Hong Kong can be read from two vantage points. At street level, it reveals a maze of narrow lanes climbing and dipping with the topography, lined with historic tea houses and dim sum bars. From above, it opens onto a vertical dimension, where glass towers shimmer and polished cocktail bars invite you to sip a Martini while your gaze drifts across the glittering sweep of Victoria Harbour.
Daily rituals entwine with global outlooks, making the city magnetic and drawing new generations of visitors, curious to explore an urban fabric in constant motion. Art remains central: from M+ to the independent galleries of Wong Chuk Hang, the cultural calendar is dense, while manicured public spaces and green rooftop terraces invite residents to linger over every corner of the city. Mornings bring walks along the Wan Chai waterfront or runs towards Kennedy Town, with Sheung Wan cafés filling cups with locally roasted arabica.
From Markets to Hong Kong’s Cocktail Bars
In Tsim Sha Tsui, hotels still court an international clientele with refined proposals, yet the pulse is strongest in Kowloon’s markets, where tropical fruit, spices and street food are reimagined by young chefs bringing authenticity back into ambitious kitchens. The return of listening bars, Cantonese dining fused with Japanese accents, and cutting-edge rooftops reveal the city’s many faces of hospitality. Central remains the beating heart of the scene, where venues stretch between skyscrapers and side streets, and Hollywood Road boasts a dense cluster of award-winning cocktail bars. Among the latest arrivals is Montana, the creation of Lorenzo Antinori, Simone Caporale and Justin Shun Wah, blending Havana’s golden cocktail era with the sunlit verve of 1970s Miami.
Montana
The name Montana comes from a long-forgotten classic listed in the Club de Cantineros manual. Designed to resonate with music, from the voices of Celia Cruz to Gloria Estefan, the bar team greets every guest with a vibrant “Ritmo!”, restoring the joy of hospitality to center stage. On the ground floor, the convivial space features a pink Formica counter, shelves of vintage glassware and an oven roasting pineapples and chickens. Upstairs, a more intimate room unfolds with leather chairs, low sofas and a piano for live sessions.
The menu exalts Cuban classics: the Montana Daiquiri and a Piña Colada laced with guava. The kitchen channels Havana with bold plates, such as BBQ Pineapple & Coconut Ice Cream — rum- marinated pineapple, slow-roasted, paired with vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of Caribbean sea salt.
Where to Drink in Hong Kong: Quinary
Further along Hollywood Road lies Quinary, Antonio Lai’s creation helmed by Bar Manager Kai Ng. Over the past thirteen years it has redefined mixology in Hong Kong and continues to earn acclaim on the world’s best lists. Its industrial setting, anchored by a glowing counter, is home to cocktails shaped through Lai’s Multisensory Mixology, where centrifuges and laboratory tools take center stage. Signature of the house is the famed Earl Grey Caviar Martini, emblem of the founder’s creativity.
Best Cocktail Bars in Hong Kong: Penicillin
Close by, Penicillin, the sustainable lab by Agung and Laura Prabowo, champions a circular ethos with fermentations, distillations and locally sourced ingredients, proving that great hospitality can also care for the planet.
Bar Leone
Not far away, Bar Leone has risen to become one of Asia’s most celebrated venues. Styled after classic Trastevere bars, with vintage photos of presenters and footballers, it was conceived by bartender-entrepreneur Lorenzo Antinori as an ode to the neighborhood hangout, where nostalgia meets simplicity in direct, flavorful drinks. Its kitchen has earned a following too, with recipes such as pizza e mortazza winning local hearts.
Argo, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
The hotel bar scene is equally flourishing, embodied in the success of Argo at the Four Seasons Hotel. Its towering back bar holds a vast gin collection while the team plays with ingredients like pineapple, crafting a rum highball enriched with its fermented honey and jasmine notes. Among the bites, highlights include duck tacos, Wagyu burgers and the unmissable Hong Kong egg waffle with pineapple chutney and caramel.
The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Higher still, at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, The Aubrey reframes the izakaya spirit in an eclectic salon of velvet and sake. At the helm, Italian Bar Manager Stefano Bussi reimagines classics with a fresh touch: the bright and citrusy Yuzu Highball and the Manhattan Yugen made with sweet potato shochu. The food is equally poised —Wagyu Katsu Sando, Miso Black Cod, and Lobster & Hokkaido Sea Urchin Fried Rice.
Salisterra, The Upper House
At The Upper House, Salisterra floats above the horizon with Mediterranean accents. Designed by André Fu, its seasonal menus pair with cocktails that drift between Barcelona and Athens, while floor-to-ceiling windows frame the city from above, offering both the calm of a dinner and the energy of an aperitivo.
An Unmissable Hong Kong
At the junction of East and West, Hong Kong still knows how to surprise. To drink here is to move through a landscape in flux, where each bar adds a verse to a larger story—one that binds together individual voices, international currents and a sense of place that remains unmistakably its own.
The article first appeared on Coqtail – for fine drinkers. Order your copy here
