The 12 Best Bars in Seoul

Zest

Korea's standard-bearer: No.2 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026, Best Bar in Korea four years running, and No.16 in the world in 2025. Founded by Dohyung 'Demie' Kim (Altos Bartenders' Bartender 2024), Jisu Park and Noah Kwon, Zest runs zero-waste and hyper-seasonal: contract farming, house beehives, its own sodas and citrus stocks, all in a minimalist room built on the beauty of emptiness. Winner of the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2024.

Order this: Jeju Garibaldi — Jeju oranges, Gujwa village carrots

Alice Cheongdam

Follow the white-rabbit signs through the flower shop and Alice Cheongdam drops you down the rabbit hole: a wood-panelled speakeasy of curtained alcoves and Lewis Carroll madcappery, where Terry Kim's team (head bartender Mason Park) builds theatrical drinks with molecular technique, fresh fruit and house syrups. No.13 on Asia's 50 Best Bars in both 2025 and 2026.

Order this: Hippity Hoppity — gin, ice wine, kiwi, camellia, dill — served in a rabbit tiki mug

Bar Cham

In a traditional hanok in one of Seoul's oldest quarters, Byung-Jin 'BJ' Lim's Bar Cham pioneered the Korean-culture-first cocktail: indigenous spirits and ingredients sourced province by province, soju served in clay cups, drinks like the Deodeok Negroni paying tribute to the regions. No.6 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025. Intimate; book ahead. It sits at No. 33 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Order this: Deodeok Negroni — spiced negroni on deodeok root and Korean bitters

M+MS Bar

An experimental bar and fermentation project run as a sibling venue to Le Chamber. It trades as a cafe from the early afternoon before switching to bar service, and brews beer on the premises. The drinks program is built around fermentation, paired with Korean-influenced food, in a raw-concrete room with a lacquered red counter and a DJ booth. The bar holds No. 42 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Gong Gan

A minimalist, art-forward lounge inside a traditional hanok, clean lines and milk-white hues around a leafy courtyard, Gong Gan runs on 'upcycling cocktails' that reuse leftover ingredients, community donations and a pet-friendly door policy. No.63 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025, No.74 in 2026.

Order this: Si-Jang — an ode to the local food market

Charles H

Hidden on the lower level of the Four Seasons Seoul, Charles H. toasts Charles H. Baker, the great cocktail-chronicling travel writer, a glamorous drinking den of globe-trotting serves that pairs speakeasy exclusivity with hotel-bar polish. Twice named Best Bar in Korea by Asia's 50 Best (2019, 2021), peaking at No.7 in Asia in 2022. It was a Top 4 finalist for Best International Hotel Bar at the 2025 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. The latest lists place it at No. 87 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Order this: Vixen Fix — Pinot Noir, crème de cassis, raspberry cordial, China-China, white chocolate paint

Le Chamber

Pull the right book from the shelf and Le Chamber opens: a 2014 Cheongdam speakeasy from world-champion bartenders Eom Do-hwan (Louis Eom) and Lim Jae-jin, with chandeliers, live piano, some 200 whiskies and house-made everything down to the ginger beer. No.25 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2023; the Chamber Story arrives inside a book. The bar holds No. 88 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Order this: Movie Snack — nacho tequila, truffle-popcorn cordial, white cacao, coriander bitters

Soko

A 1920s-inflected, East-meets-West room in Hannam-dong, wooden furnishings under a backlit full-wall back bar, Soko is owner-bartender Son Soko's temple to cocktail craft, hospitality, style and simplicity, the team moving in near-synchrony behind the counter. No.46 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2023, still on the extended list in 2026.

Order this: Mr. Peanut — amaro cordial, whisky, peanut mix

Bar Musk

A whisky-led cocktail bar in Gangnam, fitted out in dark wood with vaulted ceilings and pillars that give the room a chapel-like feel. It is built around quiet, unhurried drinking, and a sign on the door asks guests to keep the noise down. The list centers on neat whisky pours, highballs and classic cocktails.

Bar Pomme

Bar Scentique

Bar Tea Scent

A tea-focused cocktail bar in Cheongdam with a pared-back interior. Its signature format is a five-course tea omakase, and cocktails are offered in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions. The bar also pours rare single-origin teas and tea-infused spirits, alongside tea-flavored bar snacks.