The Best Cocktail First Restaurants in Cannes

Some restaurants understand that the evening begins at the bar, not the table. In Madrid's Chueca neighbourhood, cocktail-first restaurants employ dedicated mixologists who treat the drinks programme with the same rigour as the kitchen — house-made vermouths, bespoke bitters, ice carved to specification. In Amsterdam's canal ring, industrial-chic dining rooms offer pre-dinner cocktails that set the tone for the meal to follow. These aren't restaurants with a bar attached; they're establishments where the cocktail menu receives equal creative investment, where the bartender's recommendation carries the same weight as the sommelier's, and where arriving thirty minutes early isn't just encouraged — it's essential to the full experience.