2023 World's 50 Best Bars: Asia Edition Rankings

Ranked #17 in Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 and a three-time holder of the #1 Asia title, Coa occupies a lower-ground space on Shin Hing Street in Central with a forty-page agave spirits list and a cocktail programme that rotates a new drink every week. The food menu, developed with award-winning Mexican restaurant Chicano, grounds the experience in the culinary culture that produced the spirits on the shelf.

Ranked #3 in Asia and #5 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Jigger & Pony has tracked Singapore's rise as a serious cocktail city since 2012. Operating from the Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar, the bar publishes annual 'menuzines' — editorial-format drink menus that have become collector items — anchored in classic technique and contemporary execution.

Ranked #12 globally and #7 in Asia by World's 50 Best Bars in 2024, BKK Social Club operates from inside the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River. Soaring arches, a mirrored back bar, and an al fresco terrace set the physical tone, while a Mexico-inspired menu built around mezcal, tepache, and horchata riffs delivers the substance behind the spectacle. Named to Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 and Top 500 Bars at #67, this is Bangkok's most consistently decorated destination bar.

Bar Benfiddich occupies the ninth floor of a Nishishinjuku building, operating nightly from 18:00 as one of Asia's most consistently recognised cocktail bars — ranked #9 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and #25 globally in 2024. Its 17-seat walnut counter frames a program built around farm-grown botanicals, antique tools, and a working distillery in Chichibu, producing drinks that shift with each harvest.

Ranked #2 in Asia and #9 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2024, Zest operates from a minimalist ground-floor space in Gangnam's Dosan-daero corridor, where a zero-waste cocktail programme draws on contract-farmed Korean ingredients, in-house urban beehives, and micro-distillery spirits. Co-founder Dohyung 'Demie' Kim won the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award 2024. Weekday hours run from 18:30, with weekend service beginning at 15:00.

Tropic City has held a position inside the World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars list every year since 2019, making it one of Bangkok's most consistently recognised cocktail programmes. Located on Charoen Krung 28 in Bang Rak, the bar operates around the clock and draws a crowd that treats late hours as standard. Six consecutive years of ranking signal a programme built on more than novelty.

Nutmeg & Clove has spent eleven years building one of Asia-Pacific's most recognised bar programs from an eight-table saloon on Purvis Street. Named in Asia's Best Bars Top 10 multiple times and ranked #24 in the 2025 edition, it turns Singapore's neighbourhood memory — kopitiam counters, mama shop shelves, itinerant ice cream carts — into formally structured cocktails that read as cultural argument as much as drink.

Located on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong in Central, Argo has placed on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2022, reaching as high as #34 globally and #3 in Asia. Named to Tatler's Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list, it operates at the upper tier of Hong Kong's hotel bar circuit, where programme depth and regional recognition matter as much as the address.

Positioned inside Rosewood Hong Kong on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, Darkside has ranked consistently inside both the World's 50 Best Bars global list and Asia's Best Bars top tier since 2021. The bar operates at a technical level that places it among Hong Kong's most decorated drinking rooms, drawing a crowd that treats the visit as an occasion rather than a stop.

Sago House on Duxton Hill has earned consecutive placements in the World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars rankings since 2021, reaching #10 in 2023 and appearing in the global list at #32 that same year. Set in one of Singapore's most characterful heritage streets, it operates at the intersection of place-rooted cocktail philosophy and tropical ingredient work that defines the city's premium bar tier.

Experimental Bistro has held a position inside the World's 50 Best Bars global ranking for seven consecutive years, reaching Asia's Best Bars #2 in 2018 and #3 in 2019. Located in Taipei's Da'an District, it represents the sharper edge of Taiwan's bar scene, where international technique meets local produce. Few bars in Asia have sustained this level of recognition across as many consecutive cycles.

Vesper has held a place on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, making it one of Bangkok's most consistently recognised cocktail programmes. Located on Soi Convent in Silom, it operates in the upper tier of a city that has built a serious regional reputation for bar culture. With a 4.5 Google rating across more than 1,100 reviews, the consensus among repeat visitors is clear.

Bar Cham has climbed from #50 in Asia's Best Bars in 2020 to #6 in 2025, placing it among the most consistently recognised cocktail bars on the continent. Situated in the Jongno District neighbourhood of Bukchon, the bar frames Korean aesthetics through classically grounded technique. It opens Wednesday through Monday from 18:00 to 01:00.

