Experiences

Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026: Guangzhou bar Hope & Sesame is No.1, Singapore scores four spots

Singapore’s top bar Jigger & Pony slips to No 9; Bangkok, Jakarta and Chinese cities post strong showings.

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Seoul’s Zest is first runner-up while Hong Kong’s Bar Leone, last year’s No 1, came in third. Bangkok’s Dry Wave Cocktail Studio and and MO Bar at Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen, were ranked fourth and fifth respectively. In all, the list features 14 new entries and two re-entries across 22 cities.

Singapore had a mixed showing with top bar Jigger & Pony dropping six places to No 9. The other three bars on the list are Nutmeg & Clove (No12), Offtrack (No16) and re-entry, Shangri-La Hotel’s Origin Bar (No 43). 

Uno Jang, creative director of Jigger & Pony group and co-founder of BOP, said: “It’s been 11 years we’ve been on the list and we’re grateful just to be here. We’re very happy to see the community doing well and we want to keep pushing boundaries and bring happiness to our guests.”

A visibly emotional Andrew Ho, co-founder of Hope & Sesame, said: “It’s so crazy. We opened 10 years ago with no investor support. We’ve made bad drinks and got bad reviews, made good drinks and got good review, lost and made money. But along the way we’ve gained so, so much.”

Hidden behind a traditional Cantonese store, the bar is located in Guangzhou’s historic Dongshankou district.

Hope & Sesame’s achievement caps China’s best showing on the list, with seven bars in the top 50. They include Shenzhen’s Obsidian Bar at No 10 and three new entries: Shanghai’s Pony Up at No 19, Chengdu’s Ralph’s Bar at No 28 and Beijing’s Tiao at No 50.

Bangkok is the most awarded city with eight spots and a number of special awards. Bar Us (No 6) received the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award. Debutante Lennon’s, located atop the Rosewood hotel earned the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award at No 7.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has seven bars in the top 50, while Jakarta and Seoul have four each. India, Taiwan and Tokyo have three each, while Kuala Lumpur has two.

Hong Kong’s Mius (No 36) took home the Bareksten Best Bar Design Award 2026 while its owner, Shelley Tai, was voted by industry peers to receive the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender award.

Other special awards presented include The Campari One To Watch award, which was presented to Jakarta’s Hats Bar (No 77) for being most likely to break into the top 50 list in the future. Hanoi’s Workshop14 (No 34) won the Three Cents Best New Opening Award while Indra Kantono, co-founder of Jigger & Pony was named the Roku Industry Icon 2024. Hong Kong’s COA (No 24), which has been No 1 thrice on the list, won the Remy Martin Legend of the List Award. Sri Lankan beach dive bar Smoke & Bitters (No 29) earned the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award.

Singapore also has seven bars on the extended 51-100 list, more than any other city. They are BOP at No 52, Side Door at No 57, The Elephant Room at No 58, Native at No 80, Cat Bite Club at No 86, Bar Bon Funk at No 90 and Stay Gold Flamingo at No 97.

BOP is the highest-ranked new entry on the extended list.

The 50 Best lists of restaurant, bars and hotel rankings are organised by independent media group William Reed. The Asia bars ranking was launched in 2016 and is based on a compilation of anonymous votes from more than 300 industry experts and well-travelled cocktail aficionados. The list usually reflects a diverse scene, from fancy hotel establishments to neighbourhood speakeasies. The results are adjudicated by Deloitte.

Here is the full list of winners for Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026:

*new entries

**re-entries

1. Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou
2. Zest, Seoul
3. Bar Leone, Hong Kong
4. Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok
5. MO Bar Shenzhen, Shenzhen
6. Bar Us, Bangkok
7. Lennon’s, Bangkok*
8. Boilermaker, Goa
9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
10. Obsidian Bar, Shenzhen
11. Modernhaus, Jakarta
12. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
13. Alice, Seoul
14. Vender, Taichung 
15. Cosmo Pony, Jakarta
16. Offtrack, Singapore
17. Bar Sathorn, Bangkok (highest climber)
18. Soka, Bengaluru
19. Pony Up, Shanghai
20. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
21. Carrots Bar, Jakarta
22. Gokan, Hong Kong
23. Punch Room Tokyo, Tokyo
24. Coa, Hong Kong
25. Opium, Bangkok
26. Virtu, Tokyo
27. CMYK, Changsha
28. Ralph’s Bar, Chengdu
29. Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya
30. Bar Spirit Forward, Bengaluru
31. G.O.D, Bangkok
32. Three x Co, Kuala Lumpur
33. Bar Cham, Seoul
34. Workshop14, Hanoi
35. To Infinity & Beyond, Taipei
36. Mius, Hong Kong*
37. Argo, Hong Kong
38. Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur
39. Bar Libre, Tokyo
40. The Golden Tooth, Jakarta*
41. The Han-Jia, Tainan*
42. M+MS Bar, Seoul*
43. Origin Bar, Singapore**
44. Problem Child, Makati*
45. The St.Regis Bar (Macau), Macau**
46. The Hudson Rooms, Hanoi*
47. Montana, Hong Kong*
48. Aqua Bar, Bangkok*
49. Penicillin, Hong Kong
50. Tiao, Beijing*

Source: CNA/bt

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