Two Singapore bars feature in the top ten of World’s 50 Best Bars 2020, with ATLAS and Jigger & Pony clinching the No.4 and No.9 spots on the lauded list respectively.

The newest World’s 50 Best Bars top 50 rankings were revealed in a virtual countdown ceremony last evening that saw three London bars dominate the top ten. Connaught Bar took the top spot on a competitive list that had fellow London-based peers Tayēr + Elementary and Kwānt muscle in at the fifth and sixth spots.

Singapore provided a mixed showing this year at the annual compilation of the best drinking venues around the world. Grand lobby bar ATLAS continued its winning ways by climbing to No.4 from No.8 while pioneering cocktail bar Jigger & Pony – which landed the top spot in Asia’s 50 Best Bars earlier this year – rocketed up 20 spots from No.29 to No.9, giving Singapore two coveted spots in the top ten. This is the second time that the Republic has achieved that distinction; the first time that happened was in 2018, when Manhattan and ATLAS landed the No.3 and No.8 positions respectively.

But the rest of Singapore didn’t fare as well. This year only four Singapore venues featured in the top 50, compared to six last year. Regent Singapore’s Manhattan fell three spots to No.14, while Native shed six to drop to the No.18 position. The Old Man Singapore, which achieved the No.38 spot in 2019, fell off the top 50. Operation Dagger, last year’s No.30, officially shuttered a few weeks back.

In summary, the four Singapore bars that entered into top 50 of the World’s 50 Best Bars 2020 list (vs 2019) are:

  • ATLAS, Singapore (No.4)/(No.8)
  • Jigger & Pony, Singapore (No.9)/(No.29)
  • Manhattan, Singapore (No.14)/(No.11)
  • Native, Singapore (No.18)/(No.12)

Earlier, The World’s 50 Best Bars also released the winners of its 51-100 list. The secondary rankings saw Singapore led Asia with five bars out of 15 across five countries in the region. The Singapore bars that entered the 51-100 World’s 50 Best Bars 2020 list (vs 2019) are:

  • No Sleep Club (No.53)/(new entry)
  • The Old Man Singapore (No.58)/(No.38)
  • Tippling Club (No.64)/(reentry)
  • 28 HongKong Street (No.86)/(No.61)
  • Gibson (No.92)/(new entry)

best bar in Asia

The results are particularly special for the Jigger & Pony Group, which operates both fourth-placed Jigger & Pony, and Gibson at No.92. “We are proud that we are two of the nine bars from Singapore that are on the World’s 50 Best Bars 2020 list,” says Indra Kantono, co-founder of The Jigger & Pony Group.

“To have our flagship brand Jigger & Pony recognised globally during these uncertain times is an incredible honor and a huge responsibility for us. We are continuously working harder to better ourselves and this win affirms our commitment to our guests and the industry​,” Kantono added.

A different World’s 50 Best Bars in 2020

In a year that has seen the coronavirus pandemic decimate the F&B and nightlife industries worldwide, World’s 50 Best Bars organisers William Reed Business Media has put on a brave front to continue the annual list for 2020. For this year, the voting period ran from January 2019 to March 2020, when the majority of bars were forced to close due to the pandemic.

For 2020, 50 Best also made a number of changes to its Academy voting structure, which now includes more than 540 anonymous industry experts who cast the votes to create the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars. The Academy was also recently revamped to create 20 Academy Chairs in 20 new geographic regions, and also tweaked to be 50-50 gender balanced.

“We want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the venues on the 2020 list of The World’s 50 Best Bars. We are continually heartened by the industry’s resilience and positivity as countries continue to operate in varying degrees of recovery,” says Mark Sansom, Content Editor for The World’s 50 Best Bars.

“Hats off to Connaught Bar, undoubtedly one of the finest cocktail bars of our time. The institution has earned a place on the list every year since 2010 and it has gradually grown in stature to become the world-beating bar it is today,” added Sansom.


Follow us on Telegram to get updated on events and other spirited announcements!

5 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.