When it comes to the bar scene in Hong Kong, there really is no place to hide. The mighty LKF never sees a quiet night and everyone knows what happens on Wan Chai Wednesdays. Soho is spilling out with overworked bankers and even Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun have become refuges to many more of us that love a tipple.
Pineapple Espresso at Back Bar via Facebook
Though we may love drinking, sometimes, we don’t like people. We want to go to a bar where we won’t find half of our work colleagues, where we won’t bump into our ex, and where no one will see us making fresh regrets while dancing on tables. Thankfully, if you look beyond the over-promoted bars and clubs, you’ll also find some pretty cool secret bars. So get your best Sherlock Holmes impression out, there’s some serious undercover bar-hopping to be done (especially before this article gets around and everyone visits them in hordes.)
Feather Boa
Next to Vaga Lounge there is a place at which you probably wouldn’t look twice. When you approach the venue, you’ll see a set of doors with heavy velvet curtains hanging over them. Stop there. Knock. Wait. Wait a bit longer. A lady will then card you. (That’s flattering, but we’re all adults here. Sort of.) If she is kind enough to let you in, what awaits you will be a cross between an English nan’s living room and a European boudoir. Their strawberry daiquiris are the stuff dreams are made of and their Malteser martinis are on par, though they will set you back HKD90.
Where: 38 Staunton Street, SoHo (Google Maps)
001
Photo: 001 via Facebook
Maybe the most secret of them all, mainly because it is near impossible to find on the second visit, let alone for the first time. Keep your eyes peeled for the green-coloured entrance between lots of other doors on Wellington Street. We’re sorry, but that really is the best description we can give you. Once you’re in, you’ll find that it was most definitely worth the hunt: comfy chairs and booths with top class spirits make you feel more 007 than 001.
Where: 001, Shop 1, L/F, Welley Building, 97 Wellington Street (Google Maps)
Back Bar
Photo: Ham & Sherry via Facebook
Though not technically a secret bar, its whereabouts make it that all bit more exclusive to those of us who like to consider ourselves “in the know”. Adjoined to Ham & Sherry – but through two-sided mirrors and a different door – you really wouldn’t know it was there unless you were told. They boast some of the most delicious and best-named cocktails in the 852 (e.g. the Anchorman-themed “Ron Burgundy”) and when you come out some hours later you’ve always got a night out in Wan Chai to rely on.
Where: Ham & Sherry, 1-7 Ship Street, Wan Chai (Google Maps)
Stockton
Photo: Stockton via Facebook
Based on a London’s gentlemen’s club in the Victorian era, it certainly doesn’t feel like you are in Hong Kong once you get inside. Tucked between Wyndham’s loud bars, this is a safe haven for a good ol’ whiskey and wine.
Where: 32 Wyndham Street, Central (Google Maps)
I Know John
Photo: iknowjohn.hk
The city’s newest speakeasy pays homage to the time when you had to say a secret password before you were allowed to enter these kinds of “too-cool-for-school” establishments. The name is inspired by the most used password back in the day, “I Know John”, and while we don’t have a clue who John is, we couldn’t really care less when they are serving cocktails as good as they do – and even supplying us with hot dogs when times get tough (i.e. when we’ve drunk too much whiskey).
Where: 9/F, The Loop, 33 Wellington Street, Central (Google Maps)
Lan Kwai Lau
Photo: Caskells Whisky & Spirits
This speakeasy is so secret it doesn’t even have a website or phone number. It’s been around for three years, yet is still fairly unknown on the local bar scene. Bookshelves and moody lighting entice you to stay well beyond your bed time, and their selection of whiskey will put your head into a spin. Contradicting their mystery, they hold regular whiskey and wine tastings, but how you find out about it without a Facebook page or website is beyond us.
Where: B/F, 2 Lan Kwai Fong, Central (Google Maps)
