5 Best Bars in Macau, China

Macau’s only entry on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, the St. Regis Bar sets a high standard for cocktails and live entertainment. Inspired by the hotel’s New York heritage, the signature drinks mostly nod to Big Apple history. The Cotton Club, for example, is a whiskey sour that pays tribute to Harlem’s prohibition era jazz. But don’t miss the Macau-inspired Maria do Leste, a bold reimagining of the Bloody Mary with cinnamon, piri piri, and a lobster tart on the side, or the Macao Egg Tart, a boozy ode to the city’s favorite pastry. Both are great drinks to sip as you enjoy the live jazz.

Hidden within the W Hotel’s ground-floor Living Room lounge, A.P.D. is a speakeasy-style haven for mezcal lovers. The smoky, earthy agave spirit is the sole focus here, with a curated selection that includes more than a dozen artisanal labels, from Derrumbes, made from wild agave grown in the San Luis Potosi plateaus, to George Clooney’s new premium brand Casamigos. The space is small and intimate. Go behind the open bar to examine the labels up close and chat with the friendly bartenders.

This hideaway lounge inside the Legend Palace evokes the glamour of Monte Carlo. A sleek mahogany bar, checkerboard floors, and vintage photos give the bar an air of timelessness, while light green leather booths add a cozy touch. Most come for the collection of Japanese whiskey and Scotch, including the hotel’s own blend, distilled at Ardmore in the Scottish Highlands and released in limited batches each year, but the cocktail program shakes things up. Using high-tech kitchen gadgetry, the bar team creates unique redistillations, infusions, and clarified drinks that showcase Chinese flavors, from Sichuan pepper to bitter melon and guava.

This Mandarin Oriental bar-restaurant serves Cantonese during the day and Italian at night, and it merits a visit whatever the occasion, be it a business lunch, pizza dinner, or glass of champagne. It shines brightest at “The Counter,” a semi-private, 10-seat bar overlooking Nam Van Lake that can be closed off to the rest of the venue. Here, bartenders serve Mandarin Oriental signatures using interesting local ingredients, like salted plum-infused gin. They are also more than happy to tailor drinks to customers, who sit in tufted leather chairs propped up against a sturdy dark wood bar.

Tucked away on Rua Central near St. Augustine’s Square, Wood House epitomizes the independent cocktail bar scene slowly growing outside the confines of Macau’s casinos. Founded by a local who cut his teeth in Taiwan, this cozy bar fills up fast, especially on weekends, when guests often have to find space on the second floor. The menu features around 20 original cocktails, many made with homemade infusions. Not sure what to order? The bartenders will gladly craft something to suit your taste.