Bartender and entrepreneur Yangdup Lama, who owns New Delhi’s Sidecar (No.84) bar, was named the Roku Industry Icon 2024 for mentoring young bartenders and advocating for regional ingredients. Accepting their pre-announced awards at the ceremony were Virtu in Tokyo, winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, and Dohyung ‘Demie’ Kim from Seoul, winner of the peer-voted Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award.
The extended list of 51-100 winners, which was first introduced in 2021, was announced on Jul 9. Singapore leads that list with eight bars, including new entrant Cat Bite Club (No. 77) at Duxton Road. The other bars were No Sleep Club (No. 60), which moved up 14 places; Stay Gold Flamingo (No. 63); The Elephant Room (No. 65); Manhattan (No. 69); and Last Word (No. 93). Among the 15 new entries on the list was debutante Southbank Cafe + Lounge (No. 82) from Mutinlupa City in the Philippines.
The 50 Best lists of restaurant, bars and hotel rankings are organised by independent media group William Reed. The Asia’s 50 Best Bars is a compilation of anonymous votes from the 265-member strong Best Bars Academy, which consists of a gender-balanced group of industry educators, bartenders, bar owners and cocktail aficionados. Each voter can cast seven votes with up to five from their own home country and the results are adjucated by Deloitte.
Here is the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 list:
*new entry
**re-entry
1, Bar Leone, Hong Kong*
2. Zest, Seoul
3. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
4. Coa, Hong Kong
5. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
6. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
7. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
8. Penrose, Kuala Lumpur
9. Argo, Hong Kong
10. The Aubrey, Hong Kong
11. Virtù, Tokyo
12. The Cocktail Club Jakarta
12. Vesper Bangkok
14. Hope & Sesame Guangzhou
15. Sago House Singapore
16. Night Hawk, Singapore*
17. Darkside, Hong Kong
18. Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar, Bangkok
19. The Savory Project, Hong Kong*
20. Bar Cham, Seoul
21. Bar Us, Bangkok*
22. The St. Regis Bar (Macau), Macau*
23. The SG Club, Tokyo
24. Penicillin, Hong Kong
25. Offtrack, Singapore*
26. Quinary, Hong Kong
27. Pantja, Jakarta
28. Craftroom, Osaka*
29. Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya
30. Vender, Taichung
31. Native, Singapore
32. Origin Bar, Singapore*
33. The Curator, Manila
34. The Bellwood Tokyo
35. Analogue Initiative, Singapore
36. Bar Trigona Kuala Lumpur
37. Bar Mood, Taipei**
38. Employees Only Singapore
39. Barc, Kathmandu*
40. ZLB23, Bengaluru*
41. Reka, Kuala Lumpur*
42. Fura Singapore
43. CMYK Changsha*
44. The Public House Taipei
45. Mostly Harmless, Hong Kong
46. Alice, Seoul
47. The Haflington, Hanoi*
48. Le Chamber Seoul
49. Atlas Singapore
50. Pine & Co Seoul*
