An Italian enclave in central Hong Kong has retained its title as The Best Bar in Asia for a second consecutive year. Read on for reactions from Bar Leone's team and ways to enjoy a flavour of this Hong Kong hotshot bar, wherever you are in the world.
'Cocktail popolari' is the unmissable slogan of Hong Kong's Bar Leone, which just clinched the coveted No.1 spot in Asia's 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, at the live awards ceremony at Wynn Palace, Macau.
Translated as 'cocktails for the people', Leone's mission has been a simple one since its inception just two years ago: to create a delicious homage to the hometown of its charismatic star-tender and co-founder, Lorenzo Antinori. After claiming the title of The Best Bar in Asia for a second time, as well as landing the No.2 spot in The World's 50 Best Bars in October 2024, that mantra has clearly resonated well with the bar-goers of Asia and beyond.
Bar Leone in Hong Kong has taken the No.1 spot in Asia's 50 Best Bars for the second year in a row
Reacting to the bar's latest win, Antinori says: "We really didn't expect this again. We were so shocked. To everyone who supported us, we could not be more happy or more surprised."
Looking ahead
What is the inside scoop to the bar's continuing success? "There is no secret to success," Justin Shun Wah, co-owner of Bar Leone, says. "It really just is about great hospitality." Antinori adds: "It's about celebrating every bar and about getting together. We really love what we do – we love serving the community and serving Hong Kong."
Around two years into its lifespan, Bar Leone is in full stride, but Antinori and Shun Wah have no intention of slowing down. In the days following the events of Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025, the duo will launch a new bar concept, Montana, created in partnership with Simone Caporale of Sips in Barcelona (The World's Best Bar 2023). The new bar offers an entirely separate concept to Leone, with Cuban-style drinks and hospitality guiding its offering, but it will share the same core principles as its sister venue. "We're opening a bar tomorrow. We really just want to fly the flag for Asia," Shun Wah says.
A taste of The Best Bar in Asia
For Antinori and Shun Wah, it's paramount that the 'cocktail popolari' ethos remains more than just a marketing slogan. Staying true to their word, they offer full access to the secret sauce behind the bar, releasing all recipes to the public free of charge.
For those unable to experience the bar first-hand anytime soon, here are five ways you can create a piece of Bar Leone magic at home.
1) Filthy Martini (and smoked olives)
The Filthy Martini has been a fan-favourite and must-order for any visitor to Bar Leone since day one. As its name suggests, this martini variant goes beyond dirty into the realms of drink debauchery, primarily thanks to one of the bar's unique creations: smoked olive brine. Created in-house, the addictive, smoky and salty elixir offers perfect juxtaposition to its clean vodka base.
Ingredients
70ml vodka
15ml Bar Leone smoked olive brine
Method
Combine vodka and smoked olive brine with ice and stir until very cold. Pour into chilled martini glass and garnish with a smoked olive.
While Bar Leone sells its smoked olives to residents of Hong Kong, they can also be made at home.
Remove a jar of Spanish olives from their brine, taking care to reserve the liquid, before placing in a large oven or enclosed fireproof space with smouldering cherrywood for 45 minutes. After completed, add the olives back into the brine and allow to infuse for at least one hour. Snack on the olives and save the brine for the martinis.
2) Yuzu Negroni
An Asian twist on an Italian staple, this Leone negroni variant takes a zesty turn, thanks to the inclusion of yuzu liqueur, herbal aperitif and bianco vermouth. The resulting drink is an amber-hued balance of herbal and refreshing flavours and an ideal sipper for balmy summer nights.
Ingredients
22.5ml gin
22.5ml gentian aperitif
15ml bianco vermouth
7.5ml yuzu liqueur
Method
Combine all ingredients into a vessel of choice with ice and stir until frosty. Pour into a short tumbler with a large ice cube and garnish with lemon peel.
3) Mortadella Focaccia
If you ask any bar-goer about their Bar Leone experience, they will more than likely open with a monologue about the mortadella focaccia. It's the sandwich that's become synonymous with the bar, so much so that Antinori and Shun Wah often joke they run a sandwich shop that happens to serve cocktails. The combination of warm, crispy focaccia, creamy cheese, signature smoked olives and an aggressive portion of mortadella is a smash hit – it's little surprise that Leone sold more than $1.5m HKD (~US$200,000) of them within its first year.
Ingredients
Focaccia (80 to 90 per cent hydration preferrable)
100g sliced mortadella
20g mascarpone
20g ricotta
Handful of pickled chillies and smoked olives
Method
Brush the focaccia with olive oil and toast in an oven for four minutes at 230°C (450°F) and slice in half once finished. Mix together the ricotta and mascarpone and spread a generous layer on both inside halves of the bread, before adding a handful of pickled chillies and olives. Add the tower of mortadella – precisely 100g, Antinori insists. Slice diagonally and devour.
4) Caffe Paradiso
For those seeking a caffeinated concoction to keep the energy levels high throughout the evening, Leone offers the Cafe Paradiso: its answer to an Irish coffee, served cold. The rendition, while recognisable and faithful, naturally comes with a few tricks up its Italian sleeve, notably the inclusion of both Torino vermouth and Amaro Lucano.
Ingredients
60ml cold brew coffee
20ml Scotch whisky
20ml Amaro Lucano
10ml Torino vermouth
7.5ml honey syrup
2.5ml French herbal liqueur
5g salted double cream
1 green cardamom pod
Method
In a large stirring glass, add the coffee, Scotch, amaro, vermouth, syrup and liqueur and mix until fully combined. Pour into an Irish coffee glass, leaving approximately 3cm at the top of the glass. Finish with the salted double cream and garnish with grated green cardamom.
5) Il Cacciatore
What's more Italian than tomatoes and basil? Bar Leone's take on the modern classic tomatini offers a lower-ABV alternative that doesn't skimp on the tomato flavour. Vegetal and herbal notes lead the flavour profile, thanks in part to the two muddled cherry tomatoes at its base.
Ingredients
45ml bianco vermouth
7.5ml mastika
20ml lemon juice
5ml sugar syrup
3 cherry tomatoes
1 basil leaf
Method
Muddle two cherry tomatoes into the bottom of a Boston shaker. Add the vermouth, mastika, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Fill halfway with ice and shake with medium force for 30 seconds before straining into a tumbler. Garnish with the remaining cherry tomato and basil leaf on a cocktail stick.
Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier – special awards
Alongside the reveal of the main ranking of Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, a host of other special awards was also unveiled at the awards ceremony at Wynn Palace, Macau. These are the winners of this year's special awards:
-Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award: Andrew Ho
-Roku Industry Icon Award: Jay Khan
-Campari One To Watch Award: Workshop14, Hanoi
-Best Bar Design Award: Messenger Service, Bangkok
-Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award: Backdoor Bodega, Penang
-Michter's Art of Hospitality Award: Barc, Kathmandu
-London Essence Best New Opening Award: Modernhaus, Jakarta
-Nikka Highest Climber Award: Alice, Seoul
-Disaronno Highest New Entry Award: Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok
-Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award: Vesper, Bangkok
-Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award: Sora, Phnom Penh
Discover the full list of Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier.
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