Caffe Dante named world's best bar

A Greenwich Village hot spot that’s been around for over a century was recently given the title of “Best Bar in the World.” 

Fox5 sat down with the owner of the cozy Macdougal Street’s Caffe Dante to find out what makes it so special.

“People say, ‘Gosh, youre so lucky to have this amazing award and have a business doing so well in New York,’” said co-owner Linden Pride on a recent morning— the only time the place isn’t packed. “But really it’s a lot of hard work.”

It’s hard work that Pride is, well, proud of. And rightfully so ever since October, when 500 industry insiders from around the world chose Caffe Dante for the top prize.

“This is unbelievable,” Linden said in his acceptance speech, “and totally unexpected I have to say.”

But what makes Caffe Dante so good? Pride says for starters, their focus on its past, which begins in 1915.

“This was an Italian coffee shop in what was the south village,” Pride said. “It’s always been a very important part to what was an Italian community here. They only employed Italian and Maltese waitresses, they spoke Italian, it was cash only.”

Tipping their hat to Dante’s heritage, focusing on Italian inspired cuisine and drink menu, is how Pride convinced the previous owner to sell it to him four years ago. 

But you can’t be the best bar without a focus on cocktails. Pride calls it an “aperitivo” style menu.

“Aperitivo really refers to I guess a time of day, which is post-work and pre dinner,” Pride said. “So the drinks are lighter, more effervescent, really delicious and definitely kind of Italian leaning.”

Which brings us to the bar, where creative director— and self described “bar guy” Naren Young showed us the trick to their signature drink, the Garibaldi.

“Garibaldi is an old classic italian drink. It’s basically Campari and orange juice. So we wanted to use that as our muse but kind of elevate the serve,” Young said from behind the bar.

They elevate it with an entire pressed orange—white pith still on the exterior of the orange, making for a frothy, creamy texture in the end.

“So it has this very fluffy thick texture very velvety and has this ethereal kind of feel, mouth feel to it, that people have sort of gone crazy over,” Young said. “And it goes on a little white plate. This goes back to a time when youd see people sipping orange juice on little white plates. I feel like it elevates the serve from something so simple and beautiful into something hopefully really magical.

The only challenge now? The added pressure of being “the best.”

“If people are reading ‘worlds best’ something, then they’ll come in with their own expectations,” Pride explains. “So I mean the challenge for us is to really be able to meet that expectation and still try to exceed it.”