The Haflington cocktail bar in Hanoi has done it. The bar has claimed a remarkable milestone by being named among the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024.
It’s a historic moment. This is the first time a bar from Vietnam has been included in this esteemed round up of the 50 best bars in Asia – although this year three bars in the country figured on the extended 51-100 list.
And so, the inclusion of The Haflington not only celebrates the individual establishment’s excellence but also signifies the burgeoning cocktail culture in Vietnam and its emergence on the global stage.
Nestled in the heart of Hanoi’s old town, in Hoan Kiem District, The Haflington has become a beacon of innovation and sophistication in Vietnam’s capital city.
Perhaps the Asia’s 50 Best Bars team put it best. During the awards, they described it as “a light-filled oasis of calm.” That’s especially true in the afternoon (The Haflington opens daily from 3PM to 1AM) when the light streams through the exposed ceiling, before it takes on an enigmatic glow at sunset.
The Haflington’s Mystique: From Corridor To Dinosaur
Since the bar opened in early 2021, the slow-reveal of discovering it has captivated guests. First, there’s the passage through the claustrophobic corridor, and up the stairs past the neighbors washing on the line. Then, there’s the first signifier that something special is happening: the brass, well-polished The Haflington name plaque on the wall with its peeling paint.
Up the wooden stairs, there’s a dazzling peacock in a cabinet, and beyond, a whisky bar with smoking room, and up the rickety wooden stairs again, is the main attic-like space, with a cabinet full of fossils and artifacts. And then there’s that huge dinosaur skeleton suspended above the bar.
Spirit-Forward Cocktails In A Clandestine Space
Besides the design, what sets The Haflington apart is its commitment to crafting unique and memorable experiences for its patrons. Handily, you’re met on the street by one of The Haflington team; otherwise it would be easy to miss the corridor leading through to the bar.
Inside, thematically, everything matches the museum concept. The menu, for example, looks like a hefty tome recently plucked from a dusty library shelf. Three years after opening with a soft-launching menu of spirit-forward cocktails, the dapper team still serve lots of boozy beverages listed under the book’s ‘Vintage Recipes’ section. The mission then and now was to celebrate the classics – Sherry Cobblers, Manhattans and Mint Juleps – while evolving some twisted alternatives, like The Death, with mango and mezcal, sherry wine and Absolute Extract and some faint amaro flavor.
The Haflington: Named In Asia’s 50 Best Bars For The First Time
On July 9th, Vietnam celebrated three homegrown cocktail bars making the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 51-100 list.
This followed the first milestone, in 2021, when Vietnam appeared on the newly launched extended list with Summer Experiment at No. 77, Nê Cocktail Bar at No. 76, and Hybrid in Nha Trang at No. 96. No bars that year made it into the top 50. And no bar has achieved it before.
But on July 9th, 2024, STIR – Modern Classic Cocktail climbed to No. 58, and newcomers Drinking & Healing and The Hudson Rooms at Capella Hanoi debuted at No. 99 and No. 81 respectively, with The Hudson Rooms also becoming Vietnam’s first hotel bar to be listed.
Anticipation has been building since 2021 for a Vietnamese bar to break into the top 50 of Asia’s Best Bars. And finally, The Haflington has done it.
How The Haflington Reached No. 47 At Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024
The recognition by Asia’s 50 Best Bars is a rigorous process that involves votes from over 265 industry experts, including renowned bartenders, consultants, drinks writers, and cocktail specialists from across the region. Being named on this list is a significant achievement for any establishment, as it reflects a high standard of quality, innovation, and influence in the drinks industry.
Naturally, The Haflington hosting a stellar line-up of guest shifts this year may have helped, as would The Haflington team going on their travels.
They recently held a guest shift at Cocktail Club, Jakarta, a bar at No.12 this year, and named, again, the Best Bar In Indonesia. And they’ve welcomed bars like Whishbone, from Semarang, Indonesia, and its bartender Koco and Yohanes, Niks Anuman and KB Krabong from G.O.D. Bar (and others) in Bangkok, and Employees Only Sinagpore’s Bryan Bonifacio and William Camcam, a bar at No.38 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 list.
But equally, The Haflington have looked inwards, getting along with their Hanoi neighbors, like the restaurant Project Gyutan who they recently collaborated with, or Sean Halse and Ngoc Khanh from The Hudson Rooms at Hanoi’s Capella Hotel, who dropped by for a guest shift.
However they got there, the impact of The Haflington’s inclusion in Asia’s 50 Best Bars, like its guest shifts and collaborations, extends beyond the walls of the establishment itself. It shines a spotlight on Vietnam’s growing cocktail scene and encourages other bars in the country to strive for international recognition. As the first Vietnamese bar to make the list, The Haflington will, undoubtedly, serve as an inspiration and a symbol of what is possible for the nation’s hospitality industry.