Singapore leads Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 long list with 8 entries, while Hong Kong has 4
Now in its fourth edition, the Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended list for 2024, featuring venues ranked from 51st to 100th, has been released a week ahead of a ceremony in Hong Kong on July 16 at which the top 50 will be revealed.
On the long list, which includes bars in 19 destinations, Singapore dominates with eight entries. Bangkok comes in second with six entries, five Tokyo bars and four Hong Kong bars are included, and Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi and Taipei are each represented by three bars on the list.
This year there 15 new entries. Cat Bite Club, a co*cktail bar focusing on rice and agave spirits, founded by Jess Vida and Gabriel Low, is the sole newcomer from Singapore, in 77th place.
“Since introducing the extended list in 2021, we have been consistently impressed by the innovative drinking experiences Asia has to offer, and it is beyond exciting to see the large number of new entries and new destinations that have made the list this year,” said Emma Sleight, Asia’s 50 Best Bars head of content.
“With this recognition, we are hopeful that more bar talent will step forward annually, creating fresh and dynamic co*cktail experiences for enthusiasts across the region.”
Republic at the Ritz-Carlton is the top ranked Singapore bar at 57; the bar’s lounge design and co*cktail menu are inspired by the Swinging Sixties, and pays tribute to the founding of the Republic of Singapore in 1965 when it became independent.
No Sleep Club, a Singaporean co*cktail bar opened by Juan Yi Jun, has moved up 16 places to 60th in 2024. Stay Flamingo (63rd), The Elephant Room (65th), Manhattan (69th), 28 Hong Kong Street (78th) and newly opened Last Word (93rd) are the other Singaporean bars on the list.
Of the four Hong Kong bars ranked, two made big jumps up the list compared with last year’s.
Mizunara: The Library, a Japanese co*cktail bar in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island that specialises in whisky, has risen 20 places from 2023, to 66th. Honky Tonks Tavern in Central has risen 31 places to 67th place.
Trailing behind slightly is The Old Man in 71st place. The bar pays tribute to the late American writer Ernest Hemingway, a known booze lover; its poetic co*cktail menu is inspired by the life and writings of Hemingway.
Tell Camellia, a tea-focused co*cktail bar also in Central, wraps up the Hong Kong contingent at 97.
Only two bars in mainland China make the extended list, at the top and bottom: experimental co*cktail bar Epic in Shanghai, operated by Cross Yu, is 54th, while Sober Company, also in Shanghai, creeps in at 92.
Among the new entries this year is Southbank Cafe + Lounge in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, in 82nd place. The lofty, Melbourne-inspired bar focuses on technique-heavy co*cktails, which accompany modern Australian dishes.
Bangkok has two new entries: Firefly in 83rd place, the opulent lobby bar at the Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel, where each drink on the menu is inspired by a different continent, and Dry Wave co*cktail Studio in 98th place, an elegant bar serving classic and creative co*cktails poured by veteran bartender Supawit “Palm” Muttarattana.
Tokyo Confidential, a rooftop co*cktail bar with a view of Tokyo Tower which opened in the Japanese capital less than a year ago, makes a confident entry in 53rd spot. Lair in New Delhi, a new entry at 68, serves classic co*cktails made with Indian ingredients.
Under Lab, a laboratory-like underground bar in Taiwan, is another new entry in 72nd place.
In Vietnam, The Hudson Rooms bar with a New York Roaring Twenties vibe on the rooftop of the Capella Hanoi hotel, joins the list in 81st place. Also in Vietnam, Drinking & Healing, a retro co*cktail bar in Ho Chi Minh City, joins the list in 99th place.
Asia’s 50 Best Bars has presented its list of the continent’s 50 best bars annually since 2016 under the auspices of The World’s 50 Best Bars. The first long list was published in 2021.
The rankings of bars on the top 50 and extended lists are decided by the votes of its 265-member Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy, made up of industry insiders and experts.
Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 long list in full
51. Soko, Seoul
52. Backdoor Bodega, Penang
53. Tokyo Confidential, Tokyo
54. Epic, Shanghai
55. Lamp Bar, Nara
56. Three X Co, Kuala Lumpur
57. Republic, Singapore
58. Stir, Ho Chi Minh City
59. The Bombay Club, Mumbai
60. No Sleep Club, Singapore
61. To Infinity & Beyond, Taipei
62. Tropic City, Bangkok
63. Stay Gold Flamingo, Singapore
64. Yakoboku, Kumamoto
65. The Elephant Room, Singapore
66. Mizunara: The Library, Hong Kong
67. Honky Tonks Tavern, Hong Kong
68. Lair, New Delhi
69. Manhattan, Singapore
70. Coley, Kuala Lumpur
71. The Old Man, Hong Kong
72. Under Lab, Taipei
73. Opium, Bangkok
74. Folklore, Tokyo
75. Bee’s Knees, Kyoto
76. Gold Bar, Tokyo
77. Cat Bite Club, Singapore
78. 28 HongKong Street, Singapore
79. The Han-Jia, Tainan
80. JungleBird, Kuala Lumpur
81. The Hudson Rooms, Hanoi
82. Southbank Cafe + Lounge, Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila
83. Firefly, Bangkok
84. Sidecar, New Delhi
85. The Sailing Bar, Nara
86. Bulgari Ginza Bar, Tokyo
87. High Five, Tokyo
88. The St. Regis Bar, Jakarta
89. Gong Gan, Seoul
90. Asia Today, Bangkok
91. The Bamboo Bar, Bangkok
92. Sober Company, Shanghai
93. Last Word, Singapore
94. Wu (Nothingness), Taipei
95. Charles H, Seoul
96. Home, New Delhi
97. Tell Camellia, Hong Kong
98. Dry Wave co*cktail Studio, Bangkok
99. Drinking & Healing, Ho Chi Minh City
100. Moonrock, Tainan
