2 Southern California spots make new best bars in…
A Los Angeles wine spot with “no actual bar” and an (*2*)Orange County sports activities tavern packed with TVs, trivia and scorching salsa have been topped among the best bars in America.
Esquire named Stir Crazy in Los Angeles and Kelly’s Korner Tavern in Placentia to its 2026 record, giving California two spots on the magazine’s annual booze-soaked honor roll.
Stir Crazy on Melrose Ave. was ranked among the best bars in the nation — even though it’s missing a conventional bartop. Google Maps
Stir Crazy, a minimalist Melrose Ave. spot, made the cut even though Esquire admitted there’s “no actual bar” inside — at least not the normal variety where clients sit at a bar top.
The magazine argued the Los Angeles spot still suits the invoice because a great bar can merely be a place where “it feels good to have a drink with people who make you feel good.”
Esquire praised the spot’s wine, food and laid-back generosity, shouting out dishes including anchovies with herbs and hazelnuts, leek toast with chèvre and kombu oil, celery salad and poached chicken with turnips and chanterelles.
The other California decide was Kelly’s Korner Tavern, a Placentia sports activities bar Esquire described as a beloved Orange County hang-out constructed on trivia nights, local sports activities memorabilia and regulars who keep coming back.
Kelly’s Korner in Placentia was also on the record. Facebook/Kellys Korner Tavern
The Orange County spot was praised for its “above-average bar-food.” Facebook/Kellys Korner Tavern
The magazine said the bar seemed like “a scene from one of Pat McAfee’s wet dreams,” with 30 flat-screen TVs, craft-beer faucets hanging from the ceiling and nods to local heroes including the 2002 World Series champion Angels, Cal State Fullerton baseball and El Dorado High.
The food also received a nod, with Esquire praising Kelly’s “better-than-average sports-bar food,” including giant hamburgers, sandwiches and carne asada nachos with house-made salsa that “legit scorches.”
Still, the writeup got here with a bittersweet word: Kelly’s now closes at 11 p.m. most nights instead of the early hours, trivia nights are less crowded, and the regulars don’t make it in as often as they used to.
But the Placentia tavern was still held up as a true neighborhood spot — the type of place that is probably not packed with Gen Z influencers, but still has one thing better: people who truly know each other.
Other bars that made Esquire’s 2026 record included Half Time Rec in St. Paul, Stars in New York City, Gold Clover Bar in Washington, D.C., Bar Tonique in New Orleans, Ball & Chain in Miami, The House of Found Objects in Birmingham, The Cork in Tucson, The Nashville Place in Nashville, Papercut in Austin, Russell’s in Seattle, Cody’s Public House in Chicago and The Double Windsor in Brooklyn.
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