Smoke & Bitters leaps to 29th at ‘Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024’ and awarded Sri Lanka’s Best Bar

Co-founders  Lahiru Perera and Don Ranasinghe 

• Hiriketiya bar is highest ranked in South Asia in Asia’s 50 Best prestigious list

Asia’s 50 Best Bars has awarded Smoke & Bitters the title ‘Best Bar in Sri Lanka’, as it became the only Sri Lankan-owned bar to be featured in the top 50 annual lists in 2022, 2023 and now 2024. Leading the charge for South Asia, being one of only three bars from the region listed in the top 50 this year.

The popular beachside bar was ranked number 29 in the 2024 list announced on 16 July at the Hong Kong awards ceremony, leaping an incredible 11 spots up from the 40th position it received in 2023, cementing its status as one of Asia’s finest. A remarkable achievement for a venue that was opened just over four years ago by two best friends, with one goal: to offer its people a uniquely Sri Lankan culinary and cocktail experience.

Located on the stunning Pehembiya beach in Hiriketiya, in the southern tip of Sri Lanka, Smoke & Bitters has attracted both tourists and locals with its authentically Sri Lankan offerings. All its dishes are cooked using wood fire, either smoked or chargrilled, as signified by the ‘Smoke’ in its name. ‘Bitters’ conveys the cofounders’ passion for creating their own bitters from locally sourced ingredients, which dominate the cocktail menu.

The tenacity and passion of its co-founders Don Ranasinghe and Lahiru Perera have brought Smoke & Bitters to this noteworthy accolade overcoming significant challenges to gain international renown. 

The drinks program is influenced by ‘Tiki’ bar pioneers of the 1930s, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic. Smoke & Bitters serves cocktails and dishes which draw inspiration from a myriad cultures around the world using indigenous Sri Lankan herbs and spices. The menus are wildly inventive with cocktails like Cherry Cherry Cola: a cherry flavoured bomb, breaking all the rules of classic cocktail recipe ratios, being head bartender Sameera’s own concoction. A unique take on the Rum and Coke, this drink tastes like cherry without the cherry! Reminiscent of a Soda Sundae topped with coconut foam including white rum, butterfly pea, hibiscus, pineapple, house cola and angostura bitters. Dishes like the Smoked Lankan Burrata with house cured anchovies, chargrilled mangoes and pandan oil are a guest favourite, combined with a new delightful dessert menu featuring Chocolate Cremeux, Arrack Semifreddo and Sea Almond Crumble.

The Old and Smoked is an old fashioned that draws inspiration from all things Sri Lankan, using a freeze distilled arrack blend of arracks and cinnamon coupled with a house smoked orange bitter and finished off with Halmilla smoke. This drinks embodies the elements that make up the drinks program at S&B. Smoke & Bitters stands out brightly despite its best efforts to stay low key, bringing its’ deep network of passionate international food and drink enthusiasts to our shores and sharing them with local audiences. Their local bar and kitchen guest collaborations, called Sunset Shifts, have this year featured famous names like EKAA, Jigger & Pony, Masque, Elephant Room, Kotuwa, Bees Knees, Bombay Canteen, Bar Trigona and El Loquio from across India, Singapore, Japan and Thailand.

Collaborations of this nature are fairly new to Sri Lanka while it is a popular format internationally with global brands already enjoying the benefits of these partnerships.

Don and Lahiru have also had many international invitations, from bar takeovers at Honky Tonk Tavern Hong Kong, Hideaway Goa and Sidecar Delhi, ranked the best bar in India multiple times, to Bombay Canteen, Mumbai and The Elephant Room, Singapore. They were also invited to deliver a guest lecture at Nomad Bar Show in Almaty, Kazakstan, the first bar show in Central Asia. On all these occasions, the two best friends showcased dazzlingly what Sri Lanka has to offer food and drink enthusiasts, serving as unofficial ambassadors for the nation. 

Smoke & Bitters has also been mentioned glowingly in esteemed publications and media outlets such as Delicious Australia, Vogue India, Conde Nast Traveller, CNA Luxury, The Rake Japan and CNN Travel, which have noted the venue’s authenticity and world class standards.

On a local level, Don and Lahiru are significantly elevating the levels of exposure for local bartenders to higher standards of quality and invention for example with special master-classes by famous bartenders from around the world. They have helped their own Sri Lankan bartenders to gain critical experience by taking them overseas for international guest shifts. Don and Lahiru recently launched their ‘Smoke & Bitters Loves Local’ takeover series showcasing local bartenders from the wider industry on the same platform as their international counterparts.

Expressing his thoughts following the latest ranking announcement, Don Ranasinghe compared his experiences in England and Sri Lanka. In addition to being a co-owner, he is Head of the Drinks Program at Smoke & Bitters and started his adventure in the world of nightclubs and live music venues at the age of 18 as a bar-back at the iconic London venue KOKO. He later went on to manage this 1,800 capacity 7-bar venue. 

Using the experience gained in London, he and Lahiru set up this idyllic venue on the beaches of Sri Lanka in early 2020.

“In London, we had access to a variety of offerings and we were spoilt for choice, but we were limited in what we could achieve in representing the Sri Lankan flavour. In Sri Lanka, we did not have nearly as many options but that set us free to believe that we could achieve anything, and that the sky’s the limit. Looking at the extended list and seeing the sheer quality of ranked bars it makes this year extra special for us, three years in a row in such a fast paced and ever-changing industry is a huge achievement that is testament to the commitment and tireless efforts of our home grown team. We are working towards lifting our whole industry in Sri Lanka and finally to see other Sri Lankan bars along for the ride. Smoke & Bitters is all about friendships, specifically about my 20-year friendship with Lahiru, and none of this would have been possible without our partnership and passion for our motherland. Awards and rankings encourage us immensely, but above all, it is our customers, our team and our passion for hospitality that constantly drive us to better and bigger things.” 

Co-founder Lahiru Perera is the Head of Food Operations at Smoke & Bitters. In 2014, he founded what went on to become a hugely successful chain of bars and restaurants called Zephyr in Sri Lanka. Thereafter, in early 2020, he partnered up with his friend to set up Smoke & Bitters. An alumni of the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School, Perera commenting on the ranking spoke about his culinary philosophy and how that contributes to the brand built by Smoke & Bitters. 

“Being ranked among Asia’s best bars is a wonderful accolade and recognition of the attention to detail we pay our customer offering. I am grateful to have the opportunity to continuously reinvent the culture of Sri Lankan food and traditional cooking methods on what is now becoming a global stage for us. In creating a colourful and smoky dining experience at Smoke & Bitters we focus on three main elements: using Sri Lankan ingredients, cooking on wood fire to bring out the charred flavours of those ingredients, and recreating the cuisine of the world in Sri Lanka.” 

Both the co-founders are confident that being featured in international rankings consistently is a major step to their bigger plans, which undoubtedly involve providing an unparalleled and authentic Sri Lankan dining and mixological experience to tourists and locals alike. 

This includes launching a new authentically Sri Lankan bar and food experience called RAA Hiriketiya, focusing primarily on the famous local spirit Arrack and well-known home grown Sri Lankan flavours. The Asia’s 50 Best Bars ranking is based on the votes of 250 of the most knowledgeable and travelled members of the bar industry, drinks media and mixology experts from across Asia, and therefore the venues regarded highly by them gain international respect.