Coronavirus piles on misery for Hong Kong fine dining restaurants already hurting from months of anti-government protests

Feb 21 , 2020

Theo Mistral at the InterContinental Grand Stanford is among the Hong Kong restaurants to have temporarily closed. Photo: Winson Wong

Causeway Bay’s John Anthony and Tsim Sha Tsui’s Theo Mistral have closed temporarily, empty hotels work on new dining concepts – and Hunter & the Chase, Bibo and Root Central have closed permanently

The past eight months have been devastating for Hong Kong’s food and beverage industry as a result of anti-government protests and now, the coronavirus outbreak.

A slew of fine dining restaurants have temporarily closed – the most recent being John Anthony, Theo Mistral by Theo Randall, Gaddi’s, Chesa and LH Group’s hotpot outlets, as well as many in Macau. Meanwhile, Hunter & the Chase, Bibo and Root Central are among the restaurants in Hong Kong to have closed permanently.

A dish from Hong Kong’s Root Central, which closed in February 2020 following slowed trade attributed to the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: handout

Although some Macau hotel groups claim online that facilities will reopen soon, others in Hong Kong predict that it will be early to late March before they reopen.

“The coronavirus has seen a bigger drop in diners than during the protests, especially in the fine dining sector,” says Tang Wu, the owner of a public relations company that focuses on the food and beverage sector, speaking under a pseudonym. “You will also see that some of the Michelin star restaurants in the hotels are temporarily closed due to the virus and due to the impact of no guests or tourists in Hong Kong. The hotel restaurants will be hit even harder than the stand-alone restaurants.”

Gaddi’s at The Peninsula Hong Kong, where hotel restaurants are struggling especially due to a drop in visitors attributed to the coronavirus. Photo: handout

While things are quiet on the tourism front, one hotel is taking the opportunity to make changes.

The InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong says Café on M has suspended its popular buffet, and is working on a new dining concept.

InterContinental Grand Stanford’s Café on M has suspended its once-popular buffet. Photo: handout

“All buffets have been suspended until further notice,” says the hotel’s general manager, John Drummond. “All-day dining restaurant Café on M is working on a new dining concept which will be launched in March. Theo Mistral by Theo Randall is currently closed and will resume operations on March 2. We will be unveiling a refreshed menu next month. Hoi King Heen is operating as usual.