Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 full list: Bar Leone in Hong Kong No 1, co-founder ‘speechless’

The ninth edition of the regional bar rankings was announced in Hong Kong on July 16 and a bar in the city came up top once more

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Zest’s Dohyung Kim and Bar Leone’s Lorenzo Antinori celebrate after their bars were named respectively second and first in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars ranking for 2024 in a ceremony at Hong Kong’s Rosewood hotel. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Charmaine Mok

Published: 11:43pm, 16 Jul 2024Updated: 11:04am, 19 Jul 2024

Corrected [12:48pm, 17 Jul, 2024]

[12:48pm, 17 Jul, 2024]
Nine Hong Kong bars, not eight as earlier reported, were ranked on the Asia's 50 Best Bars 2024 list.

Capping off days of guest bartender shifts, spirits brand pop-ups and everything boozy in between was the ninth edition of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards, held for the second consecutive year at The Rosewood Hong Kong hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Hundreds of guests congregated at the luxury Kowloon hotel to hear the results of the ranking, compiled through votes by a panel of industry players from the Asia region.

Prior to the awards ceremony, many were curious to find out whether Hong Kong bar Coa, which had been ranked in top spot for three consecutive years, would retain its crown for a record-breaking fourth.

In a surprise twist, Coa placed 4th on the list this year; the bar’s reign was ended by none other than fellow Hong Kong entrant Bar Leone, which debuted on the list and went straight to the number one spot.

Bar Leone’s interior features vintage football shirts, and photos of Italian icons, from Popes to B movie actors. Photo: Bar Leone

It is the first time in history that a bar has entered Asia’s 50 Best Bars and taken the top ranking in its first year of operation.

The Italian watering hole in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island co-founded by Lorenzo Antinori opened in the summer of 2023 and quickly became one of the city’s most beloved bars, known for its straightforward yet complex cocktails and equally moreish bar food.