Epic in Shanghai has been named Campari One To Watch by Asia’s 50 Best Bars, marking the first time that the award heads to mainland China.
Epic Shanghai Bar Team – Photo Supplied
The Campari One To Watch award is given to a rising-star bar that the organisers of 50 Best believe has the potential to break into the main list in coming years.
Launched in 2014, Epic is a three-storey cocktail lounge located in Shanghai’s old French Concession that offers creative and innovative cocktails paired with great music in an upbeat and elegant setting. The venue is founded by Cross Yu, who travelled extensively while learning the craft of bartending before returning to Shanghai to launch a bar with international flavour, but one that is rooted in an authentic Chinese spirit.
Epic is the product of Yu’s 20 years’ experience in the bar industry. He and his team are driven by creativity and innovation, concocting unique cocktails using unusual ingredients such as Mexican worm salt, tonka beans, saffron, soy sauce, as well as house-made fermented syrups and fat-washed spirits. The result is a menu that delights, inspires and ignites curiosity, as well as offering superb drinks at a fair price for the consumer. Aside from running Epic, Yu is also deeply passionate about mentoring the next generation of bartenders and is committed to making the most of his knowledge, experience and influence to contribute to China’s bar scene and show it off to the world.
Past winners of the Campari One To Watch include No Sleep Club in Singapore (2020), Pussyfoot Saloon in Seoul, South Korea (2019) and Rabbit Hole in Bangkok, Thailand (2018).
Previous announcements include MO Bar in Singapore, the winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award and Bannie Kang, co-founder of Mu in Taipei, the winner of the Mancino Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2021.
The sixth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars will be announced in a virtual ceremony on 6th May, beginning at 6pm HK/Singapore time (3.30pm India; 5pm Thailand; 7pm Japan). The digital countdown can be joined through The World’s 50 Best Bars Facebook page and 50 Best Bars TV YouTube channel.
