The Best Bloody Marys of the Decade

Can you believe not only another year has gone by, but an entire decade?? It’s so wild to me how ten years has just come and gone! So many momentous things, good and bad have happened in the last ten years, but I wouldn’t trade any of it if it would change where I am today.

One of the best things to come to me this decade has been Bloody Mary Obsessed! It has been such a crazy adventure of bloody marys and brunch that has connected me to so many amazing people all over the country and experience things I could never imagine. This savory red cocktail has truly touched my heart and made such an impact on my life in the last decade!

I want to thank you all for your love, support, and readership. Thank you for being a part of the Brunchfaced and Bloody Mary Obsessed community! This year, more partnerships, recipes, and new adventures in new cities and even new countries are to come and I can’t wait to share them with you all!!

In the meantime, here is my guide of the best bloody marys I’ve had over the past decade!! The guide is broken up into 3 categories; recipes, garnish, and over-the-top garnish! Drop a comment below and let me know what bloody marys I should find in this new decade!

*Please note, the list is based on ones I’ve personally tried and I also chose to leave out build your own bars and base it how the bloody marys come as-is. Cheers!

Looking for some other awesome guides? Check some more out here:

The Best Bloody Mary Mixes of 2023

The Best Bloody Marys of Minnesota

The Best Bloody Marys of San Diego

Best Recipes of the Decade

Jerry’s Bar - Philadelphia, PA

Mother of dragons? The Bloody Dragon from Jerry’s in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia brings the heat! A real fire-breather, the Bloody Dragon is made with Revivalist Gin infused with jalapeños and a house-made mix that is garlic and citrus-forward. I’d travel back to Philly just to go to Jerry’s again.

The Smoking Gun - San Diego, CA

One of the last bloody marys I had of the decade, The Smoking Gun in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown San Diego skirted into the list and into my heart, just in the knick of time! Incredibly flavorful and robust, The Smoking Gun uses the same rub and seasonings they use on their famous brisket in their house-made mix. Last bloody of the decade, but certainly not least, the unique recipe was something new and different I hadn’t had in quite a while.

Blue Door Kitchen & Garden- Chicago, IL

The Gold Coast has one of the best bloody marys…and I don’t mean Australia. I’m talking about the bloody mary at Blue Door Kitchen in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. Anytime a bloody mary has pickle brine, is salty, herbaceous, AND spicy…. you’ve ticked all my bloody mary feels! Farm-to-table bloody restaurants just seem to have a knack for spectacular bloody marys!

Cafe 21 - San Diego, CA

Farm-to-bar really came alive this decade. Cafe 21, a farm-to-table eatery in downtown San Diego, delivers three incredible bloody marys. The Ol' Yello' Mary recipe, made from locally sourced yellow heirloom tomatoes with minimal ingredients and from scratch is damn near flawless in my book, but neither Prawn Star or California Greenin’ will taste any less superb.

UODATE*** Since the pandemic they started offering only the classic red bloody mary, but it is still one of my favorite bloody marys of all time and is served in a Goddess ceramic glass with homemade pickled vegetables and grilled cheese made with homemade bread! So stinking good!

Best Garnish of the Decade

Copper Hen Cakery & Kitchen - Minneapolis, MN

In the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Copper Hen has not only delicious bloody marys but they are also topped with the most adorable garnishes of the decade! The Copper Hen Bloody is topped with a mini bacon blueberry breakfast cupcake and the Bloody Hell comes with a mini donut muffin, #craycrayadorbs and both with generous amounts of dill sprigs to heighten your senses! To compliment the cupcakes Copper Hen Bloody is paired with a light pilsner beer and Bloody Hell with crisp cider.

Toast Gastrobrunch - Oceanside, CA

Toast’s featured cocktail, Alfie’s Green Bloody Mary in Oceanside has one of my favorite and enjoyable garnishes of the decade! #GetToasted with a gin green bloody mary that’s topped with one of the tastiest pieces of grilled shrimp I’ve ever had. The smoked salt rim ties in the gin green bloody perfectly with the roasted jalapeño, bacon, and stuffed olive!

