Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024: The 11 Singapore bars that made it to the list

Once again, 11 Singapore bars made the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, repeating the feat from 2023. Jigger & Pony at Amara Hotel is the island’s top-ranked entrant in 2024 at No. 3, having been No. 2 for the last three years prior.

During the awards ceremony for Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 in Hong Kong on July 16, that city’s Bar Leone was awarded the top spot.

Opened in early 2023, the casual Italian-inspired watering hole in Hong Kong’s bustling Central neighbourhood was also the highest new entrant to the list.

Bar Leone’s win also marks the first time that a new entrant has been named No. 1 – not just in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars ranking, but also in the other rankings owned and organised by British media company William Reed Business Media since 2009, such as the World’s 50 Best Bars and North America’s 50 Best Bars.

Asia’s No. 1 bar for 2021, 2022 and 2023, Hong Kong’s Coa, slipped to No. 4, while Seoul’s Zest was No. 2 (up from No. 5).

Singapore’s other entrants were Nutmeg & Clove at No. 6 (up from No. 7), Sago House at No. 15 (down from No. 10), Night Hawk at No. 16 (up from No. 73), Offtrack at No. 25 (up from No. 79), Native at No. 31 (up from No. 42), Origin Bar at No. 32 (up from No. 95), Analogue Initiative at No. 35 (down from No. 15), Employees Only at No. 38 (down from No. 30), Fura at No. 42 (new entry) and Atlas at No. 49 (down from No. 27).

Fura’s debut in the rankings is notable as the bar opened only in August 2023. The Amoy Street venue also won the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award for its focus on using abundant or invasive ingredients, such as jellyfish.

Although Atlas slipped more than 20 places in the rankings, the lobby bar at Parkview Square also won the Remy Martin Legend of the List award – given to bars that consistently perform well in the awards since they began in 2016 – and the inaugural Bareksten Best Bar Design Award for Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

In 2023, Night Hawk in Tanjong Pagar Road won the inaugural Bareksten Best Bar Design Award under the auspices of the World’s 50 Best Bars awards.

While Singapore had the most entrants in the top 50 rankings of the Asia’s Best Bars 2024 list, Hong Kong also performed well with nine entrants overall.

During the ceremony, Mr Dane Cheng, Hong Kong Tourism Board’s executive director, announced that the city would continue to host the Asia’s 50 Best Bars ceremony for the next two years, having also hosted it in 2023.

That was no doubt good news for Bar Leone’s founder, Mr Lorenzo Antinori, who calls Hong Kong his “second home”.

“The bar community here welcomed me with open arms since I moved here,” said Mr Antinori, who comes from Italy and previously shook cocktails at Argo at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Argo performed well in the 2024 list, snagging the No. 9 spot.

He said Bar Leone would continue to be a “neighbourhood bar” – accessible, approachable and embodying the concept of “cocktail popolari”, a saying which means “cocktails for the people”.

Mr Indra Kantono, co-founder and managing director of Jigger & Pony, said it was a privilege to be able to gather with the rest of the bar community to celebrate the region’s thriving bar scene.

“We are so proud of our team for their hard work and dedication to the craft and hospitality, to have been recognised by this amazing community that we are proud to be a part of,” he added.

The Asia’s 50 Best Bars list is based on votes by Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy – an Asia-based group of 265 industry professionals that includes bartenders, bar owners, drinks writers, educators and cocktail aficionados.

Next up is the World’s 50 Best Bars awards, which will take place in Madrid, Spain, on Oct 22.

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Top 10 bars in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024:

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. Aubrey (Hong Kong)

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.