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Top 50 Bars Asia

Cocktail bars

Every cocktail bar in the Top 50 Bars Asia directory, across 20 cities, with ranks, districts, and booking rules.

We publish 34 cocktail bars on the current Asia and Europe rankings, across 20 cities, led by The Bar in Front of the Bar at No.2 in Europe. Every room is below with its rank, district, and booking rule.

In this selection

34 bars

What makes a bar a cocktail bar

The broadest style we use: rooms where the drinks list is the reason to go, mixing house originals with the canon. Menus turn over seasonally, and the bar sets the pace of the night rather than a kitchen or a hotel floor.

Where to find cocktail bars

Bangkok (6), Jakarta (4), Seoul (3), Bengaluru (2), Hong Kong (2), and Athens (2) carry the current entries, plus 14 more cities, across Asia and Europe. Open a city page to see what else is walkable from each one.

The highest-ranked cocktail bars

Asia: Dry Wave Cocktail Studio (Bangkok) at No.5 and Bar Us (Bangkok) at No.7. Europe: The Bar in Front of the Bar (Athens) at No.2 and The Cambridge Public House (Paris) at No.7. Ranks are awarded per region, so an Asia position and a Europe position are not directly comparable.

Reservations and spend

Of the 34 rooms in this style, 8 require a reservation and 18 take walk-ins. Bookings run through SevenRooms, and release windows differ between rooms, so check the profile before you fix a date. For a sense of spend, Freni e Frizioni lists about $11 per cocktail.

Questions about cocktail bars

What the style means and how to get a seat.

What is a cocktail bar?

Our general category for rooms built around a drinks programme, where the list mixes originals with classics and the bar is the main event. More specific styles such as speakeasy, hotel bar, and spirits bar are tagged separately.

Which is the best cocktail bar?

The Bar in Front of the Bar in Athens, at No.2 on our Europe ranking, is the highest-placed cocktail bar on the current list. Its profile carries the address, booking rule, and what to order first.

Which cities have the best cocktail bars?

Bangkok (6 rooms), Jakarta (4 rooms), Seoul (3 rooms), and Bengaluru (2 rooms) lead, plus 15 more cities. Athens holds the highest-placed of them, so start there if you are routing a trip around this style.

Nominate a bar for the next Asia list.

Tell our editorial desk about a room we should visit next season. Send the city, the bar, and what makes it worth the trip.

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