Lorenzo Antinori’s Bar Leone in Hong Kong comes out tops in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 in a list that saw 11 Singapore bars claim their places.
Can you open a cocktail bar and have it shoot all the way to the coveted top spot of a highly competitive awards list in barely a year? Apparently yes. Hong Kong’s Bar Leone showed it is possible when it made its debut at No.1 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars during an awards ceremony in Hong Kong held earlier this week.
This marks the first time in 50 Best Bars history that the best bar in Asia is a totally new debutant.
Opened by veteran bartender Lorenzo Antinori – who has worked at many highly lauded cocktail venues but is probably best known for his time at Charles H in Four Seasons Hotel Seoul – Bar Leone champions Antinori’s ethos of ‘cocktail popolari’, or making approachable ‘cocktails for the people’ as inspired by the traditional bars of his native Rome. The one-year old neighbourhood bar in Central, Hong Kong surprised most industry pundits by zooming to the top spot, beating out not only fellow Hong Kong bar and three-time winner COA, Singapore’s Jigger & Pony, Bangkok’s BKK Social, as well as Seoul’s Zest, the latter of which many had predicted would become Asia’s best bar.
Singapore again continued to reinforce its reputation as a cocktail capital in Asia, with 11 Singapore bars doing the Lion City proud by claiming their places in the top 50. These 11 Singapore bars that entered Asia’s 50 Best Bars this year (vs 2023) are:
- Jigger & Pony (No.3)/(No.2)
- Nutmeg & Clove (No.6)/(No.7)
- Sago House (No.15)/(No.10)
- Night Hawk (No.16)/(No.77)
- Offtrack (No.25)/(No.79)
- Native (No.31)/(No.42)
- Origin Bar (No.32)/(No.95)
- Analogue Initiative (No.35)/(No.15)
- Employees Only Singapore (No.35)/(No.30)
- Fura (No.42)/(new entry)
- Atlas Bar (No.49)/(No.27)
Sustainability-forward cocktail gastrobar Fura makes its own debut in the top 50, landing at No.42. Then there’s retro-futuristic Night Hawk, vinyl bar Offtrack, and Shangri-La Singapore cocktail lounge Origin Bar, all of which breaks into the top 50 to land at No.16, No.25 and No.32 respectively.
Jigger & Pony remained as the best bar in Singapore, while Nutmeg & Clove proved that sticking to a Singapore theme for their cocktails can resonate on a regional and global stage.
“We are incredibly humbled and honoured to be acknowledged among the finest bars in Asia,” says Shelley Tai, Group Operations Director of Nutmeg Collective. “This recognition is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. We are passionate about sharing Singapore’s story through our cocktails, and seeing it resonate with our guests is incredibly rewarding.”
Announced earlier this month were the winners ranked 51-100 in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024. Eight Singapore bars made the secondary list: Republic (No.57), No Sleep Club (No.60), Stay Gold Flamingo (No.63), The Elephant Room (No.65), Manhattan (No.69), Cat Bite Club (No.77), 28 HongKong Street (No.78), and Last Word (No.93).
You can find the full Asia’s 50 Best Bars list for 2024 at the World’s 50 Best Bars website or here below:
Follow us on Telegram to get updated on events and other spirited announcements!
