A must for music lovers in Hong Kong…read more I was able to secure a same-day reservation by shooting them a quick email for my flight from Thailand to Hong Kong took off. By the time I landed, I received a confirmation from the venue as well as a few important details and instructions. At my request, they even sent the information via WhatsApp since I was having a hard time getting it via SMS. The venue was also really responsive on WhatsApp, answering all of my questions very quickly. The place was a little hard to find. My cab dropped me off nearby and a passerby was able to help me find the exact building. The venue is absolutely gorgeous. It's classy, sexy, shrouded in a bit of mystery... something like a speakeasy. The evening's performances were fantastic! The musicians played a range of hits that appealed to a broad audience (which was great because there was a little of everyone in the room that evening). The servers were attentive and kind, and their service had a personalized touch which I really appreciated, especially since I had just landed in the country barely 2 hours prior and didn't know a soul there. The staff really made me feel welcome and helped set the tone for the rest of my visit to Hong Kong. I saw lots of gorgeous cocktails adorning tables around me, but I was there for the prosecco. Glass after glass of ice cold bubbles... And the staff made sure I never had an empty glass. I had an absolutely wonderful time here. I highly recommend this place to any music lovers or cocktail enthusiasts that happen to find themselves in Hong Kong. You will not be disappointed.

This place might be in HK, but I think it could compete with some LA Speakeasies! The vibe is so…read morecool and relaxes, but you still have a nice classy feel as well. Prices are pretty standard if you're comparing it to LA--but definitely on the expensive side for HK. They have a live band, so you'll be thoroughly entertained. Not to mention that their drinks are also fun and delicious! The - The Northside - Pretty sweet, masks the alcohol if you like fruity cocktails. - New York Sour - Very cool light up presentation. If you're looking for a night out (or even a great way to spend your last night in the city), this is a must-see spot!

I went here for tea time and it was GREAT. The tea was…read morefantastic and they give you sugar and cream on the side so you can make the tea anyway you like it. The deviled eggs were my favorite savory dish and the pandan(?) cake was my favorite pastry. The cocktails were also unique. I got the Milo one - which is SO Hong Kong and reminds me of my childhood. The service was also great. I didn't expect this place to be super classy, but I felt dressed down and still got good service :)

This is absolutely my type of spot. Cute, modern, stylish, a…read morehidden surprise in a touristy spot. The cocktails have a clean presentation & unique spark to them. Notes you wouldn't think would go together, do. Cases in point: Birds of a Feather drink - Who would think to put fruit preserves, fruit tea, & scotch together, with the concoction remaining smooth & not at all over-powering? It tasted like juice with a slight hint of smoke. The smoke taste dissipated as I consumed more of the cocktail. Dinosaur - Dude. I was waiting for the ice ball to melt. I started poking it with my straw, a bit malleable. Then, I dove into it with my spoon. Discovery? The Milo ice ball is iced malt. Wth? How amazing is that? The drink is a dessert masterpiece that was hard for me to take down. Sinful, yet sickingly sweet. Worth it though. I enjoyed the Envoy. I envy this place because it isn't back home...

Ah, Staunton's. I wish I had known about places like this years ago, if so I'd have moved to Hong…read moreKong in a heartbeat and never looked back. Staunton's sits on Staunton Street, which is an eclectic collection of restaurants that sits by the longest escalator in the world (which is in Hong Kong). For those of you from the United States, think of like Huntington Beach in California, or Mill Ave in Arizona. It's a trendy kinda place where you'll find many expats having a good social time. The owners are warm and welcoming and offered our party complimentary drinks even though we were paying customers. The gesture was very appreciated! The music played here is pretty hip, relatable western tunes. If I ever move to Hong Kong, a place like Staunton's would certainly be a place to regularly return to!

Had the curried chicken salad for dinner with a white sangria. Salad was nice, although my personal…read morepreference would be smaller chunks of chicken. Waitress was very nice, when I asked if the curried chicken salad was nice she said yes but if I don't like it she can exchange it for something else I might like. Sat upstairs on the balcony with a good view of the Shelley street escalators. 3 stars for the white sangria as it has wayyy too many lemons in it.

