See below for the hottest restaurants and bars of 2019 and click here to read about 2020’s most notable openings.
Sevva
Hype meter: 10/10
This Central favourite celebrates its 12th year with a fresh look. One of the highlights: the colourful Harbourside dining room, adorned with thousands of silk flowers and 36 custom-made chandeliers. New dishes include pan-fried garoupa with ponzu, and wok-fried Boston lobster with miso and nori butter. But the real winner remains that stunning view over Statue Square.
The Araki
Hype meter: 9/10
Sushi chef Mitsuhiro Araki, who’s held three Michelin stars at his restaurants in both London and Tokyo’s Ginza, has opened a 12-seat restaurant at Tsim Sha Tsui’s House 1881. The chef brings his locavore philosophy to the city: many dishes are created with locally caught ingredients, including mantis shrimp and fish maw.
Zeng
Hype meter: 7/10
This restaurant and bar at Causeway Bay’s V Point takes an East-meets-West approach to its fare. Signatures include the fried flat rice noodles with truffle and ribeye – an elevated take on a Hong Kong classic – and the ‘Feng, Lin, Huo, Shan’ – wind, forest, fire, mountain – cocktail, named for a tenet in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Wolfgang Puck Kitchen
Hype meter: 9/10
If you’re hungry as you land in Hong Kong, skip the fast food and head straight to Wolfgang Puck Kitchen at the Terminal 1 arrivals hall. The celebrity chef’s all-day dining restaurant – his first in Hong Kong – serves up Californian-style cuisine prepared with local and seasonal ingredients.
Ruam
Hype meter: 8/10
This expansive bar and eatery on Ship Street in Wan Chai serves up classic sharing-style Thai dishes like grilled meat skewers and red curry with crispy-skinned duck, as well as cocktails with a South East Asian twist.
Castellana
Hype meter: 7/10
Truffles, fine wine, lake-sourced seafood, incredible meat – the Italian region of Piedmont is famous for all these things. Causeway Bay’s Castellana, opened in collaboration with two Michelin-starred chef Marco Sacco, celebrates it with two menus: the Piccolo Lago, focusing on the region’s seafood, and the Traditional Piedmont, which features their signature Il Tartufo – a whole black truffle stuffed with bone marrow and other prized ingredients.
Duck & Waffle Hong Kong
Hype meter: 10/10
This famed London restaurant is opening its first international outlet at IFC Mall in Central. First and foremost on the menu: its eponymous signature dish, featuring confit duck leg on a bed of waffles, topped with a fried egg and mustard maple syrup. It’s also worth trying the exclusive miso custard tart.
Zest by Konishi
Hype meter: 9/10
The new restaurant of chef Mitsuru Konishi (formerly of Wagyu Takumi) on Central’s On Lan Street is inspired by his Japanese roots and French training. The Ping Yuen chicken – stuffed with lotus leaf-wrapped rice, water chestnuts and foie gras, before being smoked over fragrant herbs – is a dish that best encapsulates Kinoshi’s style.
Nove
Hype meter: 8/10
The latest to hop onto the modern Chiu Chow-style restaurant bandwagon is Nove on Li Yuen Street East in Central. Inside a space decorated with red lanterns, mosaic tiles and antique mirrors, guests can go for signatures such as marinated goose, baked abalone cheese tarts and steamed pork belly buns.
Nectar
Hype meter: 10/10
A staunch supporter of plant-based cuisine, chef Peggy Chan’s new restaurant Nectar in Sheung Wan serves up progressive multi-course tasting menus with dishes like her meatless renditions of bak kut teh and tuna handrolls, as well as a ‘zero waste’ banana flour sponge cake with moringa cream and banana kefir syrup.
Honjo
Hype meter: 9/10
Pirata Group’s new contemporary Japanese eatery in Sheung Wan features a range of creative dishes including otoro sashimi topped with basil, shallots, ponzu and toasted rice crackers, and kombu-baked whole seabass with scallion pesto and sesame oil, served with a teriyaki sauce for dipping.
Chuan Palace
Hype meter: 8/10
Spicy doubanjiang (soybean paste topped with red chilli oil) is considered the soul of Sichuan cuisine. At the newly opened Chuan Palace in Mong Kok, executive chef Lee Chi-kwong makes his own and uses it in his signature dishes. Expect staples like marinated cold chicken with peanuts in spicy sauce, as well as Sichuan-style stewed ox tongue and deep-fried duck blood.
