Cover Bar Leone ranks first in Asia, and a reshuffle in the top five at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 held at the Wynn Palace in Macau (Photo: Asia’s 50 Best)
Bar Leone ranks first in Asia, and a reshuffle in the top five at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 held at the Wynn Palace in Macau (Photo: Asia’s 50 Best)
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Bar Leone maintains its top spot at the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 awards, which took place at the Wynn Palace in Macau on July 15
At the tenth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars’ annual awards ceremony, Hong Kong’s Bar Leone was crowned Best Bar in Asia on July 15. The unmistakably Italian bar has maintained its position at the top spot since it made the 50 Best Bars’ history at the 2024 awards, where it claimed the top spot as a new entrant on the list. This year, bartending luminaries and startenders alike gather to toast in celebration of the region’s bartending talent at the opulent Wynn Palace in Macau, which will likely continue to host next year’s Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards.
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At the lofty top, there is a dramatic shuffle among the previous year’s top five bars. 2024’s No.4 and No.5 of agave and mezcal-focused Coa (Hong Kong) and Tokyo’s Bar Benfiddich fell out, and replaced by Bangkok’s Dry Wave Cocktail Studio (No.5) and Bar Us (No.4). Seoul’s Zest remains the first runner-up, followed by the third-placed Jigger & Pony, Singapore’s best bar for the seventh consecutive year.
For the tenth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, there are a whopping total of 20 new entries, such as Jakarta’s The St.Regis Bar (No.22), Bangkok’s G.O.D (No.26), and Taipei’s To Infinity and Beyond (No.41). This also reflects marks a decade of continuously being on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list for these bars: Singapore’s Jigger & Pony, Tokyo’s Bar Benfiddich, Bangkok’s Vesper, and both Le Chamber and Alice Cheongdam in Seoul.
Movements in the 2025 list
There’s no lack of thrills, spills, and action beyond the coveted top five spots. As with any other year, movement is expected. No longer with the most featured bars from any city, Singapore now has five bars on the list. The current nominees include Offtrack (No.23), Nutmeg and Clove (No.24), Cat Bite Club (No.44), Native (No.45).
Bangkok, which is the city that has the most Top 50 bars, saw seven anticipated bars on the list, with Bar Us (No.4) being awarded the title of Best Bar in Thailand. Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, which won the Campari One to Watch award in 2024, skyrocketed to break into the top 5, clinching the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award.
Coming in strong is Hong Kong, with six bars on the list, including Argo (No.11), Coa Hong Kong (No.17), Penicillin (No.27), The Savory Project (No.32), and Gokan (No.33). Following suit is Japan, with six bars making the list. While Tokyo’s Bar Benfiddich (No.9) falls out of the top five, Yakoboku (No.25) from Kumamoto is the first bar outside of the main Japanese cities, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, to place.
India showed out with five bars, with four new entries, including Lair (No.8) from New Delhi, Boilermaker (No.30) from Goa, and a Bengaluru trio of Soka (No.28), ZLB23 (No.31), and Bar Spirit Forward (No.37). Taiwan saw its bars gain international recognition with four bars placed on the list. Moonrock (No.42) in Tainan is the first bar in its city to place in the Top 50 list, while Vender in Taichung (No.20) moves up the ladder by 10 spots, and remains as the Best Bar in Taiwan.
Indonesia, which is experiencing increasing interest in cocktail consumerism, also inducted four bars. While longstanding favourite Pantja (No.68) fell 41 places and out of the Top 50 list, other bars such as the fresh-faced Cosmo Pony (No.38) and Carrots Bar (No.34) managed to grab a seat.
Both Malaysia and Seoul claimed four spots. The former celebrated the re-entry of Three x Co (No.15) from Kuala Lumpur, while the latter, despite not fielding any new entries, saw Seoul’s Alice Cheongdam (No.13), move up 33 places, earning them the Nikka Highest Climber Award this year. There were no bars from Vietnam and the Philippines in the top 50 of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 list.
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Individual Awards
Designated individual awards were also conferred during the ceremony. This year’s Campari One to Watch, awarded to the bar that is most likely to break into the top 50 list in the future, is Workshop14 from Hanoi. Disaronno Highest New Entry Award goes to Drywave Cocktail Studio (No.5) from Bangkok, Thailand.