Ranked #65 in the World's 50 Best Bars 2025 and a fixture on the Asia's Best Bars list since 2019, The SG Club in Shibuya operates across two distinct floors with a program rooted in Japanese ingredient logic and international technique. Located in Jinnan, a quieter pocket above the Shibuya crossing noise, it draws a consistent crowd of serious drinkers and has held a place in the global top 25 as recently as 2021.

Ranked #47 on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2024 and #15 in Asia the previous year, Analogue at CHIJMES in Singapore has moved steadily up the global cocktail rankings since 2022. Set within a 19th-century Gothic chapel complex in the civic district, the bar operates in a tier of serious program bars that compete on technical depth and concept clarity rather than volume or spectacle.

Republic has climbed from #57 to #12 on Asia's Best Bars in three years, placing it among Singapore's most tracked cocktail programs. Positioned at 7 Raffles Ave against the Marina Bay waterfront, it draws a crowd that returns for the bar's technical consistency rather than novelty. Rated 4.7 across nearly 400 Google reviews, it holds its ground in a city where bar competition is genuinely fierce.

Few hotel bars in Asia hold a position in both Asia's 50 Best Bars and the global Top 500 simultaneously. The Aubrey, on the 25th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, operates across three distinct bar spaces with a Japanese craft focus that earned it a #10 ranking in Asia's 50 Best Bars 2024 and placement in Tatler's Best 20 Bars Hong Kong 2025. The skyline is the backdrop; the programme is the point.

Sidecar in New Delhi's Greater Kailash II has earned a position among Asia's most consistently recognised bars, appearing on Asia's 50 Best Bars every year since 2020 and reaching #14 on the Asia list in 2022. Described by Tatler Asia as a bartender's bar, it draws on classic cocktail technique and literary reference points, holding a Google rating of 4.7 across nearly 2,900 reviews.

On King Street's bar-dense corridor, The Cocktail Club has earned a position that most Charleston venues have not: consecutive appearances in the World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars rankings, climbing from #32 in 2022 to #12 in 2024. That trajectory, combined with a Pearl recommendation and a Top 500 Bars placement in 2025, makes it a reference point for the city's serious drinking scene.

Perched on the upper floors of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, Virtù has accumulated a consistent run of World's 50 Best recognition — including Asia's Best Bars positions in 2023, 2024, and 2025 — alongside the 2024 Michter's Art of Hospitality Award. The bar pairs skyline views across eastern Tokyo with a drinks program that maps Japanese produce onto a French spirits framework, served by a multilingual team with evident warmth.

Manhattan at Conrad Singapore Orchard holds one of the most decorated track records in Asian cocktail history, ranking as high as #1 in Asia's 50 Best Bars and #3 globally. Named the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 Best Service winner, the bar frames Golden Age American cocktail culture through a Singaporean lens. It sits at the upper tier of Orchard Road hotel bars, with a Google rating of 4.7 across more than 1,000 reviews.

Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar occupied Bangkok's top tier of cocktail recognition through 2023 and 2024, reaching #19 and #57 respectively in the World's 50 Best Bars global ranking. Positioned on the second floor of a Bang Rak address, it represents the precision-led, concept-driven school of Thai bartending that has placed Bangkok alongside Singapore and Tokyo as a credible force in Asian cocktail culture.

Six appearances on Asia's 50 Best Bars list place Lamp Bar among the most consistently recognised cocktail programmes in Japan, operating not from Tokyo or Osaka but from Nara — a city better known for its deer and ancient temples than its bar scene. The Google rating sits at 4.6 across 549 reviews, signalling a reputation that extends well beyond specialist circles.

One of Singapore's most decorated cocktail bars, 28 HongKong Street occupies a converted shophouse on 28 Hong Kong St and has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2012. A sustained run of recognition — including a #1 Asia ranking in 2016 — places it among the bars that shaped the city's modern cocktail identity. Google reviewers rate it 4.4 across more than 1,100 scores.

Le Chamber has appeared on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, reaching as high as #17 in 2018 and holding a place in the 2025 ranking at #50. Located one floor below street level on Dosan-daero 55-gil in Gangnam's Cheongdam corridor, it operates in the tier of Seoul bars that shaped the city's international cocktail reputation. Google reviewers rate it 4.4 across 602 submissions.

