Shhhhh…..Let me take you through the nightlife and the secret doors you have to find in Hong Kong!
I love a good speakeasy and Hong Kong has plenty! I only had one night and I spent it wisely with going to as many speakeasy bars as possible and some that were just regular bars. I made friends along the line, we teamed up with the same goal of getting to as many of the bars on our collected list as possible.
Disclaimer: This evening I did not bring my camera with me so all the photos are done with my cellphone. I am also not sure I would be able to pull up my camera in a bar among new friends. Still, the pictures will have to do.
Note: If the bar is not a speakeasy I will state so. But if it is, nothing will be mentioned.
1. Ozone (not a speakeasy)
Ozone is the highest bar in Hong Kong with a view of Victoria Harbour.
The sunset from here was simply stunning, even if I did not get to see it completely go down.
The vibe at the bar is amazing and so are the drinks. Me being me, had to get a fancy drink which even came with it´s own snacks, that also tasted amazingly.
Address: International Commerce Centre (ICC), 118/F, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, 1 Austin Rd W, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hongkong
This is were my night started, the sun was setting and I was parting with my friends. They knew I had planned a bar or two after, before heading back to the hotel. The only thing none of us knew was that the list was about to become a bit longer than planned.
2. Room 309
You have to go to the restaurant where you will get a room key, just like you would for you hotel room, before you can enter the bar.
There are two types of menus here and one of them have drinks that are completely drained of colour. Which was so cool and it tasted really sweet, despite the lack of colour.
Address: 3/F The Pottinger Hong Kong, 74 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hongkong
This is also sadly where I had to charge my phone as it was running low on battery, so I barely took any pictures. But it was also here I got to chatting with the two strangers next to me, which also were strangers. So it made for fun conversations and then a friend of one of the guys joined. With this we were four people that decided to set out into the night for more speakeasy bars.
3. 001
This one was not one my list, but it was amazing and hidden inside a complex. This is not the first place I would have thought a bar would be hidden, but behind a black door it was.
My drink was very good, but one of the guys I teamed up with really knew how to pick drinks. I tend to pick based on names, fanciness or what is in it. I did not look close enough here.
Address: Block 10 & 13, Superintendent’s House and C Hall Shop 10 & 13-101, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong.
4. Dr. Fern´s Gin Parlour
Also not on my list, how did I miss another one? It just shows how many speakeasies there are in Hong Kong.
The bar lived up to their theme with the bartenders in lab coats and the interior reminding me of the old Victorian Era in Britain. The drinks looks also matched the interior which made it even more fun.
My drink was deliciously sweet and came in such a cute cup!
Address: Shop B31A, First Basement Floor, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hongkong
5. Tell Camellia (not a speakeasy)
We were nearby and we all wanted to try it. Tell Camellia is a tea-inspired coctail bar which landed at spot number 23 among Asia´s 50 Best Bars in 2021.
My drink of choice this evening was always on the sweet side and it was. You could taste the tea inspiration and the alcohol clearly, but the sweetness never faded.
Address: H-Code, LG Shop 2, 45 pottinger street, Tung, On Wo Ln, Central, Hongkong
6. The Poet
Finally one on my list! This one is of the easier to spot and is hidden behind a green door. Since the door not hidden, it is quite easy to find and so is entering, you just have to figure out how to open the door first.
I got a sweet drink and it was really good. It could have been a bit larger as I felt it disappeared too fast. I only have to blame myself for that, I guess.
Address: G/F, 13 Staunton St, Central, Hongkong
7. 25:00
Hidden on the 13th floor of a building in Central with minimal signs on how to enter. You also often have to make a reservation, but we managed to sneak in.
Look at that amzing gathering of fancy drinks with flowers. Can you guess mine? Either way, mine tasted really sweet and good and exactly what I needed this far into the night.
Address: 13/F, Luk Yu Building, 24-26 Stanley St, Central, Hongkong
8. Please Don´t Tell
Last stop of the speakeasy bar tour and it had the best entrance. Hidden inside another bar on the second floor is an old telephone booth you have to make a call with to enter.
The matcha around the drink, kinda drowned the taste away, but after there was no more matcha you could truly tell the taste. It was really good, but maybe a bit bitter for being a sweet drink.
Address: 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hongkong
My favorites?
Best Entrance
I would have to say it is a tie between Room 309 or Please Don´t Tell. They both had an entrance that could have become tacky, but performed it so well and it tied in with their concept.
Best Drink
The one I had at Ozone was the best of them all, but among the speakeasy bars it was the one I had at The Poet. Yes, sorry, I had no good picture of it. Both had a very fresh taste to them and was very sweet, but you could still taste the alcohol, slightly. So both are dangerous drinks when drunk (maybe that should be a minus?).
Best Overall
This one will go to Dr. Fern´s Gin Parlour. The whole concept was seen throughout their menu and interior, which made it complete. Though it was one of the rather easy ones to find, it is still not an obvious placement of the bar.
Best Hidden
This one will go to 25:00 as when you finally got to the 13th floor you had to figure out how to open the door. Which was not the obvious answer, but we figured it out. Also one of the guys had been there before so we had the answer if we needed it.
And that is it for the prices.
These were just some of the secret doors you have to enter in Hong Kong. There are even more speakeasy bars here! My group and I, we focused on the ones in Central, but if you expand a bit beyond that there are more. Even in Central as well, but a few of them had a waiting line for almost an hour and none of us wanted to wait. Therefore we moved on to the next bar to see if they had room for us there.
Do you want to know what to do during the daylight in Hong Kong?
Rover Saga 