3 Indian bars return on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list

Planning a bar hop in a city once meant a time-consuming combination of gathering friends’ recommendations and looking up multiple reviews. Now it’s as quick as: “Hey Claude! What are the 50 Best Bars in the city?” It’s a hat tip to the bar world’s most prestigious honours and the go-to checklist for curious drinkers.

Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 list was just unveiled at Wynn Palace in Macau; the venue has played host to the last three editions, including the World’s 50 Best Bars. As doors opened, the Grand Theatre filled with drink experts, journalists and hopeful bar members who’d waited a whole year for this moment. As the list was unveiled, the nerves gave way to excitement and deafening roars of support. Quite a sight!

Last year’s winner, Hong Kong’s Bar Leone came in at No 3 this time, while Seoul’s Zest won the No 2 place like it did last time, leaving Hope & Sesame from Guangzhou to rise to the No 1 spot on the Asia's 50 Best Bars list. 

It was also a special moment for India, which saw three bars make it to the shortlist. While Boilermaker won the coveted Best Bar in India 2026, sponsored by Rémy Martin, and a spot at No 8 this year, Soka and Bar Spirit Forward followed at No 18 and 30 respectively. Besides these three bars, two more (Bar Outrigger in Goa at No 51 and AABBCC in New Delhi at No 85) from India featured on the extended 51-100 longlist. Now to our winners…

Boilermaker, Goa, at No 8

In its second year on the list, Boilermaker has climbed to No ___ after debuting at 30 last year. Inspired by Goa's old-school bars and built on the idea that great drinks don’t need much ceremony, co-owner Pankaj Balachandran, one of the country’s most prolific bar consultants, says the key to its appeal is that it feels familiar from the moment you walk in.

“It’s the perfect mix of rustic and refined, dive bar and upmarket, laid-back yet buzzing with energy, all wrapped into one,” sums up regular Aditi Vashisht, a people and culture consultant from Siolim, who first wandered into the bar in her neighbourhood a few days before it was even ready to open in 2024. Now she considers it an extension of her own home bar.

Their cocktail menu is built around one simple idea: take the drinks seriously, not yourself. So, flip through and you’ll find sections like The Smashables—easy, tasty, designed to be knocked back or The Sessionables—more layered and complex, inviting you to slow down and spend a little more time with them. And, of course, a few elevated versions of the Boilermaker, which is traditionally a shot of whisky chased by a pint of beer and here, it comes with the team roaring the Boilermaker song for every tippler who orders it.

Vashisht says her order always starts with a cold pint from the Great State Brewing line-up on tap, which is the perfect segue into the cocktails. “My all-time favourite is That Watermelon Drink, an unbelievable combination of watermelon and clarified peanut butter. But I must admit, on my super sad or super happy days, nothing beats the Boilermaker.”

Soka, Bengaluru, at No 18

From their snug 531 sq ft space in Domlur, which opened doors in 2023, Soka grabbed the 28th spot last year. My first visit to this neighbourhood bar felt like stepping into a den. And I mean that in the best possible way: dimly (but tastefully) lit, cosy, a steady stream of fuss-free drinks you’ll want thirds of, ‘nano plates’ to pick at, and strangers who turned into buddies surprisingly fast around the central communal table.

The cocktail menu draws on Indian ingredients, plays on regional flavours and familiar memories but reinterprets them in ways that feel contemporary rather than merely nostalgic. Their signature MOFO Don uses purple cabbage in a drink I’d dare compare to a picante, while their Mysore High pairs Yelakki banana with rum and coffee liqueur. “What we’re most proud of is being able to give these ingredients a new context without stripping them of their identity. Guests are intrigued at first, and when that curiosity turns into a second order, or brings someone back to the bar, that’s the most meaningful response to the menu,” says co-founder Avinash Kapoli.

To keep the community engaged, Soka has fun concept nights like ‘Not a Bar Takeover’ with visiting bars, and the more food-centric ‘SOKA Sunday Rituals’ and ‘Nightcaps’, which gathers familiar industry faces.

Varsha Balasubramanian, a PR professional who says she is “a little too regular”, marking her attendance at least once a week, recommends them all the cocktails like a true patron. On a regular night, her typical order is the MOFO Don and, more recently, the Pi Pi Martini, which has replaced the Batanga. On a separate note, she’d like to petition that the latter be reinstated on the menu, which I am inclined to support.

Bar Spirit Forward, Bengaluru, at No 30

Bar Spirit Forward sat at No 37 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 and arrived at this year’s ceremony on a hot streak after being crowned India’s Best Bar at the 30 Best Bars India awards in January.

Opened in late 2023 on Lavelle Road, the bar is helmed by Arijit Bose, who is no stranger to creating much-loved concept bars such as Bar Outrigger (No 51) and Wineyard in Goa, and Una Hacienda, Middle Room, and Wine In Progress in Bengaluru, which show up regularly on locals’ must-follow bar itineraries.

Bar Spirit Forward taps into what Bose describes as the city’s appetite for “casual luxury”—polished but unfussy, refined yet welcoming. Here, the name doubles as the philosophy: their cocktails are built around a strong base spirit, deliberate measures, and restraint rather than clutter. The menu is short and punchy: the 3-Gin Martini, widely cited as one of the best in the country, might very well have its own fan page. Not far behind would be their tequila-based Southern Star with plum, guava, and jalapeño.

Nikki Ponappa, a golf coach and regular barfly at Bar Spirit Forward, lives close enough to “walk there and roll back home”. She describes it as a place where you can drink alone or with friends without ever feeling unloved, unnoticed or unheard. The bartenders know her two standard drink orders and they somehow always intuit which one to hand her first without being asked. The cocktails are a no-brainer, but Ponappa especially appreciates that the bar has stayed a neighbourhood bar in the truest sense. “I’ve been there in my pyjamas and they haven’t stopped me. They allow their neighbours to come as they are, without any judgment.”