From lattes to martinis: how Takuma Watanabe became the world’s new favourite bartender

Read on to discover the Japanese bartender's passion for ice, martinis and selfless Japanese-style hospitality.

Takuma Watanabe is not a casual dresser. Behind the bar, he wears a silk bowtie and three-piece suit, his dark hair deliberately floppy in the front but carefully trimmed around his ears. In his off time, he's likely still in a collared button-down shirt, everything just so. The attention to detail in his appearance carries over to the way he runs his bars – mindfully and attentively, with nothing an afterthought. The last character of his name, 磨 or migaku, means to polish in English, which perfectly describes what Watanabe has been doing over the last 15 years, leading to him being named the winner of the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award 2026 as part of The 50 Best Bars.

Watanabe, who grew up in Japan, first started in beverages as a barista in Tokyo at the age of 18, perfecting the craft of latte art. He quickly realised he enjoyed interacting with customers as much as making the drinks themselves. When he was 20, his father, who had retired from being the general manager of Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, took him for a cocktail at the Imperial Bar.

"They have two signature cocktails there – Mount Fuji and Tinkerbell. After drinking them, I had to borrow my dad's shoulder to get home", he recalls. After the hotel's hospitality and heritage left an impression on him, he became a bartender at Code Name Mixology in Tokyo in 2005, working under his first mentor, Shinzo Nagumo. Nagumo's remarkable attention to detail led him to work harder and keep learning.

Watanabe's drinks career began as a barista practicing latte art in Tokyo

After building his knowledge, Watanabe started entering (and winning) bartending competitions from 2011, which allowed him to meet bartenders from around the world. Soon, he met his second mentor, Shingo Gokan, who was running the bar at Angel's Share in New York City.

"I told him, 'I want to go to New York, and I want to work with you'", Watanabe recalls. "And Gokan said: 'just buy a ticket.'" Six months later, Watanabe was on a flight to New York to turn that dream into a reality.

Watanabe moved from Tokyo to New York to work under Shingo Gokan at Angel's Share

What he thought would maybe be a two-year stint in the US turned into 15 years and counting. He took over as head bartender from Gokan when his mentor left Angel's Share, and when Covid hit, 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.

A passion for the martini

Watanabe often shares a story about how he made martinis for his mentor Nagumo for three years before Nagumo finally told him he had succeeded in making a real martini. While Watanabe admits he isn't sure what exactly flipped the switch for Nagumo, he knows that this training made him obsessed with the details.

Martiny's opened in April 2022 in New York's Gramercy neighbourhood

"Whenever there is something to celebrate, I make a martini, or someone makes one for me", says Watanabe. "A martini is simple, but simple is the most difficult to master", he says. To demonstrate, he pours some gin into a glass and bangs a spoon harshly in it for a few minutes, insisting that once the gin is stressed in this way, it becomes bitter and the aroma is distorted.

When it came time to finding a name his first bar in April 2022 with partner Jay Yang, the name was obvious: Martiny's. Martiny's refers yes, to the cocktail, but it's also the name of a previous occupant of the carriage house in Gramercy that houses the bar, French-American sculptor Philip Martiny. 

Watanabe created the signature Grand Martiny's as his bar's take on the classic cocktail (Image: Todd Coleman)

Designing the bar's signature drink, Watanabe created the Grand Martiny's as a more accessible take on the classic. He was inspired by the way wine pairs with food, combining gin with Manzanilla sherry, St-Germain liqueur, port and cognac for a smoother, less intense flavour profile. In addition to the Grand Martiny's, there are currently three other martini renditions on the menu, alongside a lengthy list of signature cocktails and rotating seasonal drinks.

An obsession with Ice

If you ask Watanabe what the most important ingredient in a cocktail is, without hesitation he will say ice. "My first mentor told me, a chef uses fire, a bartender uses ice", says Watanabe. "Just as if you have too much fire, the food will burn, if you use too much ice, the drink will be watery." Watanabe is militant about using large ice chunks that are hand-cut and take longer to melt. Another reason for large ice? Less aeration.

"When you shake a drink, small ice cubes are crashing many times and creating air bubbles", he says. "When I stir my drinks, I don't make a sound." Sitting at his bar, his quietness becomes readily apparent.

The wooden bar at Martiny's is lively, but it's not noisy. There's no ice slamming into metal or glass, no loud music and no patrons standing around, creating extra commotion. Instead, there's a well-oiled staff who anticipate guests' needs and a refined and elegant atmosphere that's not at all stuffy.

Cocktails at Martiny's, such as the Tea Ceremony, are inspired by Ginza-style bars 

Before opening Martiny's, Watanabe realised that New York City didn't have a true Ginza-style bar. Yes, there were bars that served Japanese drinks, but a bar that embraced omotenashi – the Japanese concept of selfless hospitality – with a classier atmosphere was missing.

"I wanted a place with consistency, with attention to detail, and where I can talk to each customer one-on-one. A place where there is beauty in simplicity", Watanabe says. "I have a consistent and precise approach to crafting high-quality cocktails. Nothing is wasted, every movement has a purpose", he says. "I have a relentless curiosity to pursue and refine the craft."

This curiosity has led to some of the most innovative cocktails around, while his precision and consistency ensures a world-class hospitality in line with the world's greatest bars.

A Bartenders' Bartender

Watanabe owns three establishments now, all within a few minutes' walk of each other. In addition to Martiny's, L'Americana is an Italian-inspired bar and bistro that opened in February 2024 and Midnight Blue is a jazz bar that opened in July 2024.

Watanabe takes pride in the fact that he rose to bartending prominence in New York's golden age of craft cocktails of the early 2000s. At Angel's Share, he worked with people like GN Chan, co-founder of Double Chicken Please, and Ben Rojo of L.A.'s No Smoking Bar.

When founding Martiny's, Watanabe wanted his team to feel like family

"There were so many people at Angel's Share from Asia, like me, who had no family here", he says. "They were like my family and I wanted to take care of them all. I started to think about the future and I knew then that if I opened my own bar, I wanted to make it like a family." This became a guiding light as he created Martiny's and his other establishments, which is why, he says, winning the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award is such an honour.

"This is an award that I would love to share and celebrate with the many bartenders around the world whom I respect and admire", says Watanabe. "It makes me even prouder to be a bartender, while also reminding me of the responsibility that comes with this honour. I hope to continue pursuing and refining my craft, and to become an even better bartender worthy of this prestigious award."

The list of The 50 Best Bars 2026 (formerly known as The World's 50 Best Bars) will be revealed on Wednesday 7 October in Milan, Italy.