The annual World’s 50 Best Bars have been named this year and two bars from Central are among the top. Both regulars to the list, Hollywood Road’s Quinary placed 40th in its 4th time in the spotlight while Shangri-La’s Lobster Bar placed 49th in its third time to shine.
Asia’s best bar, Singapore’s Manhattan, also placed highest in Asia, coming in at 7th place, closely followed by the region’s runner up Shanghai’s Speak Low (10th).
This year, Asian bars made up a quarter of the world’s best. Singapore brought the most contenders with six featured bars; Hong Kong and Tokyo tied for second with two each; and Shanghai and Taipei came in third with single entries.
Alongside the top list were several other awards including Highest New Entry, awarded to Singapore’s Atlas.
In the 50-100 list announced earlier this year, Central’s The Pontiac placed 68th immediately followed by Stockton at 69th, making its first appearance to the world stage. Other new entries from Asia include Tokyo’s Gen Yamamoto (88th), Ginza’s Bar Orchard (93rd), Shanghai’s The Union Trading Company (97th) and Potato Head’s Bali branch at (98th).
Asian bars among the world’s best:
No. 7 Manhattan, Singapore.
No. 10 Speak Low, Shanghai.
No. 13 High Five, Tokyo.
No. 15 Atlas, Singapore.
No. 24 Operation Dagger, Singapore.
No. 25 28 Hong Kong Street, Singapore.
No. 28 Indulge Experimental Bistro, Taipei.
No. 31 Tippling Club, Singapore.
No. 36 Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo.
No. 40 Quinary, Hong Kong.
No. 47 Native, Singapore.
No. 49 Lobster Bar, Hong Kong.
See also: Hong Kong takes 7th, 8th and 10th place in Asia’s Best Bars