Cover The Tatler Best signature “shining sea of hexagons”
The Tatler Best signature “shining sea of hexagons”
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For the first time, at the Tatler Best Awards 2025, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East shared the stage, marking a new chapter in the story of global hospitality
For two nights in Bangkok, hospitality found its loudest expression—in applause, in clinking glasses, in the hum of languages from across continents—as the Tatler Best Awards 2025 took over Paragon Hall at Siam Paragon with the energy of a summit and the warmth of a reunion.
Back for its second year in the Thai capital, the Tatler Best Awards arrived with a broader brief: to honour not only Asia’s leading restaurants, bars and hotels, but for the first time, those across the Pacific and the Middle East, reflecting a vision of hospitality without borders. The result was a gathering that felt both monumental and personal: chefs from Seoul to Amman shared tables with hoteliers from Sydney and Oman, bartenders from Taipei clinked glasses with their Dubai counterparts.
Winners from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
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The first evening unveiled the Tatler Best 100, recognising one hundred hotels, one hundred restaurants and one hundred bars across twenty-four destinations. Tatler Asia’s chief experience officer and Tatler Best jury co-chair Sean Fitzpatrick opened the ceremony, joined by head of dining and fellow co-chair Andy Cheng, with presentations from Tatler Best’s travel and dining leads across the regions. Twenty-four countries, hundreds of honourees, no rankings, just peers acknowledging one another with the shared understanding that this was a map of excellence drawn anew.
Performances punctuated the proceedings with energy and style: a set by Veitrio, a classical-pop crossover band with Paye Srinarong, Parn Srinarong and Pui Srinarong, alongside the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, and Thai singer and actor Daou Pittaya amped up the evening.
Vietro plays a dynamic set at the awards
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The next night, the Best in Class gala dinner transformed the same venue into something closer to a stage. A live cello performance by Swiss cellist Jodokcello, opening with Titanium and Pirates of the Caribbean, set an unexpectedly cinematic tone. Fitzpatrick’s welcome remarks framed the night as “the Oscars of Tatler Best,” while acknowledging collective achievement and the inclusion of the Middle East as a milestone in building a “community of hospitality excellence around the world.”
Dinner itself became part of the narrative. A ten-hands chef collaboration brought together chefs Sujira “Aom” Pongmorn of Khaan; Henrik Yde-Andersen and Chayawee “Berm” Sutcharitchan of Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin; Herlander Fernandes of Mesa by José Avillez, and Dej Kewkacha of Gaggan at Louis Vuitton, with support from The Food School Bangkok. The menu moved deftly from Thai to Portuguese to Japanese influences seamlessly, a reflection of the night’s cross-cultural dialogue.
Kaveri Khuller of Mastercard Asia Pacific
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Awards followed in considered sequence. The Rising Star Awards, always a favourite of the evening, went to Pei Liu of Under Lab in Taipei and Mauro Cortese from Dubai, both emblematic of a new generation that values originality over imitation. The Innovation Awards recognised VEA in Hong Kong and Trèsind Studio in Dubai, two restaurants that continue to push the boundaries of fine dining in their respective cities.
The Legacy Award was presented to Michelle Garnaut, the Australian restaurateur whose M on the Bund transformed Shanghai’s waterfront. The tribute traced her journey from Melbourne to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, highlighting her role in founding the Shanghai and Beijing Literary Festivals and in mentoring women across the industry.
Tatler Best 100 winners from Hong Kong
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The night culminated in the Best of the Year titles. For the Middle East, Honeycomb Hi-Fi (Dubai) claimed Bar of the Year, Trèsind Studio (Dubai) took Restaurant of the Year, and Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab was crowned Hotel of the Year. In Asia Pacific, the honours went to Bar Leone (Hong Kong), Qu Lang Yuan (China) and Rosewood Hong Kong, each embodying excellence not through scale but through distinct identity and execution.
As glasses were raised for a final toast, there was a sense that Tatler Best had evolved beyond an awards programme into a reflection of a region’s shared ambition, a portrait of how far hospitality has come, and where it’s quietly, and brilliantly, going next.
Vaughan Mabee of Amisfield Restaurant in Queenstown with Julien Royer is co-owner of Odette in Singapore
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The Tatler Best Awards 2025 is in partnership with Mastercard and Priceless, Siam Paragon, and SJM Resorts, S.A., and is supported by Amazing Thailand, Boozia, Evian, Foie Gras Queen, Glenmorangie, Jagota, Royal Caviar Club, Grey Goose, Thailand Privilege, and Veuve Clicquot.
A storyteller by day and a first-class food devourer by night, Fontaine is the Regional Dining Editor at Tatler Asia, overseeing dining content across all regions and shaping the brand’s editorial voice on food, chefs and culinary culture.
She is also Content Lead for Tatler Best and Co-jury Head for Tatler Best Hong Kong and Macau, guiding the awards’ editorial direction and evaluation process. With over a decade in the lifestyle and media industry spanning London and Hong Kong, she brings a cross-regional perspective to the table.
Follow her on Instagram at @fontimes.
