Hong Kong's Coa Has Been Voted Best Bar In Asia For The Third Year In A Row
Hong Kong-based Coa has been dubbed the best bar in Asia for the third year in a row during an award ceremony where the 50 best bars were announced.
Asia's 50 Best Bars Academy voted on the ranking. Coa previously won the top spot in 2021 and 2022, making it the first bar ever to achieve the honor three times in a row. Although bar industry professionals conducted the voting, attendees of the awards ceremony reportedly agreed. CNN reported that Coa was a crowd favorite, and people chanted the bar's name even before a winner was named.
The bar opened in 2017, headed by owner Jay Khan. Coa is named after a tool used to harvest agave — which is fitting since the restaurant serves primarily Mexican-inspired drinks using tequila. Khan wanted to promote the use of 100% agave tequila and traditional mezcal through the opening of the bar, according to its website.
The bar uses tequila in many of its drinks
Customers who visit the bar can sip on featured cocktails like the Ancho Highball (made of tequila blanco, salted plum, ancho chile, and guava soda) or the La Paloma de Oaxaca (featuring tequila blanco, mezcal joven, lime, grapefruit soda, and worm salt). Customers can also purchase a take-home kit that includes everything needed to make paloma cocktails at home — a cocktail on the bar's menu since day one. The bar has over 200 bottles of agave in-house.
In a post-ceremony press conference, reported by CNN, Jay Khan said that he plans to continue doing what he's doing, and although he's grateful for the award, he acknowledged that the success might not last forever. "One day we're not going to be crowned number one, and that's okay," he said. But for now, it seems that both bar industry experts and fans of the bar agree: Coa is the best bar in Asia.