Hong Kong Bars
Your guide to the best Hong Kong bars to visit – all reviewed anonymously and impartially by our experts
Hong Kong bars now offering cocktail takeaway and delivery
Are you missing your favourite cocktails from your neighbourhood bars? Worry not as numerous Hong Kong bars are ensuring you don't go thirsty during their temporary closure. By ordering from them during these trying times, you'll be able to support their businesses and their staff who are working hard to cater to your favourite tipple. So, whether you're after wine, sake, beer, or cocktails, here are some bars ready for rescue. RECOMMENDED: Want to make cocktails at home instead? Check out the best alcohol delivery services in Hong Kong.
How you can help Hong Kong's bar industry while social distancing during coronavirus
Tightening government restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 are making people go out less and less. With the liquor ban regulations looming, the effects are being felt by the restaurants and especially the bar sector. While everyone needs to follow social distancing and be responsible for their movements, it is also essential that we do everything we can to support our favourite local businesses so that they too can survive these challenging times. RECOMMENDED: Looking for spirits, wines, and beers on the go? These delivery services are riding to your rescue
The best alcohol delivery services in Hong Kong
Now that the city's bars, pubs, and clubs are closed until April 17, thirsty Hongkongers will be turning to their homes to drink their favourite tipples. If you're looking for liquor delivery options to stock up on your supply, this roundup of the best alcohol delivery services will let you kick back and wait for the booze to arrive on your doorstep. RECOMMENDED: If you're wondering what cocktails to make, check out these classic cocktail recipes. Are you missing your favourite Hong Kong bars? Here's how you can support them during the temporary closure.
7 best local craft beers you can buy online in Hong Kong
There are fewer things more satisfying than landing your lips on an ice-cold beer after work, even if you're just enjoying it in your PJs on the couch. Luckily, Hong Kong is home to a ton of great breweries that offer a slew of gorgeous craft beers – most of which you can order online and have them delivered to your doorstep! We'll drink to that. RECOMMENDED: More of a coffee drinker? Check out these cafes and coffee shops that do deliveries.
The best whiskies to order online below $600
First things first, is it whisky or whiskey? Well, It really depends on where the product is made. The mnemonic is – use whiskey with an 'e' if the country it is coming from has an 'e' in its spelling, for example, Ireland uses the 'e,' which was carried over to American whiskeys. Scotland doesn't use the 'e,' as don't Japan, and Canada. Now, let's not boggle your mind with that and let's get to the liquid gold. Whisky was once thought of as something only older moneyed men drink, but, sorry dad, we're now adding up whisky on our top-shelf and even discovering new brands in the market aside from the usual whisky bottles that start with glens and J's. Today there's a growing younger market for whisky as the millennials have started to shift their tastes. RECOMMENDED: Make some Super Highballs at home with this recipe
Latest Hong Kong bar reviews
The Poet
Recently there appeared a curious-looking door on Staunton Street with a small window that betrays only darkness behind it. Put an ear to the door, and nothing can be heard. There’s an innocuous chrome light switch to the right that upon first glance may be taken as a stylised doorbell – flick this and prepare to enter Central’s newest speakeasy. The opening of this place was almost as mysterious as the venue itself, the news spreading predominantly via word of mouth. Despite this, we know that the bar is new and that, for now, making an appointment by phone or the bar’s Facebook page is the only way to enjoy the experience. The interior has the look and feel of a classic cocktail bar with backlit mirrors on cerulean walls, marble tables, gold finishes and cosy corners. A narrow space flanked by seats opens up to the bar counter. Behind the bar stands shelf after shelf packed with various bottles of spirits rising toward the tall ceiling. Old-timey jazz and rock ‘n’ roll numbers play softly in the background, providing an atmosphere conducive to thoughtful conversation. The menu is extensive, with selections of whiskies and gins (averaging around $118 per serving), champagne, red and whites – mostly by the bottle. The cocktail menu is a great introduction to what the bar is all about as it offers classics and house signature classic twists. The It Girl ($128) is a tasty and creative lead-in to the menu. Made with lime infused bourbon, Campari, and rouge vermouth, this Bouleva
