10 Great Art Deco Bars Around the World

ATLAS grand lobby and bar, graces the ground floor of Singapore’s iconic building, Parkview Square, in the historic Bugis neighborhood.

There are few places where the glamour of the Art Deco era still feels as alive as it does in a great bar. These are not simply rooms for cocktails, they are settings for atmosphere, elegance, and the kind of social theater that turns an evening out into an occasion. The great Art Deco bars in the world combine design, ritual, and personality in a way that still feels irresistible today. Polished brass, mirrored walls, lacquered surfaces, rich woods, dramatic lighting, and a certain sense of arrival all contribute to the experience. Some are grand and formal, some intimate and seductive, and some carry a playful personality that gives them lasting charm. What unites them is a commitment to style and the feeling that stepping inside means entering a more refined and visually exciting world.

What makes these bars so compelling is that they offer more than beauty, they preserve a mood. In many of the finest examples, sophistication still matters, and in some cases even a dress code remains part of the experience. That expectation can be part of the pleasure, reminding us that these interiors were created for a world that valued polish, ceremony, and presentation. A beautifully dressed room deserves beautifully turned out guests, and that sense of occasion adds to the magic. These bars are about cocktails, certainly, but they are also about posture, conversation, lighting, music, and the pleasure of being somewhere memorable. Whether preserved from the original era or revived with great sensitivity, the finest Art Deco bars continue to express a world of confidence, allure, and cultivated pleasure that remains deeply appealing now.

Presented here are ten of the best Art Deco bars in the world, each one reflecting a distinct sense of elegance, character, and the enduring appeal of Art Deco style at its most seductive.

The Monkey Bar – New York

Born in 1936, Monkey Bar is the heartbeat of Midtown-Manhattan, NYC. Dining with its timeless fare and iconic vibe.

Cahoots Underground Bar Soho – London

Interior of a cozy, dimly lit bar or café with people seated at small tables and warm ambient lighting.

A disused underground station with all the spirit of post-war London, featuring two unique platforms: Northbound and Southbound. Inside a warmly lit bar with patrons enjoying drinks at small tables.

Red cylindrical cocktail glass designed like a British post box with ice cubes and a cucumber slice garnish

Observation Bar – Queen Mary Long Beach

Interior view of an elegant vintage bar with red and silver columns, leather chairs, and a mural depicting dancers above the bar counter.

The Queen Mary’s Observation Bar, where timeless elegance meets stunning panoramic water and skyline views. Originally the first-class lounge and now an iconic Long Beach bar, this Art Deco gem offers expertly crafted cocktails and a lively atmosphere, perfect for an unforgettable evening

Logo of The Queen Mary featuring the text 'Long Beach's Grand Icon The Queen Mary'

L’Espérance Tavern – Brussels

Exterior view of L'Esperance, a vintage-style hotel and tavern entrance with stone facade and stained glass windows.

A stone’s throw away from the shops on rue Neuve, the Art Deco façade of the tavern Espérance attracts the attention of passers-by. Léon Govaerts, who also designed the Vanderborght shops on rue Fossé-aux-Loups and the home of the banker Van Buuren in Uccle, was its architect. With quite severe lines, it was built in 1930 and given a facing in veined marble. The entrance, slightly off centre, was topped by a metal canopy with a vertical illuminated sign shooting up from it. This breaks with the continuity of the fanlight windows whose geometrical stained glasses give a little touch of colour to the whole. Inside, the original fittings were maintained. We can still see the door tambour, the panelling, the furniture and the stained-glass windows.

Close-up of an architectural detail featuring a curved structure with blue triangular glass inserts and metal framework.

Brasserie Zedel Soho – London

In the heart of Soho, yet hidden from view under the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly, Bar Américain is a truly authentic American Bar.Classic and house cocktails are served nightly alongside a selection of wines, champagnes, beers and non-alcoholic options.

Logo with the text 'ZÉDEL' in vintage-style red font on a light beige background.

Harry’s Bar 1911 – Paris

The Bar was born on November 26, 1911 on Thanksgiving Day, (a sign for an American bar). It is a bar literally dismantled from the 7th avenue of Manhattan and reassembled rue Daunou in Paris. At the beginning of the twentieth century the legend was born.

ATLAS, A GRAND LOBBY BAR – SINGAPORE

A grand lobby and bar, ATLAS graces the ground floor of Singapore’s iconic building, Parkview Square, in the historic Bugis neighborhood. Completed in 2002, Parkview Square. The distinctive architecture is inspired by the glamorous Art Deco skyscrapers of Europe and New York.

Loos American Bar – Vienna

Once you’ve been there, you can’t escape the charm of the Loos Bar. Classic cocktails, trend-setting architecture – that’s what every city guide says. And without a doubt he was a visionary, this Adolf Loos, who created a gem of architectural modernism here in 1908, which is now even a listed building. But what is still most fascinating after more than a century is the incomparable atmosphere that prevails in his cosy, dimly lit masterpiece. Because before the law and before the Loos Bar, all people are equal.

The Elwood Bar & Grill – Detroit. MI

Art deco style bar building with cream and blue tiled exterior and red neon sign reading 'BAR FINE FOOD'

The Art Moderne-style Elwood was designed by Charles Noble and built in 1936. Its name is a hybrid of its original location streets, Elizabeth and Woodward. From its iconic architecture outside to its tailored appointments inside, Elwood is more than a tavern, it’s a Detroit classic.

Logo of Elwood Bar & Grill with establishment year 1936 on a dark blue background

Stookey’s Club Moderne – San Francisco

Designed by historic San Francisco architect Lynn Harrison, Stookey’s has become San Francisco’s go to Art Deco bar, rich with style and sophistication. With hosts and bartenders in period attire, it offers not only great cocktails but also a spirited commitment to the music, mood, and atmosphere of the 1930s, giving it the lively feeling of a speakeasy.

The Airliner – Los Angeles

The Airliner is a historic, 100 year old, Lincoln Heights neighborhood bar that exudes warmth and hospitality. Whether you’re into beer and shots, sultry natural wines, or classic to modern cocktails, The Airliner has one of the most compelling bar menus in the city, there’s something for everyone – with an Asian comfort food menu.

Honorable Mention

Schumann’s Bar – Germany

“The things I like, my guests have to like them too.” Charles Schumann!

Cocktails? Preferably classic and with just a few ingredients. Good service, the best quality, no frills!

Art Deco Bars Around the World, though it is clear we are only touching the surface of a much larger and wonderfully varied subject. There are many more extraordinary bars, each with its own atmosphere, history, design language, and sense of place, and the group presented here is only a small selection meant to open the door to further exploration. I have personally visited 8 of the bars posted here, starting with an in depth meeting at Schumann’s in Germany 1982. We would be delighted to hear from readers who have favorite Art Deco bars of their own, as we may expand this feature in the future with an additional chapter or a broader listing of notable examples from around the world. In preparing this piece, we have purposely left out restaurants and nightclubs, as those deserve separate stories and their own thoughtful consideration.

At Art Deco Collection, we have long celebrated the enduring appeal of the bar as both a social setting and a design statement. For more than 30 years we have promoted the Art Deco home bar, cocktail shakers, champagne buckets at antique shows and on our website, not only as an object of style, but as part of a larger vision of living with beauty, ritual, and character. That point of view continues in Journal #11, The Cocktail Room Comes Home in Art Deco Style, where the spirit of elegant entertaining is brought into the domestic interior. This story on bars around the world is meant to complement that tradition, linking the glamour of public spaces with the lasting allure of bringing that same atmosphere home.