Bar Leone

World's #1 in 2025. Lorenzo Antinori's Roman-bar tribute in Central, opened 2023, the first Asian bar to top the global list. *Cocktail popolari*, no theatrics, classic Italian-bar technique poured in a room designed to look like a 1960s Roman neighborhood corner. Best for a stand-up Negroni at the bar before dinner; the wait gets long after 8.

Order: a Negroni. An Olive Martini.

Coa

World's #38 in 2025. Jay Khan's Central agave specialist with over 200 Latin American spirits behind the bar; mostly mezcal, with serious tequila and raicilla support. Low light, calm pace, bartenders happy to walk you through the differences between an espadín and a tobalá. Best for a slow drink when you want to learn something about Mexican spirits.

Order: anything mezcal-based; the bartenders will guide you to a flight if you want to taste through the agaves.

The Old Man

The Sheung Wan Hemingway-themed cocktail bar, Asia's 50 Best Bars perennial since opening in 2017. Drinks named for Hemingway works (The Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms, Islands in the Stream), one of Asia's most decorated programs in a room that doesn't oversell itself. Best for an unhurried evening when you want to read a menu before you order.

Order: A Farewell to Arms. The Old Man and the Sea.

Quinary

Antonio Lai's Central institution, the molecular-cocktail program that put Hong Kong on the international cocktail map a decade ago. Foamed, smoked, frozen, encapsulated; the technique is theatrical but the drinks are precise, and Lai is one of Asia's most influential bartenders. Best for a date or a guest who wants to be properly impressed.

Order: the Earl Grey Caviar Martini.

Yat Tung Heen

A one-Michelin-star Cantonese fine-dining room inside the Eaton Hong Kong in Jordan, where veteran chef Tang Chi-keung's program runs through dim sum at lunch, roasted meats at dinner, and double-boiled soups across both. The wine cellar runs deeper than the room's reputation suggests. Best for a long Cantonese lunch with a group of four to six.

The Chairman

World's 50 Best Restaurants #46 in 2025, one Michelin star. Danny Yip's Sheung Wan room, the city's hardest Cantonese reservation. Sourcing-led menu (the steamed flowery crab in aged Shaoxing is the signature, made with crabs Yip personally selects), deep wine list, and a kitchen that has put Cantonese cuisine on the World's list for over a decade. Best for a long, considered dinner with someone who appreciates seafood treated correctly.

Rosewood Hong Kong

World's 50 Best Hotels #1 in 2025; World's Best Hotel. Tony Chi-designed flagship over Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui, opened 2019, 413 rooms, 65 floors. DarkSide is the canonical hotel bar; the harbor views from the upper-floor suites are the rest of the appeal. The hotel that anyone serious about luxury hospitality is currently studying.

The Peninsula Hong Kong

The 1928 grand hotel of Asia, the colonial-era counterpoint to the Rosewood. Felix on the 28th floor by Philippe Starck, The Lobby for afternoon tea (one of the most photographed rooms in Asia), and a fleet of green Rolls-Royces that's been running guests to the airport since long before luxury hospitality had a category for it. The hotel where Hong Kong's grand-hotel tradition still lives.