Hong Kong's first closed-loop sustainable bar, Penicillin on Hollywood Road has held a place on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2021, reaching #22 in 2022 and #27 in 2025. The bar operates on a zero-waste philosophy that shapes every element of the program, from fermentation to foraging, earning it a place on Tatler's Best 20 Bars Hong Kong 2025 alongside a global ranking of #59 on Top 500 Bars.

Housed inside Parkview Square's art deco tower on North Bridge Road, Atlas has ranked continuously in the World's 50 Best Bars since 2017 — peaking at number four globally in 2020. The bar's gin collection and art deco setting have made it a reference point for Singapore's cocktail scene, recognised by Tatler Asia for Best Design in 2024 and listed among the Top 500 Bars globally in 2025.

Alice Cheongdam has appeared on Asia's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, reaching #11 in 2016 and #13 in 2025, making it one of the most consistently recognised cocktail bars in the region. Located in the basement of a Cheongdam-dong address, the bar draws on an Alice in Wonderland concept that shapes both its spatial design and its drinks program. Open until 2am on weekdays and 3am on weekends, it runs deep into Seoul's night.

Pantja has held a place on Asia's Best Bars list for three consecutive years, climbing from #29 in 2023 to #27 in 2024 before appearing again on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list. Located on Jl. Senopati in South Jakarta's Kebayoran Baru district, it sits at the serious end of the city's cocktail scene — the kind of bar that rewards advance planning and repays the effort.

A New York cocktail institution transplanted to Singapore's Amoy Street conservation district, Employees Only has accumulated consistent Asia's 50 Best Bars recognition since 2017 — peaking at #17 — while maintaining the after-hours energy that defined the original. The bar occupies a shophouse format that channels the same low-lit, high-craft atmosphere the brand built its reputation on, placing it squarely in Singapore's upper tier of serious cocktail programs.

On Hollywood Road in Central, Quinary has anchored Hong Kong's serious cocktail scene since 2012. Named to the World's 50 Best Bars list every year from 2013 through 2021, and ranked among Asia's Best Bars consistently through 2025, it sits in a peer tier defined by technical precision and longevity rather than novelty. A Google rating of 4.6 across more than 900 reviews signals a floor of reliability that few bars at this level maintain.

On Amoy Street in Singapore's Tanjong Pagar conservation district, Stay Gold Flamingo runs an American- and Japanese-inspired cocktail program that has earned Asia's Best Bars recognition in consecutive years, including a #32 ranking in 2023 and #63 in 2024. The bar occupies a shophouse format that divides neatly between early-evening approachability and late-night intensity, making its award trajectory one of the more closely watched in the regional scene.

Mostly Harmless is a cocktail bar on Hong Kong's Queen's Road West in Sai Ying Pun, ranked #33 on Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2023 before settling at #88 in 2025. Its trajectory through the Asia's 50 Best rankings over three consecutive years signals sustained peer recognition in a city with one of the most competitive bar scenes in the region. Google reviewers rate it 4.5 from 88 submissions.

On Legazpi Street in Makati, The Curator has held a place in Asia's Best Bars rankings every year since 2016, peaking at #16 and sitting at #78 in 2025. Open from early morning through the small hours most nights, it operates as both a serious coffee address and a recognised cocktail bar — a dual identity that reflects its role in the neighbourhood rather than a single-category pitch.

The Bombay Canteen's bar program has earned consistent placement on Asia's Best Bars lists since 2023, ranking as high as #35 in the region. Set in the Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel, it functions as a genuine neighbourhood anchor for Mumbai's after-work and weekend crowd, drawing regulars who track the cocktail menu as closely as the kitchen's output.

Named in Tatler's Best 20 Bars Asia-Pacific and ranked among Asia's 50 Best Bars every year since 2019, Bar Trigona operates from the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur with a drink programme built around indigenous Malaysian ingredients. Its food menu is designed to work alongside the cocktails, not merely accompany them. For anyone tracking the evolution of Southeast Asian bar culture, this is a reference point.

