Asia’s 50 Best Bars for 2021 Revealed

Coa, a Mexican-inspired craft bar in Hong Kong, was voted the best bar in Asia this year, according to Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

Named after a machete-like tool for harvesting agave, Coa opened in 2017 in Hong Kong’s central district. The bar offers a 41-page spirit menu that highlights agave spirits and mezcal. Its featured cocktails include La Paloma de Oaxaca, made with tequila blanco and mezcal joven, Ancho Highball, and Coconut Milk Punch from aged rum and coconut cream. 

Coa garnered the highest votes from 220 anonymous voters of Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy. Last year, it ranked third in Asia and eighth worldwide. Jay Khan, its owner, was decorated with the Bartenders’ Bartender Award in the same year. 

Completing the top five list of 2021 Asia’s 50 Best Bars are Singapore’s Jigger & Pony, Japanese bar The SG Club, Taipei-based Indulge Experimental Bistro and Sober Company from Shanghai, China. 

Other spirits-focused bars that made the top 50 list are Bar Cham from South Korea and Hong Kong’s Darkside. 

During the pandemic, Coa made itself visible in its local community through charity works. Last year, it put up the Mezcal Mission that offered ticketed spirits tasting. The proceeds from the activity were donated to Habitat for Humanity.  

Despite improving business activities in Hong Kong in February and March after COVID-19 cases receded, its total receipts from bars and restaurants fell by 8.8% in value to around $19.7 billion in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period previously, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Here’s the full list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars:

1. Coa – Hong Kong, China
2. Jigger & Pony – Singapore
3. The SG Club – Tokyo, Japan
4. Indulge Experimental Bistro – Taipei, Taiwan
5. Sober Company – Shanghai, China
6. Manhattan – Singapore
7. Atlas – Singapore
8. No Sleep Club – Singapore
9. Bar Benfiddich – Tokyo, Japan
10. Caprice Bar – Hong Kong, China
11. The Bamboo Bar – Bangkok, Thailand
12. Bar Trigona – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
13. Charles H – Seoul, South Korea
14. Native – Singapore
15. Hope & Sesame – Guangzhou, China
16. Sidecar – New Delhi, India
17. Bar Mood – Taipei, Taiwan
18. Bee’s Knees – Kyoto, Japan
19. Room by Le Kief – Taipei, Taiwan
20. The Diplomat – Hong Kong, China
21. 28 HongKong Street – Singapore
22. Tropic City – Bangkok, Thailand
23. Tell Camellia – Hong Kong, China
24. Aha Saloon – Taipei, Taiwan
25. Quinary – Hong Kong, China
26. The Pontiac- Hong Kong, China
27. High Five – Tokyo, Japan
28. The Wise King – Hong Kong, China
29. Barbary Coast – Singapore
30. Penicillin – Hong Kong, China
31. Union Trading Company – Shanghai, China
32. Speak Low – Shanghai, China
33. Union Brasserie, Bakery and Bar – Jakarta, Indonesia
34. Bar Cham – Seoul, South Korea
35. Backstage Cocktail Bar – Bangkok, Thailand
36. Tippling Club – Singapore
37. Junglebird – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
38. The Curator – Manila, Philippines
39. D.Bespoke – Singapore
40. Darkside – Hong Kong, China
41. Alice –  Seoul, South Korea
42. The Old Man – Singapore
43. Bar Trench – Tokyo, Japan
44. Le Chamber – Seoul, South Korea
45. MO Bar – Singapore
46. Vesper – Bangkok, Thailand
47. Three X Co – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
48. Teens of Thailand – Bangkok, Thailand
49. Sago House – Singapore
50. Star Bar – Tokyo, Japan