Shake up one part moody whiskey den, a handful of glamorous hotel bars and a sprinkle of neon-splashed cocktail lounges, and mix them with personality, a global outlook and innovation, and you’ll end up with Hong Kong’s spectacular bar scene. Here are our favourites.

Bar Leone

1/10

It’s been ranked number one on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list for 2024 and number two in the entire world. This homage to an old-school Italian neighbourhood bar – check out the vintage Italian movie posters and football jerseys – is one of Hong Kong’s most affable places to get a drink. Visit Bar Leone for the olive oil sour, but don’t leave before you’ve sunk your teeth into the famous mortadella panini.

Bar Coa

2/10

Named for the cutting implement used to harvest agave plants, this temple to mezcal and tequila – there are around 200 bottles on the back bar – has topped the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list a record three times. COA’s house-made tepache (a fizzy, fermented Mexican soda) is reason alone to stop by, although its ancho highballs and palomas make an equally strong case.

Mostly Harmless

3/10

The name comes from a 20th century Douglas Adams sci-fi novel, but the atmosphere and concept at Mostly Harmless could not be more down to earth. Service and hospitality come first; a deep respect for local ingredients and terroir come a close second. Anything from cucumbers and guavas to tarragon and purple carrots find their way into cocktails, with the menu rotating and shapeshifting depending on the produce available.

Stick to the classics or try the latest in molecular mixology. It’s all on offer in Hong Kong, so start planning your trip today at qantas.com.

Maggie Choo's

4/10

Classic cocktails, cabaret, 1930s Shanghai glamour and a twist of prohibition pizazz are the hallmarks of this extravagant cocktail bar. You need to hunt a bit to find Maggie Choo’s – it’s hidden in the back of an old antique store and there’s a speak-easy-style secret button to get inside. Once there, order something suitably louche and luxe like the May '75, which gets its sultry magenta colouring from butterfly pea flower gin.

Penicillin

5/10

Promoting itself as Hong Kong’s first ‘closed loop sustainable bar’, the ethos at Penicillin is minimal waste, maximum flavour. Fermentation plays a key role in this concept, with fruit and other produce scraps transformed into acidic and savoury potions onsite, to give the cocktails extra depth and deliciousness.

The Green Door

6/10

Hong Kong loves a hidden bar and The Green Door certainly makes you work to discover it – the intimate space can be found at the end of a darkened staircase at the back of a wet market. This dimly-lit beauty, which opened in 2023, is about minimalist, contemporary stylings and relatively understated cocktails to match. The amber-coloured Camille is as simple as it is seductive – made with fernet, calvados and housemade chamomile syrup – while the more extravagant Olga is topped with a caviar tiara.

Stick to the classics or try the latest in molecular mixology. It’s all on offer in Hong Kong, so start planning your trip today at qantas.com.

Ozone

7/10

No wonder it’s called Ozone; you’re practically in it. Part of Hong Kong’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, it claims to be the highest rooftop bar in the world. Perched on the 118th floor, there is no better place to marvel at the glittering glamour of the city’s skyline. If you can drag your eyes away from the view, drink in the neon-blue decor and order a bottle of Bollinger and a couple of mini teriyaki sliders for a very cool high-low mashup.

The Opposites

8/10

Led by industry veteran Anonion Lai (founder of Quinary, ranked 26 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024), bright and creative newcomer The Opposites opened its door with a firm premise. Every cocktail is offered in two forms: a straight-up classic and its twin, a playful, molecular-style showstopper. You might order a Pisco Sour, for example, then chase it with the Scoop Me Up. It is shaped like an ice cream cone and pushes pisco beyond its usual limits, with the inclusion of camellia, lime leaf, white tea foam and a smoked bubble.

DarkSide

9/10

Sultry lighting and sophisticated energy are the signature at DarkSide, inside the hushed luxury of the Rosewood Hong Kong hotel. The name is also a reference to dark spirits – whiskeys, rums and cognacs – which are the main players on the back bar. The Yin Yang menu – a celebration of dark versus light – is a great way to begin exploring the cocktails on offer. Try The Sun (bourbon, coconut and pumpkin) and offset it with the brooding Moon, which is crafted from 15-year-old rum, pomelo, Bitter Fusetti and salted kumquat.