Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2026

Takuma Watanabe

The well-dressed posterchild of selfless Japanese hospitality

Immaculately presented in a tailored three-piece suit and silk bowtie, Takuma Watanabe embodies the essence of his given name, which includes the Japanese character for polish. With a career of more than fifteen years in New York, the Tokyo-born bartender has honed a meticulous approach to cocktail creation and selfless hospitality that has earned him the prestigious Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award 2026 – the only peer-voted accolade as part of The 50 Best Bars 2026.

Watanabe's path began at 18 years old as a barista in his hometown of Tokyo perfecting latte art, before a transformative evening at the Imperial Hotel sparked his passion for mixology. Under the guidance of mentor Shinzo Nagumo at Code Name Mixology bar, he developed a hunger to continuously improve his craft. After entering and winning cocktail competitions around the world, a chance meeting with cocktail titan Shingo Gokan – then bar manager of Angel's Share in New York – subsequently brought him to the Big Apple, where he worked alongside a stellar roster of talent including Double Chicken Please co-founder and former Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award-winner GN Chan, rose to head bartender and cultivated a tight-knit community among international colleagues. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Watanabe began to think about opening his own bar – in many ways to ensure that he could take care of his employees, many of whom, like him, had no family in New York. In 2022, Martiny's was born, named for both his favourite cocktail and the former occupant of its Gramercy premises, Philip Martiny.

Unsurprisingly, the bar pulls from Watanabe's unwavering dedication to perfecting the smallest of details, be it through hand-cut ice blocks that melt slowly and stir silently, ensuring every cocktail maintains its optimal temperature and aroma without unwanted dilution.

In the years since opening Martiny's, Watanabe's influence on New York's new wave bar scene has only increased with the opening of Italian bistro L'Americana and jazz lounge Midnight Blue. Renowned for creating warm environments for staff and guests alike, Watanabe continues to set the standard for world-class hospitality and is a true role model in today's cocktail world.

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