Louise
Hype meter: 10/10
After claiming the top spot on the 2019 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list with Odette, Chef Julien Royer has opened Louise at PMQ in Central. Inside this Andre Fu-designed space, he serves a menu of reimagined traditional French dishes, including sautéed frog legs and pan-seared veal sweetbreads with brown butter lettuce cream.
Rùn
Hype meter: 9/10
Located in Wan Chai, a meal at St. Regis Hong Kong’s Cantonese fine dining restaurant kicks off with a cup of tea served by a tea sommelier. The barbecued Iberico pork char siu has the perfect ratio of lean and fatty meat, finished with a honey glaze. The chilled pink guava cream with sago and coconut jelly is a new take on a classic dessert – and is much prettier, too.
Kinship
Hype meter: 8/10
Chefs Arron Rhodes and Chris Grare’s SoHo restaurant takes a multicultural approach inspired by years of cooking around the world. The farm-to-table concept features sharing-style dishes like beef tartare with Bali bean salad, roasted peanut sauce and fresh lime sambal, or sticky pork belly with dashi, edamame and shiitake mushrooms.
Amber
Hype meter: 10/10
The re-opening of Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Central is the biggest culinary news in town. The Richard Ekkebus-helmed restaurant’s 2.0 version goes in a new direction: dairy free, low in sugar and salt, and with a wealth of experimentation. The dining room has gone from white tablecloths to casual refinement. It’s a dining experience like no other – a difficult task in food-saturated 2019.
The Pansodan
Hype meter: 9/10
This pop-up Burmese brasserie in Sai Ying Pun closes at the end of July, having been imported from Yangon for just three months. Tables here are hot tickets, thanks to dishes like the killer beef cheek khauk swe noodles.
The Sea by the Old Man
Hype meter: 8/10
The Old Man needs the Sea, as Hemingway knew. With Agung Prabowo and James Tamang’s The Old Man nabbing the top spot on the 2019 Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, what could be more natural than opening their second venture, The Sea, just next door in Sheung Wan? Here, Prabowo serves up inventive, modern mixology. Try the Cocktail #2, a blend of homemade honeyed dashi vodka and a liquor made from mango sticky rice.
Estiatorio KEIA
Hype meter: 9/10
This modern Greek restaurant at H Queen’s, the latest landmark in Central, is far from a rustic taverna. Sure, the walls feature Grecian mosaics, but they were designed by powerhouse duo the Sundukovy Sisters. The menu puts the emphasis on seafood: check out the Psari se Alati, sea bream baked in sea salt and dressed with lemon oil and fresh herbs.
Maruju Aburi Farm
Hype meter: 8/10
Lovers of wagyu beef have a new paradise at Maruju Aburi, Hong Kong’s only yakiniku restaurant serving full-blood M9+ graded Australian wagyu, which is as good as it gets. The restaurant’s farm-to-table sourcing gives it a wide range of unusual cuts, such as the whole wagyu beef tongue.
Silencio
Hype meter: 7/10
This unconventional take on an izakaya, decorated with works by neo-expressionist Tomoo Gokita, serves up creative Japanese fare and live jazz every night. Chef Sean Mell, previously of Nobu Hong Kong, creates innovative dishes such as the Fifty Shades of Tuna – three types of tuna in a single sushi roll – or the Pablo, featuring coffee-cured hamachi.
Roganic
Hype meter: 9/10
Much like the original Roganic in London, this Causeway Bay outpost features seasonal produce from British chef Simon Rogan’s farm in the UK’s Lake District, supplemented by Asian ingredients, including locally sourced herbs and vegetables. Signatures include sea urchin custard with caviar, and cod with black garlic and sea lettuce in roast bone sauce.
Nhau
Hype meter: 8/10
Hong Kong has welcomed a wave of innovative Vietnamese restaurants in recent months, and Nhau in Sheung Wan is one of the most exciting spots. Executive chef Que Vinh Dang evokes his mother’s traditional cooking and adds a hint of New York City flair, creating a menu with dishes like banh mi rice tacos and grass-fed striploin dry-aged with 40N fish sauce.
Hollywood 49
Hype meter: 7/10
This casual French spot in Wan Chai offers classics like black pudding with apples, beef cheek bourguignon and daily fresh oysters. It’s unpretentious and cosy, with white tablecloths and black-and-white wall photos creating a Parisian vibe.
