Cover Award-winning bartender Jon Lee introduces Lavantha, a bold new bar in Kuala Lumpur that redefines hospitality with layered cocktails, immersive design, and a deep commitment to craft, care, and connection
Award-winning bartender Jon Lee introduces Lavantha, a bold new bar in Kuala Lumpur that redefines hospitality with layered cocktails, immersive design, and a deep commitment to craft, care, and connection
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Award-winning bartender Jon Lee introduces Lavantha, a bold new bar in KL that redefines hospitality with layered cocktails, immersive design, and a deep commitment to craft, care, and connection
After the exciting, magnetic success of Penrose, Jon Lee, the revered bartender and co-founder whose sensibility I’ve long admired (and, admittedly, tried to emulate at home with varying levels of success), returns with something more expansive and expressive: Lavantha.
Nestled in the dramatic vault of a former bank, it’s less a sequel and more a statement of intent. If Penrose whispered in hushed, reverent tones, Lavantha speaks in rich, layered conversation—the kind that lingers well past last call.
I asked Lee what Lavantha was for, and without skipping a beat, he said: “It’s where you go to be seen.” That stayed with me. Because Lavantha isn’t just a bar. It’s a space that invites presence, not performance. Every corner has been considered, every detail deliberate. From standing tables for spontaneous connections, to low-slung lounge sofas that seem to exhale with you, to communal tables that ask you to stay awhile, the room flows with intention.
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It’s a design that echoes Lee’s own ikigai, his quiet life philosophy made tangible in lighting, layout and the pulse of the night. Behind the bar, a subtle gradient of light plays through the hours, tracing an arc that feels almost like breath—a gentle cue that time is unfolding as it should.
But Lavantha is more than a mood. It’s the beginning. Lee hints, in his characteristically modest way, that this is merely chapter one of something larger. A world in the making, one cocktail and one conversation at a time.
So, step in. Be seen. Order something you’ve never tried before. Lavantha has already thought of you.
What is Lavantha, and how does it differ from Penrose?
Lavantha continues the same conversation we started with Penrose, but spoken in a different tone. While Penrose is intimate, tightly curated, and grounded in minimalism, Lavantha is expansive and open. It's a lounge bar built inside the vault of a repurposed bank, designed to host more people without diluting the level of care we put into every drink. If Penrose is about precision, Lavantha is about depth and atmosphere. A place to sit longer, let the space breathe with you.
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Why another bar?
Opening Lavantha isn’t about expansion for the sake of growth. It’s about exploring another dimension of what a bar can be. With Penrose, we created intimacy. a space defined by precision, counter seating, and quiet details. But its very success became its limit, long waitlists, turned-away guests, and a format that couldn’t accommodate everyone.
Lavantha allows us to scale the experience without diluting the essence. It’s designed to hold more people, yes, but it still honours craft. It gives us room to play with a broader flavour language, a different mood, and a deeper layering of cocktails. And selfishly, it rechallenges me. I don’t believe in standing still. If Penrose was a conversation in soft focus, Lavantha is an echo in a deeper tone.
It’s not just another bar. It’s another way to express what hospitality can feel like.
Walk us through your menu design—what makes a good menu, and what we can expect from Lavantha?
For me, a good menu isn’t about showing off technique. The goal is clarity, not complication. At Lavantha, the menu adheres to the same philosophy we employ in our drinks: structure, balance, and restraint.
We build each cocktail through four layers; the base, the bridge, the contrast, and the length. It’s not random. It’s a system we use to ensure every drink has depth, as well as direction.
The Lavantha menu reflects this layered approach. It’s broader than Penrose — more classics, more variation in structure, and more room to play with mood. Once we officially launch, there will be a Martini section, spirit-forward signatures, and drinks that are softer, longer, and more aromatic. Some are inspired by memory. Some by place. Some are just about feeling.
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Lavantha is a lounge bar built inside the vault of a repurposed bank.
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Congratulations once again on your tremendous climb on the Top 50 Best Bars in Asia list. Would you say this is you throwing another entry in the ballot box?
It’s a fair question, and maybe from the outside, it looks like that. But honestly, no. I didn’t open Lavantha for the list.
I opened it because I had more to say, express and create. The climb we made with Penrose holds a great deal of significance for me and my team. It validated the work, the intention, and the sacrifices. But it also reminded me how quickly things can be reduced and forgotten.
My team means everything to me. This expansion is a way for them to grow alongside me, to build more, together, through our shared passion for hospitality.
Lavantha isn’t an entry. It’s an extension of feeling and space built from instinct.
If it connects with people, deeply, memorably, then that’s enough. If it gets recognised, that’s secondary. The real reward is seeing someone return, remembering how something made them feel. And beyond that, creating more professional bartenders and service professionals who carry the craft forward.
Explain “by Jon Lee”.
It’s a way of saying: I stand by this. I’ve touched every part of it, the flow of the space, the weight of the glassware, the way the drinks unfold. The ideas may start with me, but they’re brought to life through a team and partners I trust deeply. It’s not about ownership, it’s about authorship.
Every bar I build is different, but they share a common thread: clarity, intention, and feeling. “By Jon Lee” is simply a marker. A promise that the work comes from a place of craft, care, and consequence.
You may not love everything, but I’ve done the best I can with what I know at this time. That’s all I can ever offer, my whole self, in this moment. Mistakes will come, but they bring clarity for the next project.
Above Every corner has been considered and every detail in Lavantha is deliberate
Every corner has been considered and every detail in Lavantha is deliberate
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What's one thing you wish customers could understand about your industry?
That hospitality is more than service, it’s energy. What you feel on the floor starts from the team behind the bar, the prep hours before opening, and the weeks spent refining one drink. We give a lot of ourselves to make something feel seamless for others.
It’s not just a job, but a profession of craft, a commitment, and most times, a sacrifice. We miss holidays and family time, and we often run on little sleep. We put emotion into things that disappear in minutes.
I don’t expect everyone to see it. But I hope they feel it, that’s the part I wish more people understood: hospitality, when done right, is invisible, but it’s never effortless.
Above Lavantha’s walkway from the main entrance
Lavantha’s walkway from the main entrance
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Tell us some of the ugly parts about opening a bar.
The hardest part is the emotional load. You care so deeply about minor details that it gets personal. It’s not just a business. It becomes a part of you. And when things go wrong, it hurts. Still, I love it. All of it. Even the messy parts.
What's the most rewarding part of the F&B industry? What makes it all worth it in the end?
Just a few days ago, when the bar was close to completion, we ordered food, and my whole team was eating dinner together, standing amidst the work and the mess. That moment hit me hard.
No amount of money in the world can replace the feeling of having a solid team, one that works, grows, and pushes its boundaries together as one. This won't last forever, but the memory does. Creating brings things to life, and it also makes you feel alive.
Quinny Tan is the Social Media Manager of Tatler Malaysia, where she leads the growth and strategy of the brand’s social presence while overseeing content output, ensuring the brand's voice resonates with both longstanding readers and new communities in the digital space. In recent years, she has worn several hats across the media landscape—having served as a writer, video producer, video editor, and on-camera host.
Outside of work, she can be coaxed out of her default doom-scrolling state with an iced black coffee, reruns of Prison Break, and a quick-shuffle of Red Hot Chili Peppers' discography. Find her at the nearest, spiciest sazerac whilst building rapport with anyone who has a good story to tell, with mic in hand.
