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 Singapore. Con 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.”
