The outstanding Soho bar, which earlier won T.Dining’s Best Cocktails award in 2017, is also the list’s highest new entry
When the 2017 World’s 50 Best Bars list was unveiled last October, there was a distinct lack of Hong Kong venues among those awarded—just two, to be exact. At the time, I commented that The Old Man, which had just opened, would be one to watch for the 2018 edition.
A month later, it was crowned the winner of Best Cocktails in our fifth annual T.Dining Awards after an overwhelming majority of our expert panel weighed in on the nominees for the year. The trio of drinks veterans behind The Old Man—Agung Prabowo, Roman Ghale and James Tamang—shot it out of the park with their gem of a speakeasy, which we described as a bar that is at once subtle and surprising, with drinks that use unusual housemade ingredients to intriguing effect.
The Asia version of the 50 Best Bars list was announced on May 3 in Singapore, and in a thrilling turn of events, The Old Man debuted at #5—the year’s highest new entry. Prabowo, speaking to us from Singapore, was humble when congratulated on the accolade. “Thank you, thank you and thank you for the support. I dedicate this to everyone in the industry. Without you guys, we wouldn’t be [at #5]. Much love!”
Other Hong Kong bars on the list include Lobster Bar (#10), Stockton (#11), Quinary (#15), Zuma (#18), Otto E Mezzo (#24), The Pontiac (#31). In Macau, The Ritz-Carlton Bar & Lounge came in at #48.
With such a strong showing in the Asia edition, perhaps we'll be seeing The Old Man on the World's 50 Best Bars list when it is unveiled later this year.