The best bar on the planet, Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, is making a two-day stop in Dallas to mix cocktails.
World’s 50 Best Bars named Handshake "the best bar in the world” for the second consecutive year. It’s an impressive accolade, given the competition in other bar-centric cities like London, Singapore, Barcelona and Bangkok.
In Mexico City, Handshake has two speakeasies inside the same address. The first is located behind velvet curtains near the front door. The second is a meandering journey down a set of back stairs and into a basement, as if you’re not supposed to go that route — a hidden bar in its simplest form.
In Dallas, Handshake will host a pop-up May 31 and June 1, 2025, at Catbird, the ninth-floor bar at the Thompson Dallas hotel. This is the same building where fine-dining restaurants Monarch and Kessaku offer some of the highest views of Dallas, from the 49th and 50th floors, respectively.
The event is co-hosted by Socorro Tequila. It was a “natural evolution,” said co-founder Pablo Antinori, for the No. 1 bar to partner up with Dallas, where Socorro is headquartered.
Antinori said the Handshake team has a “deep understanding and respect for the spirit.”
Plus: It’s cheaper and easier than trying to get a table at Handshake in Mexico City. Hopeful drinkers are turned away every day, and long lines can form.
At the Dallas pop-up, cocktails on May 31, 2025, will include an olive oil gimlet, coffee fizz, matcha martini and lychee highball. Each costs $18.
On June 1, 2025, the format changes to an educational opportunity and happy hour. From 4-5 p.m. June 1, Handshake bartender Melissa Iturbide Landa will teach consumers and industry professionals about the bar’s cocktail menu. Happy hour is after, from 5-6 p.m. The event is sold out; better get on the waitlist.
Catbird is at 1401 Elm St. (ninth floor of Thompson hotel), Dallas.