The interior transports you to another world of magic and whimsy. The stained glass and dragonfly…read moremotifs everywhere are definitely noticed and well placed. The drinks were alright tbh haha but would definitely come back for the vibes if it's not crowded, which it wasn't at 6 pm on a Sunday lol

Inspired by Art Nouveau and specifically the styling of Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany and Co…read morefame, the interior transports you to another time and era and somehow feels right at home in nostalgic HK. It's located in Central right next to the old prison and though we had no reservations we were still seated in the cool private rooms with the same attention to interior as the main room. They offer lunch and afternoon tea, there are also night with live music which we missed this time but what brought us here were cocktails in a nice environment. Favrile Cocktail: inspired by Favrile art glass, local gin, yuzu, seaweed, and a touch of wasabi. A surprising drink that was quite refreshing on a hot and humid HK night. My friend and his GF got a non alcoholic cocktail and a green tea based one which I had a sip of, both were also great!

What a cute restaurant in midlevels! Close to Wyndham st and lkf, so it's an ideal place to eat and…read moredrink with your friends before you go out to party afterwards. There are two things you absolutely have to get here: haloumi cheese salad and the zaaluk. The first is a salad topped with fried pieces of cheese. Sounds standard but YUM tasted like a grilled cheese sandwich without the pesky bread. The second is a wonderful eggplant based dip. Like hummus but much more flavorful. They bring out unlimited pitas, both white and while wheat. Order a bottle of wine to accompany and they'll come around and make sure your drink is never empty. Great service and great food.

One of the more lively places in Soho…read more Yeah Soho is usually chill and all, everyone does some small talks, sips some wine, but Sahara is something different. The ground floor is, almost intentionally, always overcrowded. As in, at its full capacity, you will have a difficult time getting in or out of the place. But it's great in a way no one actually sits uncomfortably. On the upper floor, which they only open it over weekends, is a semi-secret room that imitates a traditional Arabic/Middle Eastern social lounges (no I have no ideas what I'm talking about, but you'll understand once you are there). People take off their shoes and sit casually on the floor with mats and cushions. Pretty unique experience in Hong Kong. Drinks are okay - nothing fancy, but you have your usual suspects all available here. Shisha are good - very traditional, very raw in taste. Nothing to strong. Imagine Bloop, Boba Bear, or Vibe are like the "connoisseur" of shisha, Sahara will be like the down-to-earth, day-to-day friendly kind of shisha (in terms of taste, not here to recommend anyone to have shisha everyday). The food is surprisingly good. I didn't have the chance to try it until recently (usually I'm only here for drinks and shisha), but I liked their meat platter a lot (I don't know the actual name of the dish). And lastly, staff are utterly fun and friendly - they like to engage with the customers and actively make the place as lively as possible. Also interesting to note that, music (and the staff clapping along the music) is noticeably loud here, but having good chitchat here is not a problem at all. I'm not sure if it's the interior design, but I enjoy all the time I am here with good friends.

This place has the ambience and appeal for folks who are nostalgic about Hong Kong culture -- the…read moreneon lights are cute, and spells things like "foreigner medicinal tea" (back-handed way of saying beer). Plus the Chinese name of the place alludes to the phrase "so fucking good". Turns out, the food and the beer selection is pretty damn decent too! The menu is actually quite big, and represents the east-meets-west vibe of Hong Kong. For example, you'll find Iberico ham here in the form of char siu atop a bowl of rice and adorned by Japanese onsen egg; or braised Napa cabbage in a creamy French-style sauce with local fried shrimp. I came here with my mum, who prefers more traditional Chinese food as she's lactose intolerant, and we still had a great time. On top of that, they have a decent selection of draft and bottled beer, with a lot of local brews represented. They also have very interesting non-alcoholic choices -- again, great for non-drinking parents or friends. The lighting can be a little bit dark for some folks, but as long as anyone needed visual support has a phone with a flashlight, or a friend, reading the menu should be ok. This is absolutely the kind of place I'd chill at with a bunch of good friends.

