A Hong Kong Mezcal Den Has Been Crowned ‘Best Bar In Asia’ For The 3rd Year In A Row
— 19 July 2023

A Hong Kong Mezcal Den Has Been Crowned ‘Best Bar In Asia’ For The 3rd Year In A Row

— 19 July 2023
Randy Lai
WORDS BY
Randy Lai

Following an uproarious ceremony that took place amid the gilded trappings of Rosewood Hong Kong late yesterday evening, the results for Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 have just been revealed — with local favourite and agave spirits specialist Coa once again snagging the coveted title of ‘Best Bar in Asia’.

This marks the third time owner-operator Jay Khan (hailed widely as “the nicest man working in Asia’s vibrant hospitality scene”) and his small team of crack operators have pipped the #1 spot: an unprecedented record for any venue in the region.

Beloved by Hongkongers and global cocktail aficionados alike for its “vast collection of…handcrafted Mexican spirits”, Coa remains an exceptional outlier on a list that is habitually dominated by luxury hotels and large corporate sponsorships. For years, it has carved out a reputation for its deliciously approachable and unpretentious mixology; not to mention, service that is warm, down-to-earth, and if you so choose, honed to a fine educational edge.

RELATED: The 50 Best Bars In America Have Been Named For 2023

Asia's 50 Best Bars 2023
Pictured: COA, once again the No.1 bar overall in Asia for three years running.

As always, Singapore continues to be a force to be reckoned with in these lists, with the Amara Hotel-located stalwart Jigger & Pony snagging this year’s No. 2 spot. The venue has been a fixture of the ‘Asia’s 50 Best’ bar awards for many years, having previously taken home the top position in 2020.

More broadly, the Lion City remains the locale with the single densest concentration of ’50 Best’ bars in the region: accounting for 11 distinctive and exciting venues such as Sago House, Nutmeg & Clove, Republic, and this year’s preeminent leader in sustainability, Analogue Initiative.

Pictured: Jigger & Pony, a veritable institution of Singapore’s world-class bar scene, slides in as Asia’s No. 2 bar in 2023.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong (which plays host this year to ‘Asia’s 50 Best Bars’ for the very first time) came away with a respectable 8 inclusions: with a particularly robust contingent of on-premise luxury hotel bars including (chronologically) Argo, Darkside, and The Aubrey.

Asia's 50 Best Bars 2023
Pictured: BKK Social Club, located inside Four Seasons Bangkok, broke into the single-digit club this year by taking home the No. 3 spot overall.

Further afield, the excellent Buenos Aires-inspired BKK Social Club climbed 7 spots this year to achieve No. 3 billing and snag the award for ‘Best Bar in Thailand’ overall.

Japan makes a welcome reappearance in the top 10 courtesy of Bar Benfiddich (a Tokyo-based institution renowned for being the world’s first ‘farm to glass’ venue) at No. 4.

Pictured: Leading the charge for Korea is Zest, a Seoul-based innovator that managed to climb a staggering 43 places to the No. 5 ranking this year.

Not to be outdone, the Korean bar scene has also emerged as a hugely influential force in this year’s awards, with the top 5 spots being rounded out by the team at Zest in Seoul. A paean to Korea’s bounty of unique regional ingredients, it has climbed a whopping 43 spots to settle in at No. 5 — an achievement that reverberates with unique symbolic significance, given the number of Korean venues that have managed to crack this year’s rankings.

Check out the full list of awardees for Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 below:

The 50 Best Bars In Asia [2023]

  1. Coa – Hong Kong
  2. Jigger & Pony – Singapore (Best Bar in Singapore)
  3. BKK Social Club – Bangkok (Best Bar in Thailand)
  4. Bar Benfiddich – Tokyo (Best Bar In Japan)
  5. Zest – Seoul (‘Highest Climber’ award)
  6. Tropic City – Bangkok
  7. Nutmeg & Clove – Singapore
  8. Argo – Hong Kong
  9. Darkside – Hong Kong
  10. Sago House – Singapore
  11. Indulge Experimental Bistro – Taipei
  12. Vesper – Bangkok
  13. Cham Bar – Seoul
  14. The SG Club – Tokyo
  15. Analogue Initiative – Singapore
  16. Republic – Singapore
  17. The Aubrey – Hong Kong
  18. Sidecar – New Delhi (Best Bar In India)
  19. The Cocktail Club – Jakarta
  20. Virtù – Tokyo (Highest New Entry)
  21. Manhattan – Singapore
  22. Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar – Bangkok (Best New Opening)
  23. Lamp Bar – Nara
  24. 28 HongKong Street – Singapore
  25. Le Chamber – Seoul
  26. Penicillin – Hong Kong
  27. Atlas – Singapore
  28. Alice – Seoul
  29. Pantja – Jakarta
  30. Employees Only – Singapore
  31. Quinary – Hong Kong
  32. Stay Gold Flamingo – Singapore (New Entry)
  33. Mostly Harmless – Hong Kong (New Entry)
  34. The Curator – Manila (Best Bar In The Philippines)
  35. The Bombay Canteen – Mumbai
  36. Bar Trigona – Kuala Lumpur (Best Bar In Malaysia)
  37. Southside Parlor – Seoul
  38. Copitas – Bengaluru
  39. Hope & Sesame – Guangzhou (Best Bar In Mainland China)
  40. Smoke & Bitters – Hiriketiya
  41. Vender – Taichung
  42. Native – Singapore
  43. The Public House – Taipei
  44. Bee’s Knees – Kyoto
  45. High Five – Tokyo
  46. Soko – Seoul
  47. The Old Man – Hong Kong
  48. The Living Room – Mumbai
  49. The Bellwood – Tokyo
  50. Penrose – Kuala Lumpur

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Randy Lai
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Following 6 years in the trenches covering consumer luxury across East Asia, Randy joins Boss Hunting as the team's Commercial Editor. His work has been featured in A Collected Man, M.J. Bale, Soho Home, and the BurdaLuxury portfolio of lifestyle media titles. An ardent watch enthusiast, boozehound and sometimes-menswear dork, drop Randy a line at [email protected].

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