Two Southern California bars ranked among the best in the US

A Los Angeles wine spot with “no actual bar” and an Orange County sports tavern packed with TVs, trivia and scorching salsa have been crowned among the best bars in America.

Esquire named Stir Crazy in Los Angeles and Kelly’s Korner Tavern in Placentia to its 2026 list, giving California two spots on the magazine’s annual booze-soaked honor roll.

Stir Crazy, a minimalist Melrose Ave. spot, made the cut even though Esquire admitted there is “no actual bar” inside — at least not the traditional kind where customers sit at a bar top.

The magazine argued the Los Angeles spot still fits the bill because a great bar can simply 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 pick was Kelly’s Korner Tavern, a Placentia sports bar Esquire described as a beloved Orange County haunt built on trivia nights, local sports memorabilia and regulars who keep coming back.

The magazine said the bar looked like “a scene from one of Pat McAfee’s wet dreams,” with 30 flat-screen TVs, craft-beer taps 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 got 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 came with a bittersweet note: 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 kind of place that may not be packed with Gen Z influencers, but still has something better: people who actually know each other.

Other bars that made Esquire’s 2026 list 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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