Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026: Hope & Sesame in China’s Guangzhou takes top spot

For the first time, a mainland Chinese bar has taken top spot at the Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards. Guangzhou’s Hope & Sesame was the big winner at the 11th edition of the awards, held at the Wynn Palace resort in Macau on July 28, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone. It also scooped the Best Bar in Mainland China Award. Its co-founder, Hongkonger Andrew Ho, won the Bartenders’ Bartender Award last year. “We started with four people, now we’re [a team of] over 100,” said Ho, who opened a Shenzhen branch of Hope & Sesame in 2022, as he accepted the award on stage with his team, who were visibly emotional. Hope & Sesame’s win coincides with the bar’s 10th year of operation and, when Ho was later asked how he felt, he quipped: “I think the only question is, why not earlier?” Ho added that he and his team “have been working very hard” as they are currently serving the 17th iteration of their menu. Coming in second place again this year and winning the Best Bar in Korea was Seoul’s Zest. Bar Leone was once again named the Best Bar in Hong Kong, but had to accept third place on the Asia list this year. Its sister venue, Montana, a Cuba-inspired bar, debuted at No 47. In 2024, Bar Leone made history when it debuted at the top of the list in its first year of operation. In 2025, the simple-but-elegant Italian bar took home both the No 1 spot in Asia and became the first Hong Kong bar to top the World’s 50 Best Bars list. This marked the fourth time the Asia’s 50 Best Bars award ceremony had taken place in Greater China. The Rosewood Hong Kong hotel hosted the event in 2023 and 2024, while this year’s host, Wynn Resorts Macau, took over in 2025. While unofficial festivities began mid-July in Hong Kong, Wynn kick-started its official programme on July 24 with parties, roundtables, guest shifts, dinners and bar takeovers that brought more than 50 leading bartenders and chefs from around the world to Wynn Palace and its sister property, Wynn Macau. The ceremony itself kicked off in high spirits at Wynn Palace’s Grand Theatre, with over 15 drinks partners slinging and pouring cocktails for the gathered bartenders, chefs and industry professionals for two hours before the awards were announced. No matter how nervous the bar teams are, the wonderful thing you’ll see is everyone celebrating together Emma Sleight, director of content and creative for 50 Best Emma Sleight, director of content and creative for 50 Best, told the South China Morning Post at the reception ahead of the awards ceremony: “It’s amazing to be back in Macau, and it’s super exciting to be able to work with the cocktail community in this part of the world again. “50 Best, for us, is all about connecting the community and celebrating the very best of hospitality. “No matter how nervous the bar teams are, the wonderful thing you’ll see is everyone celebrating together. “It’s also super exciting for us to see smaller cocktail destinations from the likes of Tainan and Beijing getting that spotlight from 50 to 100.” In total, seven bars from Hong Kong were named in the top 50, but the city won big in other domains and took home four of the 11 special awards, including Best Cocktail Menu for Cantonese spirits bar Kinsman. In June, Hong Kong’s Shelley Tai was named the winner of the Bartenders’ Bartender Award, the only peer-voted honour in Asia’s 50 Best Bars. The recognition came after Tai opened her first bar, Mius, in 2025, which quickly gained widespread popularity. Mius made a strong debut at No 36 in the Asia awards this year and also snagged the Best Bar Design Award. Tai’s follow-up venue, Fello, will open next month in Central. Before 2025, Tai worked for nearly five years as operations director at Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove, which placed No 24 on the Asia 2025 list and moved up to No 12 this year. Hong Kong’s Coa was awarded the No 1 spot from 2021 to 2023, making it the first bar in the region to secure three consecutive wins. This year, it placed at No 24 and was also named the winner of the Legend of the List Award. Mainland China had one of its best years yet, with two more bars entering the top 10: MO Bar and Obsidian Bar from Shenzhen. The extended 51-100 list, announced earlier in July, featured three Hong Kong bars: The Opposites (No 54), The Savory Project (No 60) and Tell Camellia (No 81). Taiwan was also well represented