Southside Parlor sits in Yongsan District, operating a deliberately compressed Thursday-to-Sunday schedule that signals intent: this is a bar built around precision, not volume. Ranked 37th in Asia's 50 Best Bars 2023 and carrying a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 580 reviews, it occupies the specialist tier of Seoul's cocktail scene alongside peers like Charles H and Bar Cham.

Ranked #38 on Asia's Best Bars 2023, Copitas is one of Bangalore's most decorated cocktail addresses, operating evenings Tuesday through Sunday from a venue on Bellary Road in Ganganagar. The bar holds a 4.6 Google rating across 466 reviews, placing it among the city's most consistently rated drinking destinations. For the India bar circuit, it is a reference point.

Ranked #7 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and making its World's 50 Best Bars debut that same year, Hope & Sesame has operated from Guangzhou's Dongshankou district since 2016. Entry is through a concealed refrigerator door; the programme inside runs on ultrasonic infusion, rotary distillation, and seasonal menus built around regional flavour and cultural narrative.

Ranked #14 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and #67 globally by World's 50 Best, Smoke & Bitters operates from an unlikely address on Sri Lanka's south coast, turning Hiriketiya's surf-village setting into one of the region's most credentialed cocktail programs. A 4.7 Google rating across more than 1,100 reviews confirms the bar's hold on visitors who rarely expect to find this level of craft this far from a major city.

Ranked #20 in Asia and #74 globally by World's 50 Best Bars in 2025, Vender has become the reference point for serious cocktail craft in Taichung. Located in the West District, it has climbed steadily through Asia's rankings over three consecutive years, placing Taiwan's second city firmly on the international bar circuit. For anyone tracing the arc of Taiwan's cocktail scene beyond Taipei, this is a necessary stop.

Native on Amoy Street has spent nearly a decade placing Southeast Asian foraged and fermented ingredients at the centre of Singapore's cocktail conversation. Ranked among Asia's top bars every year since 2017, including a peak of #4 in Asia and #12 globally in 2019, it occupies a tier defined by conceptual rigour and ingredient provenance rather than spectacle or volume.

Ranked #40 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and a consistent presence on the World's 50 Best Asia shortlist since 2023, The Public House on Xinyi Road structures each night into three distinct atmospheric chapters. The bar weaves Taiwanese cultural references into a bar-culture framework that separates it from Taipei's cocktail-forward competition, with a 4.5-star rating across more than 900 Google reviews reinforcing its standing.

Bee's Knees has held a position in Asia's Best Bars top 80 every year since 2020, peaking at #18 in 2021 — a sustained record that places it among the most consistently recognised cocktail bars in the region. Operating from Nakagyo Ward in central Kyoto, it runs Tuesday through Saturday from 6pm until 3am, making it one of the city's more serious late-night drinking destinations.

Bar High Five has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2011, reaching as high as #3 globally in 2013. Located in a basement in Ginza, it represents the classical Tokyo bar tradition — precise technique, minimal theatre, and drinks built around the guest rather than the menu. A 4.3 Google rating across 715 reviews reflects consistent execution over more than a decade.

A basement bar in Hannam-dong, Yongsan, Soko has held a position on Asia's Best Bars since 2023 and ranked #54 on the 2025 World's 50 Best Asia's list. Its seasonal cocktail menu runs alongside a jazz-inflected atmosphere that sets it apart from Seoul's louder drinking culture. Consistent ranking trajectory signals a program with staying power.

The Old Man on Aberdeen Street has held a place inside the World's 50 Best Bars top ten and led Asia's 50 Best Bars rankings, making it one of the most decorated cocktail addresses in Hong Kong. The bar draws a steady crowd to Soho's lower slope with a literary-themed program and a commitment to technical precision over theatrical flourish. Booking ahead is advisable.

Ranked 48th on Asia's Best Bars 2023, The Living Room in Mahim West has become one of Mumbai's most closely watched cocktail addresses. The bar sits in the quieter western residential fringe of the city, drawing a crowd that treats it as a serious drinks destination rather than a night-out stopover. Limited public data makes advance planning worthwhile.

A Taisho-era-inspired bar in Shibuya's Udagawacho, The Bellwood translates the kaiseki meal structure into a sequential cocktail programme, drawing on both Japanese and Western spirits. Ranked #79 on Asia's Best Bars 2025 and #190 in the Top 500 Bars, it also conceals a 12-piece omakase counter at the back. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 to 20:00.