Great Maple - Multiple Locations, CA

With several locations throughout Southern California, Great Maple’s lineup of bloody marys is some of the best! Remember how I said I liked pickles? Great Maple’s Famous Pickle Mary is topped with a “big o’ pickle” that is epically big as it is delicious. Other standout garnishes of the decade include a pizza-like bread with melted cheese and chorizo on top of the Hangover Mary and a fresh grilled octopus tentacle on the One-Armed Mary.

1909 Temecula - Temecula, CA

Surrounded by history in Old Town Temecula, the Carnivore Bloody Mary from 1909 is certainly one for the history books. Probably my favorite wings ever, the Carnivore is topped with 2 crispy yet juicy wings in a drool-worthy sun-dried tomato rub. Ditch the plastic straws and sip the 15+ ingredient bloody mary through a locally sourced beef jerky straw and nibble on the standard meat and cheese treats.

Sally’s Fish House + Bar - San Diego, CA

Seaport Village is home to some Insta-worthy cocktails, including the Ultimate Bloody Mary from Sally’s Fish House + Bar. This decade we saw the evolution of social media and Sally’s will not let your Insta feed down! The seafood lover’s dream, the Ultimate Mary is topped with an exquisite blackened shrimp, crispy piece of bacon, and a meaty, foot-long king crab leg!

Garnish - Over-the-top

Chef Point Cafe - Watauga, TX

In a former gas station located in a suburb of Fort-Worth, Texas lies 5-star food and a bloody mary of epic proportions. The Bloody Best, Bloody Mary starts you out with a mimosa (was a beer when I went a few years ago) while you wait for your garnish to cook, yes…cook! A double-size of their bloody mary is the only thing that would be big enough to hold up their famous Better Than Sex Fried Chicken, Nolan Ryan Slider, waffle fries, grilled shrimp, jalapeño pepper, pickle spear, and bacon!

Farmer’s Table - Multiple Locations, CA

San Diego’s most famous bloody mary, the Barnyard Mary from Farmer’s Table, like Chef Point, has been featured on the Food Network! Basically, breaking the internet by getting millions of views, the Barnyard Bloody Mary, served in a large pitcher is garnished with bacon, house-made sausages, shrimp, Mexican street corn, pickled veggies, cheeses, and an entire oven-roasted Cornish hen, drizzled in barbecue sauce.

Sunda New Asian - Chicago, IL

My Pinterest dreams came true when I headed to the River North neighborhood of Chicago to try Sunda’s, Sumo Mary. On my Bloody Mary bucket list for at least a decade, it was everything i hoped and wished for! The Asian inspired bloody mary is garnished with tocino grilled cheese, steamed duck bao bun, crab handroll, crispy pork belly, wok-fired shishito peppers, Applewood bacon, Sunda potatoes, lumpia, takuan, and kai-lan.

The Saratoga - San Francisco, CA

This decade, a new Hail Mary takes the cake in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco… sorry, Doug Flutie. The Saratoga’s Hail Mary has quite the interesting garnish options that are really yummy. Pickled Green Beans, celery salt with a fried pickle, bacon, pickled quail eggs, beef jerky, jalapeño poppers, fried chicken, and poached shrimp, the Hail Mary is a total touchdown!

The Roxy Encinitas - Encinitas, CA

In North County, San Diego, “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” goes into the Roxy Encinitas’s bloody mary. Everything but the Kitchen Sink bloody mary is a 24oz made from scratch bloody mary in a giant mason jar is, topped with... lemon, lime, olive, pickle, pepperoncini, onion, celery, a juicy cheeseburger slider, smothered in cheese, succulent buffalo chicken tender, shrimp, thick-cut pepper bacon. In true Midwest fashion, the bloody is served with a pony Miller High Life!

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