Handshake Speakeasy

Complex, delicious and well-balanced drinks! Great hospitality, this bar will make you feel cared for. Our bartender was knowledgeable and open to talking about the technique behind the cocktails. Understand why it’s ranked so high. Must visit!

Absolutely outstanding, truly a no-miss cocktail bar. We tried 9 different cocktails and every single one was excellent, both in balance and creativity. Complimentary snacks are provided and can be refilled, which is a nice touch and pairs well with the drinks. If you have a reservation, note that you’re given 90 minutes total, and the timer starts from your reservation time, not when you’re seated. Definitely arrive early, otherwise you’ll lose valuable drinking time.

A creative, premium cocktail experience—worth trying once! Handshake Speakeasy is definitely an experience. It’s dark, stylish, and the service is excellent—very attentive without being intrusive. The cocktails are extremely creative (and pricey), but fun to try at least once. We had the Butter Mushroom Old Fashioned (served with actual mushrooms in the glass), the Gin & Juice, Earl Grey, Once Upon in Oaxaca (lit tableside), and the mini espresso martini and mini dirty martini. All were interesting and beautifully presented. They operate with three seatings, so your time is limited—which honestly works out, since the cocktails are on the expensive side. A unique experience for cocktail lovers, and worth doing once for the creativity and atmosphere.

Ranked #2 in the top 50 cocktail bars in the world. Innovative and exotic cocktails and pretty cool entrance and vibe. I recommend doing reservation in advance (reservation window is 2 weeks and it fills up quickly). There is a 90-min time limit for your table which I think is sufficient to have 3-4 rounds of drinks (the staff were quick and efficient).

I'd return here and am glad I made a reservation. They had good unique cocktails, but nothing that truly wowed or that I'd want to order a second of or try and recreate. Great atmosphere and excellent service. Very limited food. Earl Grey - super unique, small, refreshing Sparkling Jasmine N/A - very good, although the poor is very small Matcha Yuza - strong matcha, fun, not a crowd favorite Once a time in Oxaca- just strong in many dimensions. Good but kind of just strong. Not a crowd favorite. Mushroom butter Old fashioned - crowd favorite, very buttery. No mushroom. Camomile sparkling N/A - too sweet Negroni short - good but not special Note you really need a reservation here. People waiting without one had a 2-4 hour wait standing in a hotel lobby. This place isn't good enough to wait. There are plenty of other great bars. Also, the filtered water served tastes strongly of chemicals. Not great at an establishment focused on taste and smell. It was undrinkable.

<<<<!NO RESERVATION NO PROBLEM!>>>> Cocktails are nice and service is well done. A couple of American girls near us gave the host the run around long enough that they let them in without actually having reserved a table. This is a great place to drop by if you're in CDMX and feeling spontaneous

Although I've read some reviews painting Handshake in a less than ideal light, I thought it was absolutely fantastic. To be among the best CDMX, it takes a lot, and I found they delivered in all fronts. Sure even with resos you have to wait, but I thought it was worth every minute. From the staff welcome, to the feel of a private server that was super attentive to every need, to the complexity and intricacy of the drink mixes, everything felt superb. We certainly didn't feel rushed with our time there. I thought that for the price of the drinks, they were far superior to some places that we tried whose drinks cost more. I would without a doubt return here even if their top50 designation slips a bit.

I usually absolutely hate cocktails but this is the only place that has changed my mind. We had the mexi-thai which literally tasted like a Thai curry, the matcha yuzu and a few of the minis - all amazing! Not too strong and such interesting flavours. Can totally see why this is the number one bar in the world.