Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021

  • Jay Khan, Owner of COA - The Best Bar in Asia
  • Manhattan Singapore team
  • Manhattan Singapore Exterior
  • Jigger & Pony Singapore Team
  • Jigger & Pony Singapore interior
  • Coa interior
  • Atlas Bar SIngapore
  • Jay Khan of Coa Bar in Hong Kong

Asia has more than 30 cities with populations greater than five million people, yet only two can lay claim to the top bar on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list. In a live awards ceremony that took place in London on 7 December 2021, the World’s 50 Best Bars list was revealed with Connaught Bar in London named World’s Best for the second year running. The annual ranking is organized by William Reed Media, which also publishes The World’s Best Bars and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Jay Khan of Coa Bar in Hong Kong

Every year since the list’s inception, the continent’s best-ranked bar has been in either Hong Kong or SingaporeCon in Hong Kong placed at number seven and was the highest entry from Asia, following its topping of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021 list in May. Singapore claimed the most spots of all countries with six bars featured, including Jigger & Pony (#9), Manhattan (#15), and Atlas (#16); new entries No Sleep Club (#26) and MO Bar (#36); and re-entry Tippling Club (#43).

Jigger & Pony Singapore interior

As well as Coa, Hong Kong was represented by new entry DarkSide (#49) and re-entry Quinary (#50). Shanghai’s Sober Company (#39) and new entries Epic (#41) and Union Trading Company (#48) made the list for Mainland China, while Japan was represented by Tokyo bars SG Club (#18) and Bar Benfiddich (#32), and South Korea’s Charles H (#42) in Seoul placed. A bar from India returned to the list for the first time since 2010 in the form of Sidecar in New Delhi (#47).

Manhattan Singapore Exterior

Indulge Experimental Bistro in Taipei, Hong Kong’s Caprice Bar and The Bamboo Bar in Bangkok had placed in the top ten on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021 list, but failed to make it onto the global list.

The 51-100 list was released last week and included 13 bars from Asia, including Bar Trigona in Kuala Lumpur (#52); Penicillin (#59) and Argo (#72) in Hong Kong; Tropic City (#62) and BKK Social Club (#90) in Bangkok; Sago House (#63), 28 Hong Kong Street (#71) and Barbary Coast (#81) in Singapore; Tesouro by Firefly in Goa (#65) and Hoots’ (#95) in New Delhi; The Bellwood (#76) in Tokyo; Aha Saloon (#91) in Taipei; and Hope & Sesame (#94) in Guangzhou.

Coa interior

Asia’s 50 Best Bars was the first and is currently the only regional 50 Best ranking, with the inaugural list announced in 2016,” said Mark Sansom, the list’s content editor. “Asia has a huge variety of brilliant bars and cities that we felt needed recognizing as some of the leading cocktail capitals in the world.”

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About the author

Thomas holds a university degree with a focus on Languages, Humanities, Culture, Literature, and Economics, earned in both the UK and Latin America. His journey in Asia began in 2005 when he worked as a publisher in Krabi. Over the past fifteen years, Thomas has edited newspapers and magazines across England, Spain, and Thailand. Currently, he is involved in multiple projects both in Thailand and internationally. In addition to Thailand, Thomas has lived in Italy, England, Venezuela, Cuba, Spain, and Bali, but he spends the majority of his time in Asia. Through his diverse experiences, he has gained a deep understanding of various Asian cultures and communities. Thomas also works as a freelance writer, contributing short travel stories and articles to travel magazines. You can follow his work at www.asianitinerary.com

View all articles by Thomas Gennaro