America’s Favorite Bars, According to Locals Who Really Know – Was it the first time you sipped a forgotten classic from the Prohibition era, crafted perfectly by a bartender who just got you? Or maybe it was that familiar moment of sliding onto your usual barstool and ordering your go-to draft beer. Perhaps it was a breezy evening, drink in hand, watching the sun dip below the horizon.
Our food writers at the USA TODAY Network have their own go-to bars—the ones they return to again and again. With teams based at over 200 local publications in 42 states, these writers live and breathe the communities they cover. And now, they’re sharing their favorite local watering holes with you.
This is the 2025 edition of USA TODAY’s Bars of the Year—a companion to our Restaurants of the Year list released earlier. It features everything from underground speakeasies and neon-lit honky tonks to swanky cocktail lounges and no-frills neighborhood dives.
What sets this list apart? Unlike other “best of” lists compiled by out-of-towners, our picks come straight from reporters and editors who live where they drink. These are the bars they know intimately—places they’ve spent countless evenings, celebrated milestones, or simply wound down after long days.
“The best bars mean different things to different people,” said Liz Johnson, project lead and senior director at NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network. “Some crave innovative cocktails in a sleek setting. Others want live music and a good whiskey. This list celebrates the full spectrum of bar culture.”
So whether you’re craving a quiet dram in South Dakota, ready to dance until dawn in Nashville, or planning to soak up sun with a margarita in Florida, this guide has a spot for you.
From low-key gems to high-end haunts, our editors whittled down the local nominations to a final list of 29 incredible bars across the country. And now, we’re raising a glass to them.
