The bar scene in Kuala Lumpur is burgeoning; but beyond novel concepts and inventive cocktails, there’s now an important factor driving the industry forward: sustainability. With increasing pressure from discerning consumers, brands, and leaders, industry players are highly encouraged to go green and minimise their carbon footprint. This extends much further than just avoiding single-use plastic and composting produce.
In conjunction with Earth Week, we put the spotlight on six bars in Kuala Lumpur that are setting an example for the industry when it comes to reducing waste and adopting more sustainable practices.
Bar Trigona
There are solid reasons why Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s Bar Trigona has won the Sustainable Bar Award from Asia’s 50 Best Bars for two years in a row (2021 and 2022). Adopting a zero-waste approach, the bar finds creative ways to utilise every part of the ingredient to minimise food waste. Furthermore, the team strives to source a vast majority of its ingredients from Malaysian farmers, producers and artisans. For example, it sources namesake honey in small batches from a local farm in Negeri Sembilan. The bar’s latest menu also features a ‘Unique and Local’ section that highlights Malaysian flavours and ingredients.
Address: 145, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 5pm – 1am
Contact: 03 2382 8670
Website | Facebook | Instagram
rākh
Branding itself as Asia’s first culinary bar, rākh isn’t afraid to experiment with kitchen scraps for its cocktails. With sustainability at the core of its ethos, the bar aims to reduce waste and reuse ingredients as far as possible, keeping recycling only as the last resort. Coupled with a strict stand of no straws or garbage bags, the team even goes one step further to work with leftovers from neighbouring F&B outlets to collectively reduce their carbon footprint. These ingredients are creatively repurposed through inventive fermentation and distillation processes in their laboratory-like kitchen, resulting in unique, savoury tipples.
Address: E-1-01, Level 1 The Block E, The Five, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 5pm – 1am (Sunday to Thursday, except Monday) | 6pm – 2am (Friday & Saturday)
Contact: 012-923 3249
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Reka:Bar
As its name suggests, Reka:Bar (‘reka’ means to create or design in Malay) constantly finds new ways to innovate cocktails while minimising waste and carbon footprint. The bar has a signature ‘Domino Effect’ menu, where the main ingredient in one drink is used or repurposed as a garnish in the next drink, leading to a cascading chain reaction of flavours. You’ll also find a variety of locally sourced ingredients on the menu, alongside fermented, fortified and distilled creations. Even the bar itself is fitted with low-energy consumption LED lights and observes a no single-serve plastic policy.
Address: 67M, Jalan Setia Bakti, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 6pm – 1am (Monday to Thursday, closed on Tuesday) | 6pm – 2am (Friday & Saturday)
Contact: 010-287 8908
Facebook | Instagram | Reservations
Triptyk
The brainchild of one of Malaysia’s veteran female mixologists, Angel Ng, Triptyk was conceived with sustainability in mind right from its inception. For starters, the bar is housed in a pre-war shophouse in Kampung Attap, breathing new life into a historic building while preserving its heritage. You’ll find upcycled furniture decorating the space and fermentation jars that repurpose food scraps lined up behind the counter. The team also makes their own liqueurs and fruit leathers as part of efforts to utilise every part of every ingredient as much as possible.
Address: 88, Jalan Tuba, Kampung Attap, 50460 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 4pm – 12am (Wednesday & Thursday) | 12pm – 12am (Friday & Saturday) | 12pm – 9pm (Sunday)
Contact: 014-320 8050
WooBar
Another hotel bar that incorporates eco-friendly practices is Woobar in W Kuala Lumpur. Sharing its ingredients with the hotel’s other F&B outlets, Woobar creatively repurposes leftover ingredients such as fruit peels into oleo as a substitute for flavouring beverages. It also utilises unused garnishes to make beverages like fruit tea, which is often served as its welcome drink. Moreover, the bar is strictly plastic-free be it for bottles or straws, favouring biodegradable materials that can safely return to nature.
Address: Level 8, W Kuala Lumpur, 121, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, 50450 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 11am – 11pm (Sunday to Thursday) | 11am – 12am (Friday and Saturday)
Contact: 012-347 9088
Canvass
“Sustainable” and “hedonism” are two words that may sound contradictory next to each other, but Canvass is making a case for it. The restaurant cum cocktail bar strives to reuse, repurpose and ferment nearly all byproducts from its kitchen and work with producers that share its commitment to sustainability and recycling. The team also uses farm-fresh herbs and house-made infusions in the cocktails, while introducing products from all over the world made by traditional brew masters and distillers.
Address: 38, Jalan Bedara, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 5pm – 2am (Tuesday to Sunday) | 12pm – 2am (Saturday)
Contact: 012-329 2820
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Find more bars in Kuala Lumpur here.