Nine Bar

Chicago, United States

Lily Wang and Joe Briglio opened Chinatown's first speakeasy-style cocktail bar behind Moon Palace restaurant in 2022, and the room, neon-tinged, Blade Runner-inspired, channelling Tokyo cocktail bar energy, reached No. 89 on North America's 50 Best extended list. The drinks weave Chinese influences through balanced, technically assured constructions that treat cultural specificity as a strength rather than a gimmick. Nine Bar fills a gap that Chicago's Chinatown needed: a neighborhood bar that represents its community's drinking culture with the same seriousness that downtown bars apply to their own. The latest lists place it at No. 76 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026.