Whether you’re a tourist on your summer holidays or a local looking for somewhere new, our selection of new bars to try in August offers inspiration to drinkers around the world. In an old stock exchange in Melbourne, an eight-seater wine bar plays the perfect sidekick to an epic new restaurant. Out in Nashville, a hotel bar rolls out the red carpet for bourbon cocktails, while in London, a new rooftop bar attached to the achingly hip Sessions Arts Club in Clerkenwell serves Spritzes and chef Florence Knight’s small plates throughout the evening. For more on cocktails in New York, Mexico and Paris too, discover August’s best new bars below.
The best new bars to visit in August 2023
La Rue
Melbourne Australia
Pass through the vaulted ceilings of the former Melbourne stock exchange, inhabited by new restaurant Reine, to find a dimly lit eight-seater wine bar where reservations are essential. Needless to say, Australian wines dominate the hundreds of bottles on the list but there’s also a Crémant by the glass or bottle (and Hop Nation’s beers for those looking for something different). Pair your pre-prandial drinks with bar snacks – local meat and cheese, olives and fresh bread – and make the most of the sommelier’s expertise.
Open now, reineandlarue.melbourne
Sessions Arts Club Rooftop Terrace
London, UK
This newly opened rooftop terrace in Clerkenwell is a dream destination for fashion-conscious Londoners looking to while away afternoons and evenings in a place with more wow factor than the local pub garden. Building on the success of the restaurant at Sessions Arts Club beneath it, the terrace has its own specific menu that features small plates and nibbles conceived by head chef Florence Knight. Dishes include brown crab, sea purslane & chilli; melon and prosciutto; quail with aioli, as well as cake and tarts to pair with drinks. Spritzes top the cocktail menu but there are trendy Pisco Collinses and a Pet Nat Perry cider listed alongside them.
Open now, sessionsartsclub.com
Four Walls
Nashville, USA
Newly opened on the 21st floor of the Joseph in downtown Nashville, Four Walls promises to be a chic watering hole in Tennessee’s busy capital. Think polished wood, velvet and brown leather armchairs and Italian furniture with an impressive marble-topped bar in the background. It’s not all whiskey cocktails on the menu but you can be sure to find plenty of rye to help you develop your Southern charm. Look out for the mini-menu of Negronis to celebrate its Italian-American founder’s heritage.
Open now, fourwallsnashville.com
The Berkeley Rooftop
London, UK
For the first time, the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge has opened its poolside bar to visitors. The cocktail list is extravagant and fun: drink a pink Pool Party for a Chambord-and-rhubarb surprise or sink a Côtes de Provence Sangria for a heady mix of wine, vermouth and aquavit. Order a snack or two from the Mediterranean menu of small plates and watch the sun set over West London. From 7.30pm; booking advised.
Open now, the-berkeley.co.uk
View this post on Instagram
Bambuco
Riviera Maya
Head south down the coast from Cancún and you’ll arrive at Maroma, a new hotel from Belmond on the Riviera Maya. Not only does the resort boast a new live-fire cooking restaurant but in Bambuco, it has the perfect bar for drinks as the sun sets. Ximena Moreno is the head mixologist, creating drinks informed by local Mayan legends and indigenous ingredients – all done with a zero-waste ethos. You can choose from an array of exclusive mezcals too, as well as a selection of Mexican wine. There’s a pool, there are palm trees… it all sounds like perfection to us.
Open now, belmond-maroma-resort-and-spa/dining
View this post on Instagram
Nipperkin Bar
London, UK
The lower-ground level of 20 Berkeley in Mayfair is home to Nipperkin Bar, a diminutive drinking den with a focus on carefully selected British ingredients – an approach in keeping with the style of the restaurant above. Bar manager Angelos Bafas, previously of SOMA, Aqua Shard and Galvin at Windows, oversees the distinctive drinks list, including the sourcing of ingredients and even the distillation of some in-house. Cocktails consist of some intriguing components, such as aged seaweed, distilled Dorset wasabi, roasted Kent hazelnuts and eau de vie made from Cotswold apples. Seating for just 22 people ensures this is a bar that stays laidback and relaxing, giving you plenty of peace in which to focus on the surprising combinations in your glass.
Open now, 20berkeley.com
View this post on Instagram
Angel’s Share
New York, US
Having closed in early 2022 due to a dispute with the landlord of their premises in the East Village, much-loved cocktail bar Angel’s Share is back with a permanent home in Greenwich Village. The rules haven’t changed, so there’s no standing at the bar, parties larger than four people or reservations, and only an angel above the door gives away the bar’s entrance. There’s space for around 60 people inside and the new location affords Angel’s Share its own kitchen, serving sashimi, kaarage chicken, homemade pickles and the like to accompany the inventive drinks list.
Open now, angelssharenyc.com
View this post on Instagram
Bar Nouveau
Paris, France
Rémy Savage was named ‘Europe’s Best Mixologist’ by Drinks International magazine in 2018 and Patron’s ‘Best International Bartender of the Year’ in 2022, both of which bode well for someone leading a new cocktail bar in central Paris. The decor of Bar Nouveau is, unsurprisingly, Art Nouveau-themed and the drinks are made behind a dinky marble-topped bar. A completely French soundtrack is played in this tiny venue, which only has room for around a dozen drinkers, so reservations are not possible. Its size is likely to be one reason why the staff focus on a menu of just six special cocktails each day.
Open now
