New Bars: Where to drink in Hong Kong this summer

K&B Martini. Photo: Kyle & Bain

Stopping by Margo to check out its modern European brasserie fare? Start or finish your meal with a visit to Kyle & Bain, the American martini bar hidden behind a set of opaque sliding doors on the restaurant’s mezzanine level. In homage to the Scottish engineers who patented the first ice machine in Hong Kong, both the décor and menu bear colonial influences, with sumptuous amber lighting and gleaming golden fixtures giving the space an Art Deco feel.

Order the K&B martini ($140)—made from a precise combination of Plymouth gin, Mancino Secco and Dolin Blanc vermouth, filtered water, apple cider vinegar, and a squeeze of Amalfi lemon—for a taste of a “proper American martini,” or the Spumoni ($140) to enjoy a sweet, spicy, and tart concoction made with Campari, grappa, Sichuan pepper, white balsamic vinegar, and Greek grapefruit soda.

Kyle & Bain, Shop 6, The Galleria, 9 Queen’s Road Central, Central | (+852) 2133 1137

The Aubrey—Mandarin Oriental’s “eccentric Japanese izakaya”—has introduced not one, but two new bar concepts to its sprawling space: an omakase cocktail bar and a Champagne and sake bar. Both are intimate, exclusive experiences, with a capacity of just four guests each.

The former, which debuted in June, takes inspiration from the Japanese tradition of omakase dining, where the guests’ experience is left wholly in the chef’s hands. In this case, however, the hands in question belong to expert mixologist Devender Sehgal, who creates personalised, original cocktails with lesser-known Japanese spirits like shochu, awamori, and umeshu as part of the omakase experience.

Inside the Curio Lounge, you’ll find the Champagne and sake bar, which showcases over 50 Champagne labels and 25 sakes, including three sparkling sakes. For a fun and educational experience, book one of the weekly Champagne masterclasses, where you can taste five glasses of champagne from leading Champagne houses and growers. The classes, which are based on specific themes such as blanc de blanc Champagnes and vintage versus non-vintage, will rotate topics bimonthly.

The Aubrey, 25/F, Mandarin Oriental, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central | (+852) 2825 4001

Pepper Miso. Photo: Roji

Despite only being a few months old, buzzing Lan Kwai Fong izakaya Roji is proving that it’s more than capable of keeping things fresh, with newly-introduced drinks, hours, and a resident DJ. Like the food menu, the new cocktail menu features Japanese flavours prominently, with concoctions like the margarita-inspired Pepper Miso ($120)—featuring tequila, mezcal, fresh yuzu and mango, red miso, and Japanese pepper—and the melon liqueur-spiked Yamanashi ($120).

Don’t fear, Roji signatures like the Kinome ($120)—prickly ash-infused vodka, Fernet Hunter, coconut syrup, and tropical citrus—and Old Fashioned-esque Red Bean ($135) are still available. Get yourself into the party spirit with the tropical Roji shot ($85), a combination of coconut and pandan tequila, mezcal, agave syrup, and frozen fruit that goes down a treat.

Roji, 20A D’Aguilar Street, Central

Coriander Feast. Photo: @thepoet_bar (via Instagram)

Amplify alcohol’s properties as a social lubricant throughout the month of August with The Poet’s new limited-time “CBD Mindful Menu,” which was created with premium CBD brand OTO’s non-alcoholic bitters. The menu of five cocktails ($158 each) and five mocktails ($138 each) builds on the bar’s use of signature Asian ingredients like osmanthus, longan, and hawthorn, with bold and lesser-utilised (in mixology, anyway) ingredients with health-boosting properties like carrot, coriander, and pepper.

No doubt inspired by the diet of leporine creatures, the Bunny in Disguise mocktail pairs pepper and carrot cordial with OTO’s lightly herbaceous, citrusy bitters, while the verdant Coriander Feast marries the bitters with mezcal, coriander leaves, celery seed syrup, lime juice, and jalapeño.

The Poet, 13 Staunton Street, Soho, Central | (+852) 9880 1550

Photo: @findingdaisyhk (via Instagram)

Peek behind the velvet curtain at the newly opened theatre-themed bar on Elgin Street, Finding Daisy. Outfitted in sumptuous reds and bathed in warm golden light, it’s a mood-setting space that lends itself well to romantic dates as well as catch-ups with friends. (Especially if you order the Six Mules—a “remix” of the classic French 75, which is also known by its raunchier name, the “Lick It Like You Mean It” drink.) Despite their youthful looks, founders-slash-bartenders Max Bajracharya and Rai Amrit are both career mixologists, with years of experience at international hospitality groups—so feel free to throw caution to the wind when ordering your bevvies.

Finding Daisy, 16A Elgin Street, Soho, Central | (+852) 5135 7377

Pontiac co-founder Beckaly Franks with the Heir and a Spare

Created by The Pontiac’s co-founder Beckaly Franks and her wife, Ezra Star, the beloved neo-dive bar’s new menu is a swansong of sorts from Franks, who has taken a step back from operations. At once both familiar and new, it features classic concoctions that have been given the signature Ponty twist—a sophisticated take on the Long Island Iced Tea (Shells and Cigarettes; $88) here, a daiquiri made with a craft beer syrup (Defender Daiquiri; $88) there.

Fans of the gingery, citrus-spiked Hobnail ($88) need not worry, as it’s still very much on the menu—but if you’re looking to try something new and different, we like the High Tide Martini ($108), made with Widges gin, dry dashi vermouth, and wormwood tincture from Sai Ying Pun’s iconoclastic izakaya, Okra. Savoury and supremely drinkable, it’s the kind of out-of-the-box drink that proves the rock-and-roll cocktail bar is still one-of-a-kind, six years on.

The Pontiac, 13 Old Bailey Street, Central | (+852) 2521 3855

With its cerulean façade and brightly lit theatre-inspired marquee, this addition to Peel Street has caught our eye—even if it’s not officially open just yet. Awa Awa, which is a collaboration between the Sake Central team and nascent creative studio Double 00, is a loving tribute to Okinawa, the tropical archipelago also known as the Hawaii of Japan (and the birthplace of karate). Like Sake Central and Saketen, Awa Awa’s namesake is a definitively Japanese liquor: awamori, a distilled liquor with over 500 years’ heritage, made from black koji and long-grain (indica) rice.

It’s still early days, but the Awa Awa team hopes to represent all of Okinawa’s 47 awamori distilleries in its collection soon. The drinks offerings are rounded out by cocktails from Double 00’s co-founder, Arlene Wong, an F&B veteran and Mr Black ambassador who cut her teeth at The Pontiac. More details to follow.

Awa Awa, 42–44 Peel Street, Soho, Central

Photo: @kennethtjon (via Instagram)

Café-hoppers and Sham Shui Po locals may already be familiar with Major Tom, a futuristic white slice of a café that looks more like a spaceship than somewhere to get a single-origin hand-drip coffee. If you happen to stop by after 6 pm, though, you’ll find something rather different—a buzzing bar bathed in colour (courtesy of their colour-changing LED ceiling panels) and serving potent cocktails. Try Lover ($100)—a bourbon-based drink with blood orange, peach, lemon, and egg white—or Monster ($100) if you’re in the mood for something quirkier; the gin drink’s ingredient list reads almost like a green juice’s, with asparagus and bitter melon featuring alongside green apple and cucumber.

Major Tom, 14 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po