Hong Kong’s best new nightlife

Back street bars, live music venues, late-night salons… Hong Kong is going all out to win back its crown as the home of the best after-dark action in Asia. So, from Sophia Loren’s new Hong Kong home to a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the former red-light district, here’s our pick of the latest places to see and be seen when the sun goes down.

The Aubrey After Dark

The Mandarin Oriental’s maximalist izakaya, The Aubrey, has been given a new groove to coincide with the hotel’s year-long 60th anniversary party. The Friday night happening has been conceptualised by local clubland legends Marina Bullivant and Andrew Bull (also known as DJ El Toro), whose former nightclub, Canton Disco, once drew the likes of Eurasia, Run DMC, and Kylie Minogue in its ‘80s heyday.

Capturing that same freewheeling Eighties energy, guest DJs from across the globe mix classic house music with disco beats and the latest underground sounds from London, LA, Paris, and New York. Want to be there? The proceedings start at 10pm and go late.

Lips Cocktail & Theatre

Tucked behind a velvet curtain above The Steak House at the Grand Hyatt, Lips is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Wan Chai’s once racy red-light district. Sultry yet sophisticated interiors feature intimate tables, walls of smoked mirrors, and psychedelic digital artworks racing across ceilings, whilst kitschy cocktails come with smoke bubble guns and fiery little torches.

Another big draw is the nightly acts, which span everything from poetry readings and comedians to dance performances and roaming magicians. It's all fabulous fun, whether you’re with a big group of friends, entertaining VIP guests, or looking for a different kind of date night.

LOCKDOWN

The genius team behind The Old Man and Penicillin – Agung and Laura Prabowo – have applied their expertise to a new blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bar on Hollywood Road. Called LOCKDOWN, the name pokes fun at Hong Kong’s three-year-long period of isolation during the pandemic, whilst the glamorous interiors cleverly reference America’s prohibition period – sleek lines, tall leather banquettes, a hand-blown glass gantry and a rotating bar station.

On the cocktail side of things, Gin Rickeys, Grasshoppers, and Left Banks (made with absinthe, crème de menthe, fennel pollen vodka, elderflower St. Germain, and clarified lemon juice) always hit the mark. But, if you’re in the market for something even more memorable, ask for the Vintage & Antique Cocktails menu, which blends drinks from rare bottles of spirits – like a 1950s bottle of London Dry Gin and a Remy Martin VSOP from the seventies.

The Stage at Sophia Loren House

The historic Woo Cheong Pawn in Wan Chai is one of Hong Kong’s most recognisable buildings; its 19th-century verandas, French windows, and stone columns are often captured on camera as trams trundle past. Now, new life has been breathed into the structure thanks to an unexpected source: Sophia Loren. For those who don’t know, the Italian actress has three restaurants in Italy and has chosen Hong Kong for the group’s first international outpost.

All four floors have vintage photographs of Sophia Loren everywhere you look – from the casual Neapolitan pizzeria to the fine dining restaurant, to the rooftop cocktail bar to the live events space, The Stage. Centred around a 1970s-style dance floor, this is where drag queens, retro R&B acts, and comedians perform late into the night.

Ella

Summertime, Mack the Knife, A-Tisket A-Tasket… These are just a few of the Ella Fitzgerald hits you might hear at this new live music bar on Pottinger Street in Central. Paying homage to the inimitable singer, the eponymous nightspot is predominately focused on jazz, with a line-up of soloists, duos, trios, and compendiums that changes on a nightly basis.

So, sink into a circular booth, sip on creative cocktails, and slurp down a side of Rockefeller oysters. You’ve got to order a Hurricane, a lightweight serve made with rum, passionfruit, lime and orange, or a punchy Louis Sazerac, which blends Remy Martin VSOP with dark rum, ancho verde, syrup, and bitters. A word of warning: this speakeasy-styled bar is petite, so it pays to book a table in advance.

Qura

Head inside the Regent Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui to find one of Hong Kong’s best swanky new bars with a view. Packing plenty of swagger, cosy interiors feature rippling red velvet walls, luxe-y low-slung furniture, and a glowing horseshoe bar – but all eyes are on the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Savour an Aviation (Sabatini gin, maraschino, Violette, citrus) and look out across Victoria Harbour towards Hong Kong Island and past the flying saucer Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Keep going, glancing over I.M. Pei’s sky-piercing Bank of China building and the futuristic Sir Norman Foster-designed HSBC bank, until your eyes arrive at their destination: the Peak.