Bar Leone is on a hot streak.
The Hong Kong watering hole took home the gold for this year’s 50 Best Bars in Asia ranking, topping the list for the second year in a row. Seoul’s Zest and Singapore’s Jigger & Pony also retained their spots at No. 2 and No. 3 from 2024.
Bar Leone shocked the drinks world last summer when it dethroned Hong Kong’s three-time winner Coa, barely a year after opening. Prized for its simplicity and known for outstanding Negronis and Olive Oil Sours, Bar Leone is a Roman-inspired aperitivo bar led by Italian native Lorenzo Antinori.
The co-founder cut his teeth bartending in London and Seoul before joining award-winning Argo in Hong Kong’s Four Seasons—also known as No. 11 on this year’s list. Bar Leone emerged as an ode to the laidback watering holes of Rome, serving Hong Kong a taste of the Eternal City with bar snacks like mortadella focaccia, anchovy and parsley oil crostino, and smoked olives.
“Our concept is so simple. We really tried to go back to the beauty of simplicity,” Antinori said in an interview with Bloomberg. “That is probably something that people were craving, and I think that’s the reason why we got rewarded.”
Antinori recently partnered with Spain-based Simone Caporale to open a second venue in Hong Kong this summer, inspired by the golden ages of Cuba and Miami in the 1970s. Montana, named after the cocktail, serves classics like the daquiri and El Presidente.
Caporale is no stranger to fame for his expertise in slinging spirits. He was previously with London’s Artesian at The Langham, the world’s best bar from 2012 to 2015, and helped create Sips in Barcelona in 2021—which placed first on the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2023, and third last year. With these two teaming up, Bar Leone can expect some in-house competition.
Outside of Hong Kong, Bangkok had some notable entries with seven bars in the top 50, including the debut of Dry Wave Cocktail Studio at No. 5, and Bar Us at No. 4, which jumped 17 spots from last year. Seoul also had two spots in the top ten, with Zest taking the silver and Bar Charm at No. 6.
Indian nightlife also found success this year, with New Delhi’s Lair, a new entry, coming in at eighth place, followed by Soka at No. 28, Boilermaker at No. 30, ZLB23 at No. 31, and Bar Spirit Forward at No. 37.
The best bars in Asia ranked 51 to 100 this year were announced earlier in the month, and included 14 new entries. The list is determined by over 300 anonymous voters in the region, spanning four regions and covering 26 destinations across the continent. Here are all the winners for 2025.
The 50 Best Bars in Asia for 2025
Bar Leone, Hong Kong
Zest, Seoul
Jigger & Pony, Singapore
Bar Us, Bangkok
Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok
Bar Cham, Seoul
Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou
Lair, New Delhi
Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
Penrose, Kuala Lumpur
Argo, Hong Kong
Modernhaus, Jakarta
Alice, Seoul
Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka
Three X Co, Kuala Lumpur
CMYK, Changsha, China
Coa, Hong Kong
Virtù, Tokyo
BKK Social Club, Bangkok
Vender, Taichung, Taiwan
MO Bar, Shenzhen
The St. Regis Bar, Jakarta
Offtrack, Singapore
Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
Yakoboku, Kumamoto, Japan
G.O.D, Bangkok
Penicillin, Hong Kong
Soka, Bengaluru
Vesper, Bangkok
Boilermaker, Goa
ZLB23, Bengaluru
The Savory Project, Hong Kong
Gokan, Hong Kong
Carrots Bar, Jakarta
Barc, Kathmandu, Nepal
Punch Room Tokyo, Tokyo
Bar Spirit Forward, Bengaluru
Cosmo Pony, Jakarta
Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur
The Public House, Taipei
To Infinity & Beyond, Taipei
Moonrock, Tainan, Taiwan
Opium, Bangkok
Cat Bite Club, Singapore
Native, Singapore
Lamp Bar, Nara, Japan
Reka, Kuala Lumpur
Bar Sathorn, Bangkok
Bar Libre, Tokyo
Le Chamber, Seoul
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