bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Douglas Parkes

The Hong Kong bar industry has had to weather a succession of blows over the past two years: first, the citywide protests that disrupted business for much of 2019, then the Covid-19 pandemic, which lingers on.
Bars have suffered even more than restaurants, forced to close entirely while the latter could at least open with restricted hours and limits on customer numbers. While some establishments have been able to open thanks to possessing a restaurant licence, the remainder have been forced to close for months.
Despite these difficulties Hong Kong’s best watering holes have done an incredible job of raising their standards, diversifying their offerings and attracting customers back as soon as they have been allowed to open. 
Here are 100 Top Tables’ 10 best picks in Hong Kong right now.
1. Bar De Luxe

Having recently moved from Wyndham Street to H Code, Bar De Luxe is better than ever in its new surroundings, and continues to offer an almost unique mix of Tokyo and Hong Kong drinking styles. So if it is precision-made Japanese-style cocktails served in a relaxed atmosphere that you are after, there is nowhere better.
2. Coa

When Coa first opened many wondered whether Hongkongers were ready for an agave-focused cocktail bar. Besides serving up excellent drinks at his award-winning establishment, founder Jay Khan found time to launch Mezcal Mission – charity tastings designed to help vulnerable families in Hong Kong.
3. DarkSide

For all its growth, Hong Kong’s high-end bar scene remains centred in Central and Sheung Wan. DarkSide is the kind of special offering that can make connoisseurs drag themselves to Tsim Sha Tsui for a cocktail. The drinks menu is inventive and the regular live music sessions provide an attractive Jazz Age ambience.
4. Mizunara: The Library

Probably the most authentic Japanese cocktail bar in the city, Mizunara is a drinker’s haven dedicated to fine whiskies and quality cocktails. Bartender-in-chief Masahiko Endo is always immaculate in his white dinner jacket and the cocktail and whisky lists are extensive, with no bad options.
5. Please Don’t Tell (PDT)

Founded by the team responsible for the New York original, Please Don’t Tell is Hong Kong’s finest stab at an American-style cocktail bar. The menu is full of NYC classics as well as a number of new concoctions created especially for Hong Kong with Asian flavours in mind.
6. The Poet

Having established himself as one of Hong Kong’s finest bartenders at 001, Tony Hsu has burnished his reputation with further stellar work at The Poet. The bar has suffered greatly during Covid-19 – opening shortly before the pandemic struck and then remained closed for many months without a restaurant licence to fall back on. Regardless, the cocktails here are some of the best to be found in the city and Hsu remains a master at tweaking classic recipes in surprising and appealing ways.
7. Quinary

Having spearheaded molecular mixology in Hong Kong it can be easy to overlook Quinary, which has lasted long enough in the city’s constantly evolving bar scene to feel like a part of the furniture. Founder Antonio Lai and his staff work hard, though, maintaining their own high standards. The menu may have changed since 2012 but the inventive new drinks always impress.
8. Room 309

Hidden inside The Pottinger Hong Kong and requiring a special key card to enter, Room 309 is the most intimate of Antonio Lai’s several establishments. A dark, sinuous place, the bar’s signature “invisible cocktails” are memorable not only for their translucency – try finding another crystal-clear Old Fashioned in this city – but for their subtle and complex flavour profiles, too.
9. Tell Camellia

Also at home in H Code, Tell Camellia is one of the more innovative recent openings in Hong Kong, and presents a rare amalgam of tea and cocktail culture. Hence the popular Japan cocktail featuring a mix of shochu, redistilled matcha, pumpkin seeds, mint and fermented soybeans topped with a sprinkling of seaweed and plankton. If the cocktail menu doesn’t win you over, the T-Tonics – teas blended with gin and redistilled in-house – definitely will.
10. The St. Regis Bar

More than any other hotel group, St. Regis takes great pride in its bars. The Hong Kong offering is a stand-out. The cocktail menu is divided into two parts, one showcasing a variety of original Hong Kong cocktails, the other filled with drinks inspired by New York, home to the original St. Regis. This is a must-visit for guests seeking unusual ingredients and flavour combinations.
See more of 100 Top Tables 2021 here


100 Top Tables – 10 Best Bars in Hong Kong: Enjoy inventive cocktails and the attractive ambience at outlets like DarkSide, PDT and The St. Regis Bar

Making a Red Carpet cocktail at Please Don’t Tell (PDT), one of Hong Kong’s finest American-style cocktail bars. Photo: handout

Bartender Ivin Hui at Bar De Luxe. Photo: handout

Coa’s Mezcal Rosita. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cocktails from DarkSide’s classic menu. Photo: DarkSide

Nagomi cocktail, prepared by bartender Masahiko Endo at Mizunara. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Stop Light cocktail at PDT. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Tony Hsu, beverage director at The Poet. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Pan cocktail at Quinary. Photo: handout

Gone Gimlet cocktail at Room 309. Photo: Room 309

Tell Camellia offers a mix of tea and cocktail culture. Photo: Tell Camellia

The St. Regis Bar has an extensive cocktail menu. Photo: Michael Weber Photography

Magazines

100 Top Tables


Despite the pandemic, bars like DarkSide raised their standards and retained customers – an incredible feat even as the F&B industry suffered many losses 
Some watering holes, including PDT and Quinary, diversified their offerings with a host of new creations and exciting menus



Despite the pandemic, these establishments managed to raise their standards and retain customers – an incredible feat even as the F&B industry suffered much loss


Past 100 Top Tables

100 Top Tables 2021 - Best bars in Hong Kong

100 Top Tables 2021

100 Top Tables – 10 Best Bars in Hong Kong: Enjoy inventive cocktails and the attractive ambience at outlets like DarkSide, PDT and The St. Regis Bar

Despite the pandemic, bars like DarkSide raised their standards and retained customers – an incredible feat even as the F&B industry suffered many losses Some watering holes, including PDT and Quinary, diversified their offerings with a host of new creations and exciting menus

Despite the pandemic, bars like DarkSide raised their standards and retained customers – an incredible feat even as the F&B industry suffered many losses

Some watering holes, including PDT and Quinary, diversified their offerings with a host of new creations and exciting menus