Hong Kong Lights Up With Things To Do After Dark
As lively and exciting as Hong Kong is by day, after dark the city has an even greater vitality, accentuated by glittering lights, colorful neon, and an innovative food, drink, and entertainment scene. You can get a feel for the city’s many moods—sophisticated and romantic, artful and innovative, global and traditional—by stopping in at one of its dynamic and award-winning nightspots.
From a rooftop bar, the cityscape is unveiled before your eyes, especially when Hong Kong’s towering skyline begins to glow at sunset. With its magnificent location on the 118th floor of The Ritz-Carlton, OZONE lays claim to the title of the world’s highest rooftop bar. Inside, the atmosphere is an electric blue; out on the terrace, you’ll marvel at the spectacular panorama that stretches from Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island. For music with your cocktails and snacks, the DJ soundtrack keeps things lively.
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Craving a vista of Victoria Harbour from the other direction? Head to the Cruise Restaurant, hidden away atop the Hyatt Centric hotel in North Point. Like the neighborhood’s blend of tradition and modernity, the menu features modern Asian food and creative mixology, including signature cocktails from the “Sip Trip: North Point” list that pay tribute to the area.
Stylish sophistication—and twice the panoramas—await you at Aqua, where the two huge outdoor terraces are the place to linger with wine, Champagne, or cocktails. You’ll find the chic bar on the 17th floor of the H Zentre complex in the Tsim Sha Tsui area.
You can capture the views across to Kowloon from the wraparound terrace at Popinjays, in the penthouse of the Murray Hotel in Central. Floor-to-ceiling windows enhance daytime meals, but in the evening opt for one of the mixologist’s seasonal cocktails or a gin-and-tonic experience, which showcases spirits from around the globe.
One of the buzziest areas in Central is SoHo, which owes its name to the location: south of Hollywood. The hilly district is alive with drinking, dining, and entertainment venues—including the first full-time comedy bar in Asia. Winning acclaim is Bar Leone, a relatively new and unpretentious neighborhood spot, which took top honors this year in the list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, was ranked No. 2 in the World’s Best Bars, and was named the Best New International Cocktail Bar at the Tales Spirited Awards. The atmosphere evokes aperitivo bars in Trastevere, owner Lorenzo Antinori’s home stomping grounds. His motto is cocktail populari, which translates to “cocktails for the people.”
Also located in SoHo is COA, founded by Jay Khan in 2017 and ranked No. 4 among Asia’s 50 Best Bars and No. 18 on the World’s Best Bars list. Here the inspiration is Mexico, and the emphasis is on 100 percent agave tequila, mezcal, and other Mexican flavors. The homage to that country is evident as soon as you enter its intimate atmosphere, where murals depict an Aztec goddess and other mythical creatures. If you’re curious about the liquor in the drinks, a 41-page agave menu details the soils, microclimate, and human efforts that go into producing the spirits.
Argo, honored as No. 9 in Asia’s Best Bars, is located in a glittering space in the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong and boasts a cocktail menu like no other. Where else would you encounter ingredients like granite, sweet potato, ginger lily, strawberries, bamboo, and goat’s milk? For guidance to the unique libations, you can turn to the Argo Field Guide, which provides background on raw materials, creators, and methods of production.
Music is on tap all year long in several atmospheric nightspots. Evoking Kowloon’s nickname, the DarkSide in the Rosewood Hong Kong will welcome you with a cool speakeasy vibe, thanks to its sultry live jazz and its cleverly curated cocktails. The bespoke drinks menu was inspired by the concept of yin and yang—with eight choices named after opposing forces like the sun/moon, heaven/earth, mountain/river, and dark side/bright side. Spin an interactive wheel to help make your decision.
Live jazz, blues, and world music are the focus of The Iron Fairies, an underground venue whose decor includes 10,000 butterflies swinging from the ceiling and thousands of small iron fairies scattered around the tables. Maze-like tunnels and hidden chambers add to the otherworldly atmosphere—the creation of Australian designer Ashley Sutton—where you can savor a menu of innovative comfort food and exceptional drinks.
With China’s many cuisines so brilliantly represented in Hong Kong, you may find it hard to choose among the many restaurants that achieve gastronomic greatness. But don’t miss Duddell’s, where the epicurean experience exceeds ordinary dining. Yes, the restaurant, spread over two levels, has earned a Michelin star for its authentic Cantonese dishes, but what’s unusual here is that you can find art and cultural immersion—screenings, talks, and changing exhibitions—along with the exquisite fare.
Embrace the elegance and distinction of Japanese culture at The Aubrey, another of Asia’s 50 Best Bars. Located on the 25th floor of the Mandarin Oriental, the unusual drinks-and-dining space presents an izakaya experience of delectable small bites. Then the knowledgeable mixologist will introduce you to the omakase cocktail menu and lead you on an exploratory journey through Japanese spirits and flavors. After 10 p.m., the bar turns into a luxe nightlife venue with underground DJs from London, New York, and Paris as well as local talent, who spin a mix of soulful house and disco music.
The partying continues throughout the year with a roster of events and festivals, beginning with Chinese New Year at the end of January, the Arts in Hong Kong and Art Basel Hong Kong in March, the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Wine and Dine Festival in late October, and culminating in Winterfest, which features the spectacular New Years Eve Countdown fireworks show over the harbour.
And there’s still more. All of Hong Kong provides a fantastic nightly setting for the sophisticated world traveler. With its wealth of luxe bars, restaurants, and nightspots, this exciting city is unrivaled as a destination after dark.
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