[category]
[title]
Hong Kong’s live music scene has taken a fair few knocks over the years, so the arrival of a fresh live music spot is always a cause for celebration. Tucked away inside the newly opened Avalon restaurant at H Queen’s in Central, Take 5 is a live music and cocktail joint aiming to provide city dwellers with a genuine spot to wind down.
Designed by Hong Kong-based interior design studio Unite Unit, this cosy evening venue takes its name from both the iconic jazz standard popularised by the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the musician’s expression for a five-minute intermission between sets. The music experience here is curated by seasoned jazz guitarist and audio production specialist Skip Moy, who oversees the venue’s rotating performance calendar, sound design, and background playlists. Depending on which night you drop by, the stage will host everything from toe-tapping jazz grooves to singer-songwriters and international artists.
Behind the bar, the drinks list is helmed by Sandeep Kumar, one of the most recognised figures in the local drinks scene. Having trained under international bar icon Giancarlo Mancino, Kumar spent more than two decades building his reputation across India and Hong Kong, famously steering The Wise King onto the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list. For Take 5, he has designed a tight menu of five signature cocktails, each named after famous jazz standards.
The liquid lineup features ‘Misty’, which pairs cocoa-washed tequila with mango, calamansi, passionfruit, and fresh jalapeño for a clean finish with a gentle kick. There’s also ‘Skylark’, an indigo-hued drink built on butterfly pea gin, Luxardo maraschino, and violet. ‘Green Dolphin Street’ blends aged rum infused with pistachio shrub and citrus, capped off with a light ricotta foam, while ‘Four’ offers a spirit-forward combination of rye whiskey, absinthe, Mancino rosso vermouth, vanilla, and Heering cherry liqueur. Rounding out the quintet is ‘Angel Eyes’, a bittersweet blend of vodka, layered with olive oil, roasted coffee, kopi vermouth, and cacao.
To accompany the jazz and drinks, culinary director Jarrod Verbiak has put together a menu of sophisticated bar snacks. Guests can expect bites like chilled prawn cocktail with horseradish cocktail sauce, kettle chips with French onion dip, or house-smoked maple-glazed bacon served with hot and sour pickles.
Take 5 is now open at 2/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Visit their Instagram (@takefive.hkg) to check out what live sets they’ve already got lined up.
Stay in the loop: Sign up for our free Time Out Hong Kong newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox
Recommended stories:
New Wan Chai pop-up Marrow redefines open-fire cooking this summer
Australia’s Thunder from Down Under returns to Galaxy Macau this August
Hong Kong rises to second place in 2026 World Competitiveness Rankings