Restaurant reviews and recommendations: how we do it

Time Out's recommendations are by expert local writers. 

For a venue to make one of Time Out's recommended lists, the food has to be amazing, that's a given. But we want more than that. We're looking for a combination of cooking, atmosphere and experience that makes a place truly memorable. Some of these places are established icons of Hong Kong's dining scene, some are instant classics, some are future stars. 

We won’t include a place just because it's innovative, or expensive, or hard to book: it always has to deliver on flavour and value. It's somewhere you'd tell your friends about and a place that you can't wait to go back to.

If a restaurant is star rated, that means a Time Out expert local critic has independently reviewed it. Our reviewers book incognito and pay for their meals. We get treated like regular diners – sometimes we get the table by the toilets. Or we're booted off our table after 90 minutes. 

If you want to know what their star ratings mean:

One star: avoid! 
Two stars: not that great. 
Three stars: good. 
Four stars: really good. 
Five stars: unmissable. 

Prices are based on a three course dinner for two (or the equivalent amount of dishes), plus drinks and service charge. 

$ = < $400 (affordable)
$$ = $401-$800 (mid-range)
$$$ = $801-$1,200 (expensive)
$$$$ = $1,201+ (blow-out)