Inaugural Edition9 March 2027Colombo

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Celebrating the best of Sri Lanka’s bar culture

An annual platform ranking and recognising the country’s finest bars — and the people behind them. Inaugural awards: 9 March 2027, Cinnamon Life — City of Dreams.

Discover the awards Nominate your bar

Welcome to Best Bars Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s bars have been turning heads around the world. From Smoke & Bitter and Raa to Ropewalk, a new generation is putting the island firmly on the global cocktail map. Now it is time to celebrate them at home.

25+Experts curate the long list
100+Jurors vote on the shortlist
11Awards on the night

Read our story

The Awards

Eleven honours. One night.

The people, places and programmes shaping Sri Lanka’s evolving bar and beverage culture.

All award categories

01 Best Bar The highest honour

02 Best Independent Bar Venue

03 Best Hotel Bar Venue

04 Best Restaurant Bar Venue

05 Best Cocktail Menu Craft

06 Best Bartender People

07 Best Bar Team People

08 Best Bar Design Craft

09 Best Wine Bar — Hotel Venue

10 Best Wine Bar — Independent Venue

11 Industry Icon Honour

Voting Process

An independent, three-stage process.

Designed to draw on a broad range of informed perspectives — and to recognise excellence across the country’s evolving bar landscape.

How the voting works

01

Step 1: Longlisting

25+ bar enthusiasts & industry experts

An initial long list of bars, curated through recommendations from more than 25 bar enthusiasts and industry experts from across Sri Lanka.
02

Step 2: Shortlisting

3 key considerations

The shortlist weighs long-list jury votes, self-nominations and geographical representation.
03

Step 3: Final Voting

100+ jury members

A jury of more than 100 bar enthusiasts, industry experts, connoisseurs and writers votes on the shortlist.

The island

From Colombo to the coast

Colombo skyline at night — **Colombo**The capital after dark

A bartender garnishing three cocktails — **The people**Bartenders and teams

Tea country in the hills — **Hill country**Where Ceylon tea grows

A bartender garnishing a golden cocktail — **The craft**Behind the bar

A beach bar on the south coast — **Hiriketiya**The south coast

Sunset over the south coast — **South coast**Sundowners by the sea

Galle Fort and the coast from above — **Galle**The fort town

Three cocktails on a bar top — **The serve**Island ingredients, global technique

Gold-rimmed coupes catching the light — **The night**Raising a glass

Awards Night

09.03.27

Cinnamon Life — City of Dreams · Colombo

A flagship, invite-only gathering of 150–200 guests — Sri Lanka’s leading bars and hospitality professionals, celebrated bar owners from India and Southeast Asia, global spirits brands, media and tastemakers.

131Days

21Hours

13Minutes

13Seconds

About the evening

Cocktail Weekend

One weekend. One island.

Leading up to the awards, the celebration extends into a weekend-long festival of cocktails, spirits and hospitality at participating bars across Sri Lanka.