Vancouver’s cocktail scene is having its moment—and this time, the whole continent showed up to watch. The North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026 list was revealed Wednesday night (April 22) at a live awards ceremony at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
The biggest news: The Keefer Bar took the #7 spot overall, earning the title of Best Bar in Canada 2026. Keefer has been a Chinatown institution for over a decade, built around a drinks programme inspired by old apothecaries. Beverage director Amber Bruce’s “prescriptions”, AKA cocktails, have clearly been doing their job. The bar ranked #49 in 2024, climbed to #28 last year, and now sits comfortably in the top ten. If this trajectory keeps up, we’ll need a bigger medicine cabinet.
Also returning to the list is Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, landing at #38. Known for its garden-to-glass cocktails that are as elegant as they are experimental, Botanist continues to prove that refined doesn’t have to mean boring.
Two Vancouver bars are making their debut on the top 50 this year. June on Cambie crashed the party at a very impressive #17, while Prophecy—which appeared on the 51–100 extended list last year—made a serious jump to #32. Both new entries signal that Vancouver’s bar scene isn’t just holding its own; it’s actively pushing forward.
And the good news doesn’t stop at #50. The extended 51–100 list features four more Vancouver spots: Bagheera at #59, Meo at #64, Laowai at #72, and Mount Pleasant Vintage at #91. Victoria also gets a nod with Humboldt Bar at #53 and Citrus & Cane at #87, a reminder that the cocktail talent in British Columbia runs deep.
The top spot on the overall list went to New York City’s Sip & Guzzle, but with four bars in the top 50 and four more on the extended list, Vancouver made a strong case that the real party was here on the West Coast. Fitting, then, that 50 Best came back to the city to hand out the honours.