with Tainan’s Moonrock (No 67), Kaohsiung’s Maltail (No 68), and Taipei’s Bar Mood (No 82) and The Public House (No 92). From mainland China, Hangzhou’s Chimney, Shanghai’s Coa and Beijing’s Bar Long Fong placed at No 91, No 95 and No 96, respectively. Special awards One to Watch: Hats Bar, Jakarta Art of Hospitality: Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya Sustainable Bar: Bar Us, Bangkok Best Bar Design: Mius, Hong Kong Best Cocktail Menu: Kinsman, Hong Kong Industry Icon: Indra Kantono, Jigger & Pony Group, Singapore Bartenders’ Bartender: Shelley Tai, Hong Kong Best New Opening: Workshop 14, Hanoi Highest Climber: Bar Sathorn, Bangkok Highest New Entry: Lennon’s, Bangkok (No 7) Legend of the List: Coa, Hong Kong Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 full list An asterisk denotes a new entry and a hash is for a re-entry 100. Sora, Phnom Penh 99. Lab, Taipei 98. The Spirits Library, Makati * 97. Stay Gold Flamingo, Singapore # 96. Bar Long Fong, Beijing * 95. Coa (Shanghai), Shanghai 94. Lamp Bar, Nara 93. Ropewalk, Galle * 92. The Public House, Taipei 91. Chimney, Hangzhou * 90. Bar Bon Funk, Singapore * 89. Soko, Seoul 88. Le Chamber, Seoul 87. Charles H, Seoul 86. Cat Bite Club, Singapore 85. Aabbcc, New Delhi * 84. Stir, Ho Chi Minh City 83. Coley, Kuala Lumpur 82. Bar Mood, Taipei 81. Tell Camellia, Hong Kong # 80. Native, Singapore 79. The Bellwood, Tokyo 78. Firefly, Bangkok 77. Hats Bar, Jakarta * 76. Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar, Bangkok 75. The Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, Tokyo * 74. Gong Gan, Seoul 73. Between the Sips, Jakarta * 72. Craftroom, Osaka 71. Raa, Hiriketiya 70. Bar Nayuta, Osaka 69. Messenger Service, Bangkok 68. Maltail, Kaohsiung 67. Moonrock, Tainan 66. Backdoor Bodega, Penang 65. Cabinet 8, Kuala Lumpur * 64. Penrose, Kuala Lumpur 63. Reka, Kuala Lumpur 62. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo 61. Barc, Kathmandu 60. The Savory Project, Hong Kong 59. Yakoboku, Kumamoto 58. The Elephant Room, Singapore # 57. Side Door, Singapore 56. Vesper, Bangkok 55. The Enigma Mansion, Ho Chi Minh City 54. The Opposites, Hong Kong 53. Bar Trench, Tokyo # 52. BOP, Singapore * 51. Bar Outrigger, Goa 50. Tiao, Beijing 49. Penicillin, Hong Kong 48. Aqua Bar, Bangkok * 47. Montana, Hong Kong * 46. The Hudson Rooms, Hanoi 45. The St. Regis Bar, Macau (Best Bar in Macau) 44. Problem Child, Manila (Best Bar in the Philippines) 43. Origin Bar, Singapore 42. M+Ms Bar, Seoul * 41. The Han-Jia, Tainan * 40. The Golden Tooth, Jakarta * 39. Bar Libre, Tokyo 38. Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur 37. Argo, Hong Kong 36. Mius, Hong Kong * (Best Bar Design) 35. To Infinity & Beyond, Taipei 34. Workshop 14, Hanoi * (Best New Opening and Best Bar in Vietnam) 33. Bar Cham, Seoul 32. Three X Co, Kuala Lumpur (Best Bar in Malaysia) 31. G.O.D, Bangkok 30. Bar Spirit Forward, Begaluru 29. Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya (Art of Hospitality Award and Best Bar in Sri Lanka) 28. Ralph’s Bar, Chengdu * 27. CMYK, Changsha 26. Vertu, Tokyo 25. Opium, Bangkok 24. Coa, Hong Kong (Legend of the List Award) 23. Punch Room Tokyo, Tokyo (Best Bar in Japan) 22. Gokan, Hong Kong 21. Carrots Bar, Jakarta 20. BKK Social Club, Bangkok 19. Pony Up, Shanghai 18. Soka, Bengaluru 17. Bar Sathorn, Bangkok (Highest Climber Award) 16. Offtrack, Singapore 15. Cosmo Pony, Jakarta 14. Vender, Taichung (Best Bar in Taiwan) 13. Alice, Seoul 12. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore 11. Modernhaus, Jakarta (Best Bar in Indonesia) 10. Obsidian Bar, Shenzhen * 9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore (Best Bar in Singapore) 8. Boilermaker, Goa (Best Bar in India) 7. Lennon’s, Bangkok * (Highest New Entry) 6. Bar Us, Bangkok (Sustainable Bar Award) 5. MO Bar, Shenzhen 4. Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok (Best Bar in Thailand) 3. Bar Leone, Hong Kong (Best Bar in Hong Kong) 2. Zest, Seoul (Best Bar in South Korea) 1. Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou (Best Bar in Mainland China)

Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026: Hope & Sesame in China’s Guangzhou takes top spot

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The victory marks the first time a mainland Chinese bar has placed at No 1, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone

The victory marks the first time a mainland Chinese bar has placed at No 1, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone