Cover Tatler’s best bars highlight where cocktails become storytelling through architecture, light and craftsmanship
Tatler’s best bars highlight where cocktails become storytelling through architecture, light and craftsmanship
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Featuring spaces such as INK 360, Hybrid and Madam Kew, Tatler Best Bars Vietnam 2025 shows how cocktails, culture and design converge to create immersive narratives.
At a time when architecture, art and mixology are no longer seen as separate disciplines, a wave of best bars in Vietnam is emerging as spaces ‘designed to feel’. Here, people are not just enjoying a drink, but stepping into a concept shaped by storytellers through form, material, light and craftsmanship.
Accompanying us on this journey is Zacapa, a rum brand from Guatemala, a land celebrated as the place where heaven and earth meet, and cradle of ancient Mayan culture. Beyond its rich flavour, Zacapa stands as a symbol of authentic craftsmanship, expressed in its outer casing, handwoven with traditional petate, an artisanal heritage passed down through generations.
Read more: Portal Guatemala: Zacapa treats Southeast Asia with exquisite rum experience
Here are three standout names from the Tatler Best Bars Vietnam 2025 list, where design, culture and personalisation converge to create cocktails charged with emotion.
INK 360 – A space of imagination
InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort, 19th Floor
As the highest bar in Phu Quoc and one of the country's best bars, INK 360 was designed by Ashley Sutton, the architect often described as the ‘wizard of the bar world’. The space unfolds like a fantastical chapter in the clouds, crafted to stir the imagination.
Above The space at INK 360 unfolds like a fantastical chapter in the clouds
The space at INK 360 unfolds like a fantastical chapter in the clouds
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The signature centrepiece is a giant octopus, both sculpture and design focal point. A silvery palette, dimmed light and sweeping curves combine to create the sensation of being transported into another realm: mesmerising, surreal, weightless.
Above At INK 360, cocktails become a journey rich in images and emotions, echoing Zacapa’s spirit – free, romantic and rooted in cultural depth
At INK 360, cocktails become a journey rich in images and emotions, echoing Zacapa’s spirit – free, romantic and rooted in cultural depth
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At INK 360, cocktails transcend the glass. Each is part of a larger experience, a journey alive with imagery and feeling, echoing Zacapa’s spirit: free, romantic and born of cultural depth. The story is not only told through flavour, but also through design: from the handwoven petate casing, to the slow-living essence hidden within each aromatic layer.
Read more: Raising the bar: the duos defining Vietnamese bar culture
Hybrid Nha Trang – Contemporary poetry of the sea
Nha Trang
Tucked away in the heart of the coastal city, Hybrid is an aesthetic statement that blends modernity with local resonance. Conceived by Red5 Studio and architect Lai Chinh Truc, the design takes its cue from the image of the night ocean: waves rolling, suggestive, ever in motion.
Above Designed by Red5 Studio, the space at Hybrid evokes the rhythm of night ocean waves – rolling, suggestive and endlessly shifting
Designed by Red5 Studio, the space at Hybrid evokes the rhythm of night ocean waves – rolling, suggestive and endlessly shifting
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The bar’s structure is a refined blend of curved iron frames, cool-light poly facades and rustic interiors. Lighting is carefully controlled to reflect across each surface, creating a sense of ‘static motion’: at once poetic and contemporary.
Hybrid embodies the true spirit of ‘hybridisation’ as its name suggests: a union of materials, light, space and aesthetic thought. It is also a place of sustainability, not only in design but in mixology. Cocktails are made with seasonal ingredients, with leftovers reused, a way of honouring origins and intrinsic value.
Above Like Zacapa, where each bottle is a handcrafted work of art made with the care of time and human hands, Hybrid offers a slow, contemplative experience that respects nature both in design and taste
Like Zacapa, where each bottle is a handcrafted work of art made with the care of time and human hands, Hybrid offers a slow, contemplative experience that respects nature both in design and taste
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Like Zacapa, where each bottle is a handcrafted work of art made with the care of time and human hands, Hybrid offers a slow, contemplative experience that respects nature both in design and taste.
Madam Kew – A cinematic space from memory
Ho Chi Minh City
Hidden behind the doors of an old villa, Madam Kew captures a sense of bygone beauty reimagined through modern design language. Created by The Lab Saigon, the space merges the allure of 1930s Saigon with the retro glamour of Hong Kong: dreamy, sharp and discreet.
Above Every detail in Madam Kew’s interior is hand-picked and crafted, a bespoke product with a personal touch
Every detail in Madam Kew’s interior is hand-picked and crafted, a bespoke product with a personal touch
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The bar preserves its original ceiling and wall tiles as a tribute to memory. Every element of the interior is chosen and crafted with care: the blue mother-of-pearl bar trim, the abacus-carved wooden handrails, each a bespoke detail with distinct character.
Above The bar preserves its original ceiling and wall tiles as a tribute to memory
The bar preserves its original ceiling and wall tiles as a tribute to memory
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The two-storey layout creates a clear separation of mood: the mezzanine offers seclusion, while the ground floor encourages conversation and connection. Warm amber lighting, the scent of pine wood and service in classic cheongsam attire complete the impression of stepping into a silent, cinematic scene.
Above What makes Madam Kew distinctive is its unpretentious cocktail menu, aligned with Zacapa’s spirit: where everything invites you to pause, feel and let the mind drift beyond what the eye can see
What makes Madam Kew distinctive is its unpretentious cocktail menu, aligned with Zacapa’s spirit: where everything invites you to pause, feel and let the mind drift beyond what the eye can see
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What sets Madam Kew apart is its ever-changing cocktail menu. The bartender begins with a few questions, then creates a tailor-made drink. It may be smoky, sour, or touched with poetry, an experience that feels wholly personal.
No spirit complements this philosophy better than Zacapa, the celebrated rum from Guatemala. Aged through the solera method in the clouds, Zacapa delivers not only depth in flavour but also a meditation on time as an emotional element. Just like Madam Kew itself, where everything is designed to make you pause, reflect and let your mind travel beyond the visible.
Read more: Cultural highlights from best bars’ menus worth checking out this summer
From surreal octopuses to abstract ocean waves to retro cinematic retreats, each of these bars proves that design and space are not only for the eye, but for the senses. Just as Zacapa is layered with cloud-aged flavours and encased in handwoven Guatemalan petate, this new generation of bars are not simply venues for serving drinks – they are places that carry emotion, distil culture and honour craftsmanship in every detail.
Above Tatler Best is Asia’s authoritative guide to the region’s top 100 hotels, 100 restaurants and 100 bars, celebrating excellence in hospitality and dining
Tatler Best is Asia’s authoritative guide to the region’s top 100 hotels, 100 restaurants and 100 bars, celebrating excellence in hospitality and dining
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Tatler Best is Asia’s authoritative guide to the region’s top 100 hotels, 100 restaurants and 100 bars, celebrating excellence in hospitality and dining. With 24 Best-in-Class awards – 10 hotels, 8 restaurants and 6 bars – Tatler Best recognises the hospitality elite. Nominees are chosen through the expertise of Asia’s most discerning travel, food and beverage connoisseurs, individuals who embody the region’s evolving tastes.
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