While writing this list from my home in Hong Kong, the sun is shining, the skies are blue, there’s not a cloud to be seen, and the humidity has quelled to levels that won’t frizz my hair. Hongkongers live for November. It is by far the best month of the year, and in response, we take to Hong Kong’s best beaches, rooftop bars, and waterfront, basking in long leisurely meals out in the fresh air. Join us with our pick of the city’s best alfresco spots.
LOUISE
Best for: long leisurely lunches with friends.
This sophisticated yet relaxed French restaurant is housed in a two-storey outbuilding inside PMQ, a mid-century heritage site and creative hub in the heart of Central. As an aside to the fine dining served indoors, the leafy outdoor terrace offers a more casual menu of crispy-gooey croque monsieur, mussels à la marinière, and its famed roasted yellow chicken with Niigata rice and salad. The cheerful staff always make it feel like you’re visiting old friends.
louise.hk
35 Aberdeen St, Hong Kong
Spices
Best for: coastal charm with pan-Asian flavour.
Spices sprawls across the flower-draped patio of The Repulse Bay, a colonial-style complex on the site of a former heritage hotel overlooking the eponymous beach. The pan-Asian cuisine matches the high standards you would expect from the same owners as The Peninsula (home to one of Hong Kong’s best hotel spas). Feast on zingy Thai green papaya salads, aromatic Vietnamese pho, and soupy Singaporean prawn laksa. Team with a cooling gimlet, made with gin, apricot brandy, yuzu, and ginger beer.
therepulsebay.com
109 Repulse Bay Rd, Hong Kong
Cardinal Point
Best for: sensational Victoria Harbour views.
The literal pinnacle of Forty-Five – an upmarket collection of bars, restaurants, and a private members’ club atop The Landmark building – this rooftop joint is hard to beat when it comes to sensational city and harbour views. The vibe is generally upbeat, ramping up to party central at the weekend, with crowds gathering for juicy wagyu burgers, chicken parm, and wood-fired pizzas washed down with sparkler-topped bottles of Champagne. Book in advance to guarantee a spot on the wraparound deck.
cardinalpoint.com
15 Queen's Rd Central, Hong Kong
The Peak Lookout
Best for: a side order of history.
This Grade II listed building was a workshop for the original Peak Tram engineers and a sedan chair rest stop before being converted to an open-air café in 1947. Now known as The Peak Lookout, the English-style cottage has retained its original architectural features, as well as a beautiful flagged-stone patio with soothing views of Hong Kong’s verdant south side. There’s something for everyone on the East-meets-West menu, from typhoon shelter lobster to chicken korma.
peaklookout.com
121 Peak Rd, Hong Kong
Duddell’s
Best for: Michelin-starred dim sum.
Best known for its one-Michelin-star Cantonese cuisine, André Fu design, and ravishing art collection, the lush garden terrace at Duddell’s feels like something of a secret. Offering a breezier experience than the restaurant, The Upper Room menu features small plates of heaven-sent dim sum, stir-fries, and rice dishes surrounded by tropical greenery and soaring skyscrapers. Don’t miss the roast goose pie with plum sauce.
duddells.co
1 Duddell St, Hong Kong
BluHouse
Best for: an intimate family get-together.
Spilling out of the lower levels of Rosewood Hong Kong (one of the best bleisure travel destinations) onto the Avenue of Stars, the BluHouse’s small terrace is the place to be on a sunny day, watching the Star Ferry and junk boats criss-crossing Victoria Harbour. The high-quality Italian food is easy and accessible, featuring rectangles of Roman-style pizza, favourite pastas – carbonara, lasagne, pappardelle ai fungi – as well as rotisserie-cooked meats.
rosewoodhotels.com
18 Salisbury Rd, Hong Kong
The Continental
Best for: power lunching (or brunching).
The Continental’s prime location in Pacific Place, amid some of the city’s most expensive office real estate, includes a large terrace dotted with greenery and parasol-shaded tables. The food leans European and includes set menus that hit the spot, with dishes such as Hamachi crudo, seared Scottish salmon, and mango and passionfruit pavlova. The weekend brunch values quality over quantity.
upperhouse.com
88 Queensway, Hong Kong
Popinjays
Best for: a Champagne-fuelled afternoon tea.
Architect I.M. Pei’s sky-piercing Bank of China building, the exoskeleton of Sir Norman Foster’s HSBC bank, and the domes of the colonial-era Supreme Court are just a few of the iconic buildings you can see while enjoying your Italy-inspired afternoon tea at The Murray’s rooftop restaurant, Popinjays. Lift your little fingers for mini-panini filled with mortadella, lemon mascarpone, and pistachio, prawn cocktail vol-au-vents, and prosecco butter cream cake. All the nicer with 90-minutes of free-flowing Ruinart.
niccolohotels.com
