The Top Cocktail Bars 2026 list, a ranking of the best cocktail bars in Spain and Portugal, has been published. Its highest rating is three stars. The list includes 30 Portuguese venues, and almost all of them are in Lisbon and Porto. Red Frog and Quattro Teste received three stars, just as they did last year. The Argo in Vilamoura earned two stars and a separate award as best hotel cocktail bar. Xpat.Land looks at them and the other bars on the list.
What the ranking is
The list is compiled by NeoDrinks, a Spanish media outlet covering drinks. Since 2022, bars have been divided into a general list of recommended venues and bars awarded stars (from one to three), which is why the Spanish press calls the ranking the “Michelin Guide” of cocktails.
The judging is done by a small group of journalists, food critics and cocktail enthusiasts, most of them anonymous. Inspectors visit unannounced and assess the quality of the cocktails, the ingredients, the atmosphere and the service.
Three stars
Red Frog Speakeasy (Lisbon). The bar turned ten in 2025. Its founders are Emanuel Minez and Paulo Gomes. Red Frog has appeared twice on the World’s 50 Best Bars extended list: at No. 88 in 2023 and No. 94 in 2024. Entry is by reservation only.
Quattro Teste (Lisbon). The bar was founded by two expats: Alf del Portillo, who is Basque, and Marta Premoli, who is Italian. They were living in Amsterdam, got tired of the cold and rain, and moved to Lisbon. Alf worked as a bartender in the UK, India and the Netherlands, and in 2015 he won the World Class competition representing India. The bar opened in late 2021 and blends Basque and Italian traditions. The menu features spritzes, negronis, sherry, Italian vermouth and an amaro-based kalimotxo (the Basque drink of wine mixed with cola). Cocktails are served alongside pintxos and cider. The bar is on Rua de São Cristóvão in Mouraria.
Two stars
Monkey Mash (Lisbon). Red Frog’s “younger brother”: the bar opened in 2019 in the same building, on the site of the former strip club Fontória. It specializes in agave and sugarcane spirits.
The Argo Cocktail Bar (Vilamoura, Algarve). The bar is located in the Tivoli Marina Vilamoura hotel and overlooks the marina. The current menu has more than 15 signature cocktails. The house cocktail, The Argo, is made with gin, plankton, lime, dill and sea fennel.
The Royal Cocktail Club (Porto). The bar had one star last year and was upgraded this year. It is at Rua da Fábrica 105. The team is equally confident with classics and signature drinks.
Torto (Porto). The bar occupies a century-old Moorish-style building. Inside you’ll find graffiti and a mural by the Lisbon collective Crack Kids. The cocktails are complex and deliberately bold.
One star
Liquid Love (Lisbon). The bar was opened in November 2022 by Sheila Tavares, who is Portuguese, and Semi Mzoughi, who is Italian-Tunisian. They met in 2014 behind the counter of a London bar, worked in bars in Australia, and moved to Lisbon in 2018. The interior is inspired by Milanese bars of the 1980s, and the menu nods to both owners’ roots. The I Mille cocktail, for example, combines Campari, clementine juice and grogue, a Cape Verdean sugarcane spirit.
Rossio GastroBar (Lisbon). A rooftop bar at the Altis Avenida hotel with views of Rossio Square and the river. Some ingredients are made in the kitchen, such as smoked pineapple juice.
Recommended
Lisbon
18.68 Cocktail Boutique. The bar of the Bairro Alto Hotel, run since 2024 by the founders of Red Frog. It stands on the site of a former fire station in Chiado, and the menu centers on aperitifs.
Agave Cocktail Lab. New to the list. A bar at Rua da Rosa 127 in Bairro Alto, with a selection of tequila and mezcal.
Bar na Colina. On the recommended list for the second year running. The bar is at Rua de Santa Catarina 28.
Catfish. A bar at Praça da Alegria 46. The signature cocktails are inspired by Portuguese cuisine, the soundtrack is 90s hip-hop, and cats and dogs are welcome.
Croqui. New to the list. By day it is the prep kitchen for the team of Constança Cordeiro, founder of Toca da Raposa and Uni. By night it is an unpretentious neighborhood bar in Alcântara. The space used to house the tavern O Maravilhas.
Fúria. The bar opened in September 2024. It was founded by the owners of Imprensa together with chef João Magalhães Correia. The interior resembles a laboratory, and some of the cocktails are served on tap.
Imprensa. An oyster and cocktail bar with a Brooklyn feel.
JNcQUOI Mirror Room. A newcomer to the bar scene. The interior has an “underwater” aesthetic, and the bar regularly hosts guest bartenders from other cities.
The Kissaten. New to the list. The bar was opened by Sophie and Paul Noble, the British creators of the London bar Spiritland. It is their first project outside London. Located in the Locke Santa Joana hotel, it has a collection of around 120 whiskies. It is modeled on the Japanese listening bars of the 1960s, where people go to hear records.
Toca da Raposa. Constança Cordeiro’s bar in Chiado. She makes cocktails from Portuguese ingredients, many of which she forages herself around the city.
Uni. The second bar from the Toca da Raposa team, with just nine seats. It’s best to book ahead.
Porto
Apotecário Speakeasy. The bar opened in early 2025. Its address is shared only after you make a reservation. There is no menu: bartender Pedro Duarte makes a cocktail to suit each guest’s taste and mood. Prices start at €15.
Atman. New to the list. This speakeasy was opened by Catalan bartenders Pau González and Daniel Alba. It has been operating since early 2026 near Praça de Guilherme Gomes Fernandes. The entrance is through an inconspicuous green door with a doorbell. The menu offers signature cocktails and reinterpreted classics.
Curioso. A bar near the Ferreira Borges Market and the Palácio da Bolsa. The interior is warm, with Eastern touches.
Marlindo 1959. New to the list. The bar is in Ribeira, at Rua de Trás 15.
Other cities
House Bar at Vila Vita Parc (Porches, Algarve). New to the list. The cocktail bar of a resort hotel founded in the early 1990s by the German couple Reinfried and Anneliese Pohl.
Inverso (Faro). On the recommended list for the second time.
Mare Restaurant & Gin Bar (Aveiro district). A restaurant and gin bar in Gafanha da Boa Hora.
Pátio (Évora). New to the list.
Pukiki (Estreito da Calheta, Madeira). This tiki bar was opened in 2016 by Madeira native Carla Lopes Marques and Martin McDermott, a Briton from Manchester. The bar celebrates Madeira’s connection to Hawaii: in the late 19th century, Madeirans left to work on the sugar plantations there and brought the ukulele with them.
Spikes (Vale do Lobo, Almancil). The bar was also on the recommended list last year.
Three House Rooftop Cocktail Club (Funchal). New to the list. A rooftop bar at the Three House hotel near the Mercado dos Lavradores. The same rooftop has a 1,000 sq m garden and a pool.
