The best bar design in the world is the H.R. Giger Museum Bar in Gruyères, Switzerland, a biomechanical cave that opened on April 12, 2003 and is still the reference point for artist-built bars. This list covers ten bars and cafes from our original collection, chosen for design rather than drinks, with the status of each one checked in October 2026.
10 best bar designs: summary
| # | Venue | City | Design idea | Status (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H.R. Giger Museum Bar | Gruyères, Switzerland | Biomechanical cave | Open at the museum, opened 2003 |
| 2 | Truth Coffee | Cape Town, South Africa | Steampunk roastery | Operating in the city centre |
| 3 | Bicycle Bar | Bucharest, Romania | Recycled bicycles | Not confirmed |
| 4 | The Jane | Antwerp, Belgium | Former hospital chapel | Open, redesigned |
| 5 | Joben Bistro | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | Jules Verne sci-fi | Not confirmed |
| 6 | The Design Bar | Stockholm, Sweden | Annual redesign | Not confirmed |
| 7 | Ozone | Hong Kong | Highest bar | Open on the 118th floor |
| 8 | Cafe Ki | Tokyo, Japan | Tree-like steel poles | Not confirmed |
| 9 | Logomo Cafe | Turku, Finland | Artist-designed interior | Not confirmed |
| 10 | What Happens When | New York, USA | Changing pop-up | Closed (was a limited run) |
“Not confirmed” means we found a current source for it for 2026, so check before you plan a visit. We kept those entries because the designs are still worth knowing about.
1. H.R. Giger Museum Bar, Gruyères, Switzerland
The Museum Bar sits inside the H.R. Giger Museum in the Chateau St. Germain and opened on April 12, 2003. The Swiss artist H.R. Giger, who designed the creature for the film Alien, modelled it as a cavernous, skeletal space. There is one other Giger bar in Switzerland, in Chur, which opened in 1992. The Tokyo bar he is linked to is not counted: Giger disowned it because the organisers built it from his rough sketches before he finished the design.
Designed by: Giger himself.
2. Truth Coffee, Cape Town, South Africa
Truth Coffee is a steampunk coffee shop designed by Haldane Martin, with saw-blade tabletops, metal piping, overstuffed booths and a cast-iron roaster at its centre. It is in Cape Town’s city centre and was voted the best coffee shop in the world in 2015 and 2016 by a UK newspaper’s readers. Cape Town itself was ranked the world’s ninth best coffee city in 2024.
Designed by: Haldane Martin.
3. Bicycle Bar, Bucharest, Romania
This bar was decorated with vintage bicycles donated by the public, and its furniture was built from old items. The idea is recycling as a design language, and it saved a fortune on new furniture. Its 2026 status is unclear.
Designed by: Open Space Design.
4. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium
The Jane opened in the chapel of a former military hospital, and the original conversion was by Piet Boon Studio. The restaurant is still running, open Wednesday evening to Saturday, and its own website now describes a “brutalist framework” interior by Nicolas Schuybroek, with chef Nick Bril leading the kitchen. Sergio Herman, who co-founded it, is no longer named on the current site.
Designed by: Piet Boon Studio (original); Nicolas Schuybroek (current).
5. Joben Bistro, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
A steampunk-inspired space drawing on Jules Verne and science fiction, split across three rooms: a vintage gallery, a concrete bar room with odd installations, and a room full of mismatched objects. No current source confirms it is open.
Designed by: 6 Sense.
6. The Design Bar, Stockholm, Sweden
The Design Bar was a showcase for the Stockholm Furniture Fair. In 2010, designer Jonas Wagell turned it into a “forest and industry” setting, with suspended balloons for clouds and cutouts of mountains and trees. The concept was a bar that invited designers to redecorate it every year. We found no current listing for it.
7. Ozone, Hong Kong
Ozone is on the 118th floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, at roughly 490 metres. Guides in 2025 and 2026 still call it the world’s highest bar, although some enclosed sky lounges are reported to sit higher. The interior is credited to the Japanese studio Wonderwall, with natural motifs such as leaf-vein-patterned leather.
Designed by: Wonderwall.
8. Cafe Ki, Tokyo, Japan
Cafe Ki used black steel poles that look like bare trees, doubling as table legs and coat hangers, with graphics, uniforms and products designed as one whole. The name means “tree” in Japanese. Current status unclear.
Designed by: id.
9. Logomo Cafe, Turku, Finland
The German artist Tobias Rehberger worked with Artek furniture to turn this cafe into a criss-crossed, geometric artwork in orange and black. It is in Logomo, a former railway machine shop that became a cultural venue in 2011 for the Turku European Capital of Culture year. The cafe itself has no current listing that we found.
Designed by: Tobias Rehberger.
10. What Happens When, New York, USA
What Happens When was a restaurant built as “a playground for food”, which changed every 30 days over nine months. Each of its three movements had a different brand, menu, space and soundscape. It has closed, but we keep it because the idea of a venue that redesigns itself still influences how bars are launched.
Designed by: Elle Kunnos de Voss.
What is new in bar design in 2026?
Bar design in 2026 is also about the brands that win awards. In the 2026 global best-bars ranking, the number one spot went to Bar Leone in Hong Kong, followed by Moebius Milano, Alquimico in Cartagena, Bar Us in Bangkok and Line in Athens. That shows the focus has moved from one-off theme bars toward small, intimate rooms where design supports the drinks.
FAQ
What is the most famous bar design in the world?
The H.R. Giger Museum Bar in Gruyères, Switzerland, which opened on April 12, 2003 and is modelled as a biomechanical cave by the artist who designed the Alien creature.
Where is the highest bar in the world?
Ozone, on the 118th floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong at roughly 490 metres, is still widely called the highest bar, although some enclosed sky lounges are said to sit higher.
Is The Jane in Antwerp still open?
Yes. It is open from Wednesday evening to Saturday, and its website credits chef Nick Bril and an interior by Nicolas Schuybroek.
Which bars on this list have closed?
What Happens When in New York closed after its limited run. We could not confirm the status of Bicycle Bar, Joben Bistro, The Design Bar, Cafe Ki and Logomo Cafe in 2026.
Who designed the Truth Coffee interior?
Haldane Martin designed the steampunk interior in Cape Town, built around a cast-iron roaster.
Why is this list only 10 bars?
The original article was part one of a 20-bar series. We rebuilt it as a stand-alone top 10 with the status of each venue.
How we put this list together
We kept the ten designs from our original collection and checked each venue against current public information in October 2026. Where we could not confirm a venue is open, we say so. The order is our own judgement of design ambition.
Last updated: October 2026.