65 Peel is great place to go for craft beer and Cantonese style gastropub food. They have about ten…read morebeers on tap and offer bottled beer both from international brewers and local craft brewers. I enjoyed the food and the beer was also pretty good. Food: 3.75 stars Beer: 3.5 stars Environment: 4 stars Service: 3 stars Overall: 3.5 stars Recommendations: crab rice ball, signature ipa I ordered the char Shui rice with spa, crab rice ball, and the fried chicken and washed it down with a flight of beers. The flight of beers costs 140 hkd and you get a choice of 200ml servings of four beers. The char siu is sous vide and was really tender. The taste was a bit on the light side and wish it had a bit more of the bbq flavor. The rice was also really nice. However not a fan of the spa egg and the canard liver which seemed a bit out of place. The fried chicken and crab rice balls were both good. I liked the crab balls better and they had a nice crispness and the crab flavor shines through. Fried chicken is a substantial portion and this could be a main if that is all you are eating. The chicken is tender and has a nice crunchy exterior.

A chill place for drinks and billiards located just a couple floors above lively street of…read morenightclubs. Mostly cocktails and some import beers.

Ahh, Racks, this place feels like the perfect college party (lots of people 18-35, beer pong,…read moredarts, pool, mainly beer and mixed drinks and terrible wine). You'll see the usual suspects playing/hogging the pool table and probably a few friends or group of acquaintances. It gets super crowded after 10/11PM so I would go early if you want to snag any of the games. It seems people move towards Taz later in the night.

If you're looking for a classy place to catch some live jazz, Salon de Ning is the spot to hit up!…read more In TST, you don't have too many other choices except for Ned Kelly's (and sometimes the Hyatt bar). Ned Kelly's isn't necessarily the type of dark, intimate environment for jazz if you're on a 1-on-1 date so Salon de Ning takes the cake in this aspect! If you've been to some old school jazz bars in Shanghai then you are familiar with the particular ambiance these type of places give off! Salon de Ning is built off of that and you can feel it the moment you walk in with their dark lighting and decor. There are plenty of seats on any given weeknight though I do suggest making reservations just in case it is booked out. I've walked in most of the time just sporadically and have always scored a good seat. Sometimes it is a nice couch off in the corner, other times we are at just right upfront at just a few feet away from the jazz band. Don't expect too much on their cocktails. Yes, the prices are very steep (it is The Peninsula after all) but you're paying more for the environment (and brownie points if you're on a date). I suggest going more for their whiskey based drinks as they do a good job on those. The other typical cocktails aren't mixed together very well. I've seen a number of great performers here and on my last visit, there was an awesome duo from LA (SoCal represent!) that had both the performance and vocals on point. Service is awesome here and they are much more attentive than usual (I am sure you're already used to the subpar service you'd typically receive in HK). And they will be happy to move you to a different part of the lounge if you ask! Grab a drink, soak in the music and relax!

Salon de Ning is an uber-cool bar in the basement of the Peninsula Hotel in TST. It is based on a…read moreShanghainese 1930s speak-easy, and it certainly does exude that style the minute you walk in. It's dark, plush, art-deco France meets Chinese chic. In fact, it's so dark in there, that I would be afraid to see it with the lights up, just in case I was sitting in something sticky. The main bar area surrounds a stage and small dance floor, and has a number of private alcoves jutting off in all directions. Depending on which table you have managed to reserve, booking is nearly always essential here, you may find yourself either sitting on the tallest spiky stool, or the most comfortable and luxurious sofa. It's a bit of a gamble, but I'm sure you can request to sit in particular areas at time of booking. All around the bar is art-work, antique furniture, and historical haute couture clothing, so if your G&T is no good, you can at least drink in the view. The bar menu is quite extensive, but also quite pricey. They are not the best made drinks in the world, but perfectly passable. I would have hoped for better given the price tag, but alas no. My impression is that one comes here for the kudos, and not to have a decent long island ice tea. There is also nightly entertainment. At the time of writing, it is a very classy Florida based jazz band. The staff are very pleasant, and have a wonderful effortless politeness about them. They are the antithesis of HK service, in that they are calm and quietly spoken. Note, there is a smart casual dress code...