Dai Bing
Hype meter: 9/10
The wrong style of ice can mar the most skilfully mixed drink. That’s why Dai Bing (or ‘big ice’) – opened by the same people behind the popular Ping Pong Gintonería – has a special cutter for its ice. The extra-large, perfectly smooth pieces mean less dilution for long drinks such as the signature Matcha Highball.
Room68
Hype meter: 7/10
Tea appreciation is a lifestyle. This teahouse in Tung Nam Lou, a new retro-style hotel in Yau Ma Tei, reinterprets tea culture with its hipster decor and laid-back vibes. Enjoy rare brews such as ‘phoenix daffodil’, a top gongfu tea from Chaozhou – good enough to be given as a tribute to the emperor during the Ming dynasty.
Aulis
Hype meter: 8/10
With this Causeway Bay restaurant, British chef Simon Rogan showcases a dining experience full of experimentation. It only seats 12, creating an intimate setting for the chef to present his tasting menus, which have included creative dishes such as roasted chicken skin topped with cod roe and preserved carrots. The menu changes often, ensuring surprises at every visit.
Ramen Cubism
Hype meter: 10/10
Opened by Osaka-based chef Takao Hayashi, this Central spot is the latest addition to Hong Kong’s gourmet ramen scene. The focus is on natural, authentic Japanese ingredients, including ‘rice’ duck (a type known for its rich flavour), organic Danbo chicken from Kyoto and kagome kombu seaweed – all used in the signature Earth Bird broth.
Draft Land
Hype meter: 9/10
At this Central bar – a branch of the hottest drink spot in Taipei – draft taps are used to serve pre-mixed cocktails. Among the 40-plus cocktails is the Oolong Tea Collins, originally created by Hong Kong mixologist Antonio Lai (a partner in Draft Land’s launch) for nearby Quinary.
Shè
Hype meter: 8/10
Located in Lane Crawford at Central’s IFC mall, this Chinese restaurant features glamorous, nature-themed decor, but the real standout is its terrace, with its mesmerising harbour views. The dishes are decadent, including shrimp toast topped with Russian caviar, and fish maw soup double-boiled with premium ingredients for 12 hours.
Cafe Animojo
Hype meter: 9/10
You’ve heard of cat cafes. At this Central spot, diners have close encounters with more exotic creatures, including lizards, snakes and hedgehogs, while learning a bit about wildlife protection. The food is designed to be healthy and homey, with a focus on sustainably sourced ingredients. Signatures include typhoon shelter-style fried chicken with kale chips.
Junon
Hype meter: 8/10
Each night at this Wan Chai bistro, diners are immersed in oldies and jazz played in a plush setting, and the chef – who comes from a three-Michelin-starred restaurant – presents an array of French dishes inspired by the music. And if you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of Hins Cheung, the Hong Kong pop star who co-owns the restaurant.
Artemis & Apollo
Hype meter: 7/10
Named after Greek gods, this restaurant in the Star Street area has an intimate taverna vibe. The menu features traditional Greek dishes such as Souvlaki and grilled-to-order octopus, but the highlight is the spit grill, which is used for delectable meats like thin-cut Tasmanian lamb chops.
John Anthony
Hype meter: 9/10
In tune with eco-friendly practices, this latest addition to Causeway Bay’s Lee Garden Three offers Cantonese dishes in a space clad in natural fabrics and reclaimed flooring. The menu’s highly innovative cuisine includes brined goose fillets, wagyu beef char siu and xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) with squid ink.
Five Guys
Hype meter: 9/10
The Five Guys branch in Wan Chai is one of the latest among the Washington DC company’s 1,551 worldwide locations. You won’t see a freezer or microwave at this burger chain, as it strongly emphasises fresh ingredients and made-to-order food. Its hand-cut fries are renowned, cooked twice in pure peanut oil that is frequently filtered and changed.
Wagyumafia
Hype meter: 8/10
Put Kobe beef and wagyu master Hisato Hamada in a kitchen together, and you’ll get this sizzling hot, members-only restaurant from Tokyo. Hamada’s first overseas branch in Hong Kong serves cuts of beef from 20 of the best wagyu farmers in Japan, including Ozaki, which feeds its cattle organic ryegrass and natural mineral water.
Hungry for more? Check out the newest Michelin-starred restaurants and 2018’s hottest Hong Kong restaurants and bars
