Cocktails such as the Mai Tai uphold the bar's tropical theme.
fashion-focused lifestyle stores diversifying into food and booze is not a new trend in the city but one that's growing. And one of the latest to jump on the bandwagon is Tommy Bahama. The US brand, which has more than 100 "islands" worldwide, opened its first store in Hong Kong in January last year - its third in Asia. It's hard not to be cynical about a place that refers to stores as "islands", sells "I've-just-stepped-off-a-yacht" clothes, many with seashells or pineapples plastered on them and, the worst retail crime of all, pumps the smell of coconut tanning oil out its front doors as if trying to cast a "come-in-and-spend" spell on passers-by. But if you do find yourself in the, erm, island then weave your way to the back of the shop where you will find the Marlin bar. (As well as the main opening on Johnston Road there is a side access off the uber-cool Ship Street). The bar's decor is simple: light wooden furniture and bar stools with a huge blue marlin on the wall in case you forget where you were.
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the cocktail menu is small but more than covers the tropical bases. The Mai Tai (HK$85) of Bacardi Superior, orange Curacao, lemon, pineapple and dark rum captured the breezy mood the place is trying to create while my friend's Cucumber Smash (HK$95), made of Hendrick's gin, wild elderflower liqueur, muddled cucumber and lime, was fresh. Lovers of beer should look somewhere else as the selection is small. The mainly New World menu of wines is expensive by the bottle. Happy hour runs daily from 4pm-7pm and if you want to recreate the Marlin experience at home, check out the drinks-related items for sale.
the cocktails lift this place out of the category of average Wan Chai watering hole.
