Best new restaurants and hidden gems in Hong Kong, from Australian coffee and gelato to concept cafes and niche bakeries

Despite the pandemic, some 2,700 new restaurants opened in Hong Kong between January 2020 and May 2021

Tseung Kwan O is becoming a foodie destination, while speciality cafes, bakeries and restaurants have opened across the city

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Croissants and other baked goods, from Rise Kitchen in Tseung Kwan O. Hong Kong has a number of new restaurants opening despite the pandemic. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 12:15pm, 3 Dec 2021Updated: 1:58pm, 3 Dec 2021

From home-made Norwegian meatballs to an Aussie-style brunch and everything in between, Hong Kong delivers multicultural cuisine to enthusiastic diners. With travel restrictions firmly in place, many are seeking out new international restaurants for a reminder of what it’s like being abroad.

The good news is that there are many newly opened cafes and restaurants ready to be discovered by Hong Kong’s keen diners.

Notable dining districts – such as Wan Chai, Kennedy Town and Tsim Sha Tsui – are full of good food offerings and Hongkongers’ love of eating out is at a high: from the start of the pandemic in January 2020 to May of this year, around 2,700 restaurants opened, according to data from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.

Some chain restaurants have expanded with accelerated growth over the past two years, according to market research, particularly Japanese franchises such as Sukiya and Sushiro.

Messina’s gelato. Photo: Black Sheep Restaurants

This year also saw the highly anticipated opening of a number of speciality cafes, such as Messina. This Australian gelato shop in Soho has had people queuing since it opened in October to try its ice creams, including milk tea, chocolate fondant, and coconut and lychee).

One dining area that has recently popped off is Tseung Kwan O, specifically the Greenwich Village Mall, which officially opened in November and has 21 restaurants and lifestyle stalls. From French to Italian, Spanish to Mediterranean, and bars to cafes and bakeries, you name it, it’s there.