Zest is the bar that proved sustainability and world-class drinks are the same project, not competing ones. From a minimalist room in Seoul's Cheongdam district, a four-strong team runs a near-total zero-waste programme and pours some of the best cocktails in Asia, which is why it sits at No. 2 in our world ranking.
Why it ranks No. 2
We rank by verified guest rating, ties broken by review volume, and Zest holds a 4.8 average across more than five hundred reviews, statistically almost identical to our No. 1, and separated only by the depth of BKK Social Club's larger review base. In plain terms, this is a room drinkers rate at the very ceiling of the scale, and they do it consistently. That the guests and the industry agree is, again, the story: Zest was the highest new entry on The World's 50 Best Bars in 2023, climbed to No. 9 in 2024, ranked No. 16 in 2025, and has been named The Best Bar in Korea by Asia's 50 Best Bars for three years running, reaching No. 2 in Asia in 2025. Very few bars anywhere carry that combination of crowd love and critical momentum.
The name is the mission
"Zest" is a portmanteau of "zero waste," and that is not branding; it is the operating system. Founded by Dohyung "Demie" Kim, Sean Woo, Jisu Park and Noah Kwon, four of Seoul's most respected bartenders, the bar was built from the ground up to send almost nothing to landfill. They make their own sodas, citrus stocks and even spirits in house; they upcycle leftover peels and vegetables into new ingredients; and where they cannot make something themselves, they source it locally, often in reusable containers that go back to the supplier. Their honey, for instance, arrives in jars that are returned to the producer. Menus are made partly from mandarin-orange compost and printed with green energy; the staff aprons are cut from recyclable fabric. Kim's standing in the industry is not incidental: he won the peer-voted Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award in 2024, one of the most meaningful honours a bartender can receive.
The room
Zest is deliberately understated. The space is minimalist and calm, built around a sleek, golden-hued back bar with no bottles on display and no labels in sight, a quiet rebuke to the trophy-bottle school of bar design, and a signal that what matters here is what is being made rather than what is being shown off. An open prep lab lets guests watch the citrus stocks, sodas and cordials being crafted, so the sustainability story is something you can see happening rather than a claim on a menu card. It is a grown-up, considered room in an upscale district, and it rewards attention.
The drinks
The cocktail programme is where the philosophy becomes delicious. The signature is the Z&T, a seasonal gin and tonic made entirely from scratch, from a house gin distilled with fruits and botanicals handpicked from the team's own nearby farm, to tonic carbonated on the bar's house soda system. The Jeju Garibaldi is a masterclass in whole-ingredient thinking: it spotlights speciality Jeju oranges and Gujwa-village carrots, using the juice in the drink, redistilling the peels into the house gin, and turning the leftover pulp into a cordial or fermenting it into sauerkraut, so a single ingredient feeds several parts of the operation. The Daiquiri No. 6 blends house rum with Jeju kiwi schnapps, lime, cucumber, pineapple, coconut and a whisper of sesame oil; the Biscuit Einspänner layers roasted-Tonka-bean Scotch, espresso, Italian amaretto, an upcycled coffee amaro, salted cacao cream and a biscuit crumble into something closer to a dessert. Each drink is thoughtfully composed and impeccably balanced; the sustainability never comes at the cost of the flavour, which is precisely why it works.
The sustainability, and why it matters here
Plenty of bars now gesture at "sustainable" practice; Zest built the entire business around it and then won on quality anyway, which is the harder and more convincing order to do it in. It took the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award in 2024 from Asia's 50 Best Bars, a specific recognition of the programme rather than the drinks, and it is regularly cited as one of the bars setting the global standard for what low-waste hospitality can look like. For a traveller who wants their night out to mean something beyond the glass, this is close to the platonic ideal: you are not trading pleasure for principle, you are getting both at once.
How to visit
Zest is in Cheongdam, part of the upscale Gangnam district south of the Han River, at 26 Dosan-daero 55-gil, an area of designer boutiques and destination restaurants, well served by the metro. It is an evening bar; reservations are recommended, especially at weekends, and the counter is the seat to request if you want to watch the prep lab and talk to the team about what is in season. Prices sit in the mid-to-upper range for Seoul, fair for the level of craft and the sourcing behind it. Come with curiosity: ask what has just come in from the farm, and let the bartenders steer you.
Who it's for
Zest suits the cocktail traveller building a serious itinerary, the drinker who cares where ingredients come from, and anyone who wants to understand where the bar world is heading rather than where it has been. It is a destination in the truest sense, a room worth crossing a city, or a continent, for.
For more of the city, the full cocktail bars in Seoul roundup expands the picks, our hidden gem bars in Seoul guide covers the quieter rooms, and the Seoul bar guide covers every occasion. See where it sits among its peers on our world's top 50 bars ranking.
What to order
- 01
Z&T
The seasonal gin and tonic made entirely in house, from farm-picked botanicals to house-carbonated tonic.
- 02
Jeju Garibaldi
Jeju oranges and Gujwa carrots used whole: juice in the glass, peels in the gin, pulp into cordial.
- 03
Daiquiri No. 6
House rum, Jeju kiwi schnapps, lime, cucumber, pineapple, coconut and a trace of sesame oil.
- 04
Biscuit Einspänner
Roasted-Tonka Scotch, espresso, amaretto, upcycled coffee amaro, salted cacao cream and biscuit crumble.
