5 China Bars Clinch Positions at the 2019 World's 50 Best Bar Awards

By That's Shanghai, October 4, 2019

The picks for the World’s 50 Best Bars Awards of 2019 are in and four China-based bars made the list. Hong Kong's The Old Man (No. 9) and Coa (No. 49) plus Shanghai's Speak Low (No. 35) and Sober Company (No. 45) earns spots. Taipei's Indulge Experimental Bistro has moved from number 38 to 21.

This isn’t the first time Speak Low has made the cut. Founded by Japanese mixologist Shingo Gokan, Speak Low was the first-ever bar in Chinese mainland to earn a spot on the World’s 50 Best Bars Awards list in 2016, coming in at number 15. In 2017, the bar moved up five spots to number 10 making it the first bar on the Mainland to rank in the top 10. After landing the number 20 spot in 2018, Speak Low has fallen to number 38 in 2019.

At least Gokah's Sober Company which placed 45th made its way onto this year's top 50 list.

The World’s 50 Best Bars Awards 2019 were announced at a ceremony in London on October 3. The majority of winners are located in the US and UK – including this year's winner Dante (London, UK). However, nine Asia-based bars made this year's list:

No. 8: Atlas (Singapore)
No. 9: The Old Man (Hong Kong)
No 11: Manhattan (Singapore)
No. 12: Native (Singapore)
No. 18: High Five (Tokyo)
No. 21: Indulge Experimental Bistro (Taipei)
No. 24: The SG Club (Tokyo)
No. 29: Jigger & Pony (Singapore)
No. 30: Operation Dagger (Singapore)
No. 35: Speak Low (Shanghai)
No. 38: The Old Man (Singapore)
No. 45: Sober Company (Shanghai)
No. 49: Coa (Hong Kong)