The Best Speakeasies in Hong Kong
Big, brash, and bombastic Hong Kong speaks another language when it comes to drinking establishments. Its burgeoning breed of speakeasies are sexy, chic, and, thanks to Hong Kong’s labyrinthine alleyways, streets, and myriad commercial buildings, devilishly hard to find.
Explore Hong Kong’s top 10 Prohibition-style spots for an unforgettable drinking experience.
Stockton
A grey metal door on a busy Central Hong Kong junction is the only sign of Stockton, a Hunter S. Thompson-inspired hideaway. With squashy leather sofas, glass cabinets stuffed full of flea-market-bought glassware, and a hidden cigar room (complete with a battered leather chair that dates back to the Second World War), this speakeasy offers a distinct Victorian hideaway feel. Cocktails named after maverick authors, such as Raymond Chandler’s Forty Four, combine rum, sherry, and marshmallow, served in an Instagrammable glass fish.
Butler
Even five floors up in a commercial building in the midst of Hong Kong’s vibrant shopping and entertainment district Tsim Sha Tsui, Butler remains utterly Japanese. Featuring lashings of dark wood and a casual Japanese welcome (irasshaimase), this bar feels like a hidden whisky haven in Tokyo’s Shibuya. Set over two levels—cocktails on the fifth, whisky on the sixth—and with fewer than 20 seats per floor, reservations are essential.
Foxglove
Every speakeasy worth its salt is hidden behind a façade. Foxglove’s charming disguise is a fancy umbrella shop—which actually sells umbrellas if the Hong Kong skies open up. Behind one of the glass cases, you’ll find a boxy bar decked out in dark navy and shiny white. The cocktails, inspired by the adventures of fictional British explorer Frank Minza, include interesting spirits from Japanese whisky to Ocho Blanco, along with nightly live music.
Iron Fairies
Styled as an iron foundry by Australian design mastermind Ashley Sutton, Iron Fairies combines heavy-duty iron tools with 10,000 preserved butterflies hanging from the ceiling. Innovative cocktails and comfort food (think popcorn chicken and burgers) make this intimate space underneath a framing shop on the cobbled steps of Pottinger Street a must-visit.
J. Boroski
It’s easy to miss the chrome entrance of J. Boroski if you’re walking down Soho’s slightly sketchy Ezra Lane. Named after the New York ‘mixsultant’ of the same name, this intimate hideaway boasts elements of a train carriage and a taxidermy shop, complete with a wall of tarantulas and a tunnel of beetles. The bar introduces a cocktail ‘concierge’ service, customizing drinks based on your preferences.
Mrs Pound
From outside, Sheung Wan’s Mrs Pound resembles a Damien Hirst-designed stamp shop. Inside, you’ll discover a vibrant pink and green speakeasy, serving cocktails in delicate chinoiserie teacups (the Mr Ming’s negroni with tea bitters is a must-try) along with Asian fusion small plates. The bold neon installation at the back is particularly Instagrammable.
Feather Boa
Heavy gold curtains behind a navy wooden door and a discreet gold ‘members only’ sign are the only indications of Soho’s Feather Boa (38 Staunton St). This bar is so low-key that it doesn’t have a website or official opening hours (hint: it comes to life after 10pm). Inside, it’s an antique lover’s dream with brassy tasselled lamps, oval mirrors, and Impressionist paintings adorning the walls. Among the cocktails, the strawberry daiquiris and espresso martinis are the most sought-after.
Ping Pong Gintoneria
Ping Pong Gintoneria highlights that speakeasies don’t have to be tiny. This spacious former ping pong parlour, nestled between a local restaurant and a gallery in the rapidly gentrifying Sai Ying Pun, invites guests to push the neat red door (the light above indicates when it’s open). Descend into a basement neon-soaked gin palace, where Hong Kong’s hipsters sip goblets underneath high ceilings, paired with a fine selection of Spanish small plates.
Employees Only
Imported from New York, Lan Kwai Fong’s Employees Only demonstrates that speakeasies can enjoy global appeal while remaining utterly mysterious. The only clue to its location is the neon-lit red ‘psychic’ sign in the window. Inside, a long wooden bar, accented by strip lights, is manned by some of Hong Kong’s most knowledgeable bartenders, serving a stunning variety of reworked classic cocktails.
The Old Man
Aberdeen Street’s The Old Man pays tribute to Ernest Hemingway and his novel The Old Man and The Sea. Each reasonably priced, experimental cocktail served in this cozy drinking den—masterminded by former Mandarin Oriental and Shangri-La bartender Agung Prabowo—is named after one of Hemingway’s novels. Old in name only, this trendy spot is constantly buzzing with Hong Kong’s most discerning drinkers.
