Asia’s 50 Best Bars: Coa in Hong Kong No 1 again, Four Seasons bar Argo in third place, Singapore has the most bars ranked
- Hong Kong bars took two of the top three spots on the list, and for Jay Khan, founder of Coa, it is heartwarming after two very difficult years
- Eight Hong Kong bars made the top 50, including Quinary, DarkSide and Penicillin; Singapore’s Jigger & Pony kept its second place in the rankings
Coa, a Mexican-inspired bar in Hong Kong, takes the number-one spot for the second year in a row in Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.
Founded by Jay Khan, who won the peer-voted bartenders’ bartender award in 2020, Coa is on Shin Hing Street in Central, Hong Kong.
“It is the most prestigious award in our industry, and having won this twice in a row, it’s an unbelievable experience and feeling,” Khan says. “[It’s] definitely very heartwarming to see so many of our industry peers supporting us and our bar.
“Collectively, everyone has struggled a lot the last couple of years but we are super resilient as bartenders. We have a lot of tough days, yet we fought this period, so it is amazing.” Most bars in Hong Kong remain closed under social distancing rules to curb the spread of coronavirus.
It’s only the second time that a bar has managed to secure the top spot for two years running – the first was Singapore’s Manhattan, in 2017 and 2018. Coa first appeared on the A50 Best list in 2019 at 12th place (when it also received the award for highest new entry), before climbing to third in 2020 and first in 2021.