Malaysia’s very own Backdoor Bodega won the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award, Thailand’s Vesper (No.29) got conferred the Remy Martin Legend of the List award, while countrymen Messenger Service bagged the new Bareksten Best Bar Design Award 2024.
Indonesia’s Modernhaus (No.19) took home the Three Cents Best New Opening Award. Phnom Penh’s Sora (No.65) took home the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award for its commitment to a low-carbon footprint in its cocktail menu.
Bartender and entrepreneur Jay Khan, who owns Coa Hong Kong and Shanghai, was named the Roku Industry Icon 2025. Pre-announced before the ceremony were Barc in Kathmandu, winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, and Andrew Ho, founder and co-owner of Hope & Sesame, winner of the peer-voted Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award.
The extended list of 51-100 winners
The extended 2025 list of 51-100 winners, which was first introduced in 2021, was announced on July 9. Japan leads with seven bars, whereas Singapore and Taiwan tie with six each.
Notable shouts goes to bars debuting in the extended list: Shenzhen’s Obsidian (No.51), Singapore’s Side Door (No.53), Goa’s Bar Outrigger (No.55), Taipei’s Lab (No.57), Cambodia’s Sora (No.65), Kaohsiung’s Maltail (No.75), Hong Kong’s The Opposites (No.80), Hanoi’s Workshop14 (No.83), Hiriketya’s Raa (No.84), Coa Shanghai (No.85), Bangkok’s Messenger Service (No.90), Ho Chi Minh’s Enigma Mansion (No.93), Goa’s Hideaway (No.94), Shanghai’s Pony Up (No.97), Jakarta’s The Golden Tooth (No.98), and Osaka’s Bar Nayuta (No.100).
The ceremony also presented bars across the continent with its Destination Awards, naming the best bar in each country. Here are the best bars in each location:
- Bar Leone, The Best Bar in Hong Kong
- Zest, The Best Bar in South Korea
- Jigger & Pony, The Best Bar in Singapore
- Bar Benfiddich, The Best Bar in Japan
- Bar Us, The Best Bar in Thailand
- Penrose, The Best Bar in Malaysia
- Modernhaus, The Best Bar in Indonesia
- Hope & Sesame, The Best Bar in Mainland China
- Smoke & Bitters, The Best Bar in Sri Lanka
- Vender, The Best Bar in Taiwan
- Barc, The Best Bar in Nepal
- Lair, The Best Bar in India
The full list is here, where * signifies a new entrant.
50) Le Chamber, Seoul, South Korea
49) Bar Libre, Tokyo, Japan *
48) Bar Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand *
47) Reka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
46) Lamp Bar, Nara, Japan (Re-entry)
45) Native, Singapore
44) Cat Bite Club, Singapore *
43) Opium, Bangkok, Thailand *
42) Moonrock, Tainan, Taiwan *
41) To Infinity and Beyond, Taipei, Taiwan *
40) Republic House, Taipei, Taiwan
39) Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
38) Cosmo Pony, Jakarta, Indonesia *
37) Bar Spirit Forward, Bengaluru, India *
36) Punch Room Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan *
35) Barc, Kathmandu, Nepal
34) Carrots Bar, Jakarta, Indonesia *
33) Gokan, Hong Kong *
32) The Savory Project, Hong Kong
31) ZLB23, Bengaluru, India
30) Boilermaker, Goa, India *
29) Vesper, Bangkok, Thailand
28) Soka, Bengaluru, India *
27) Penicillin, Hong Kong
26) G.O.D, Bangkok, Thailand *
25) Yakoboku, Kumamoto, Japan *
24) Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
23) Offtrack, Singapore
22) The St.Regis Bar, Jakarta, Indonesia *
21) MO Bar, Shenzhen, China
20) Vender, Taichung, Taiwan
19) BKK Social Club, Bangkok, Thailand
18) Virtù, Tokyo, Japan
17) Coa, Hong Kong
16) CMYK, Changsha, China
15) Three x Co, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Re-entry)
14) Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketya, Sri Lanka
13) Alice Cheongdam, Seoul, South Korea
12) Modernhaus, Jakarta, Indonesia *
11) Argo, Hong Kong
10) Penrose, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
9) Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo, Japan
8) Lair, New Delhi, India *
7) Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou, China
6) Bar Cham, Seoul, South Korea
5) Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok, Thailand
4) Bar Us, Bangkok, Thailand
3) Jigger & Pony, Singapore
2) Zest, Seoul, South Korea
1) Bar Leone, Hong Kong
