Lamma’s famous Island Bar to close its doors after almost 40 years in operation
- The bar, described as ‘an institution and part of Lamma history’, has been forced to close over noise complaints from the building’s owner and his family who live next door
- Its last day open to the public will be Friday, May 31
The Island Bar in the village of Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island will close at the end of the month after almost 40 years in operation. Established near the ferry pier in 1981, the family- and dog-friendly bar on Main Street is rated on TripAdvisor as one of the top 10 bars in Hong Kong.
“It is more than a bar – it is a meeting point [and a] tourist attraction for weekend hikers and international visitors,” says the bar’s co-owner Craig Francis, who is based in Perth in Western Australia.
But Bruce Ng, the building’s owner who also lives next to the bar with a family of seven, ended the contract with the bar after enduring noise and disturbance over the years.
“When people at the bar get all happy and excited, there are also residents who have to wake up early the next day to earn a living,” says Ng.
He added that his mother, who is more than 80 years old, and his family who wake up at 4am every day to run their restaurant, have been complaining about not being able to sleep due to the noise. He said furniture in their restaurants nearby was also sometimes moved by drunken customers, and that three relatives had already moved out because of the problem.