The Diplomat
The Diplomat is the brainchild of award-winning mixologist John Nugent (formerly of Lily & Bloom) who is known for his innovative twists on old classics. True to the nature of a diplomat, you’ll see Nugent being friendly to his customers, helping them decide on orders, and chatting with them at every opportunity. At first glance, the exterior of the bar looks stiff and corporate with a suited bouncer greeting customers at the door. This all changes as you enter the premises and become immersed in the bar’s light and welcoming atmosphere. The interior is replete with leather seats and brass finishings, and while taking these in, it’s easy to miss the intricately detailed ceiling tiles that bear the bar’s logo. Should your inner diplomat have important business to attend to, a lavish hallway with shades of pink and copper will lead you to the washroom. The bar’s menu is easy to navigate and reasonably priced compared to neighbouring bars. We started with the signature Diplo Daiquiri; house rum blend, pineapple, anise, and salt ($95) followed by Pearl, made with vodka, Campari, French herbs, Mr. Black Coffee Amaro, pineapple, and almonds ($95). The two drinks are okay to whet your appetite, made for easy drinking, but aren’t standouts. To gain a better appreciation of the signature menu, ask the staff about the famous diplomats who inspired the drinks. What seem to be the real crowd pleasers are the reimagined classics. "Oh, I should have gotten the same drink as yours!" "
XX
Head through the grand double doors, up the elevators and down a dim corridor somewhere within the walls of the newly-opened Rosewood hotel, and you will find an inconspicuous knob. Flip the panel up, enter the password, and with a resounding whoosh, the wall will open inwards, leading you into Hong Kong’s first ladies-only speakeasy – XX. Named after the chromosomal combination only females possess, the sultry cocktail bar is a haven for girls. Sorry, gents, it’s no man’s land from here! Much like the hotel, XX is furnished luxuriously without an ounce of pretentiousness or contrivance. With the birds-and-bees patterned wallpaper, plush, emerald green couches, and sensual lighting from ornate chandeliers, the hidden bar is an ethereal oasis specifically tailored to ladies’ likings. Among their signature cocktails, we were feeling Sexy. A champagne-based cocktail, the Sexy ($160) is an intoxicating concoction of jasmine, bergamot orange, fizz and London No. 3 Gin. Citrusy and sweet and velvety smooth when it hits the tongue, the fruity bergamot proves a perfect foil for the sharpness of the gin and the effervescence of the champagne. Topped off with a dainty jasmine flower in its tall, slender glass, Sexy is the quintessence of femininity. The BFF ($130), in contrast, is a refreshing, light, easy-on-the-throat highball that pairs Fair vodka with cucumber juice, pine needles, and yuzu vinegar. Combined with a decorative, rolled-up slice of cucumber containing pine needles an
Think Wine
Opening its doors this autumn in LL Tower just off Hollywood Road, Think Wine is the labour of love of renowned French sommeliers Romain Loriot and Jean-Beniot ‘JB’ Issele. The two are no strangers to Hong Kong’s food and beverage scene, previously holding head sommelier positions at Le Comptoir (the group behind popular restaurants Ecrtiure and Bibo) and Michelin starred Belon respectively. This new venture sees these two forces of the wine world come together in an intensely personal venture that reflects the pair’s extensive knowledge, impressive attention to detail, and passion for vino. The bar boasts almost 600 wines from across the globe, with particular emphasis – at least 250 varieties – from the Burgundy and Languedoc-Roussilon regions of France. All well and good for the amateur oenologists amongst us, however such a varied menu is potentially grape-ly bewildering for the average customer. To ease the picking process there are friendly and knowledgeable staff on hand to educate in an un-patronising way about the tipples, and guide the appropriate drink to even the most winey of philistines. In terms of volume, wines are offered here by the bottle and by glass, with prices ranging from as low as $60 per glass to as high as $15,000 per bottle. A good place to begin is at the cheap end of the spectrum, but for those looking to really explore Romain and JB’s collection, a cool glass of the Italian Maso Cantanghel ($120) proves a nice white to start on, with light, tr
Latest Hong Kong drinking news
Closures on Hong Kong's bars, pubs, clubs, and fitness centres extended until April 23
Following the recent order on bar, pubs, and clubs closures last April 2, the Secretary for Food and Health (SFH) just announced the extension of closures of bars, pubs, nightclubs, karaoke bars beginning April 10 until April 23, 2020.
