We now have a name and a menu! What popped up as hoarding advertising the opening of an Irish bar in Soho this summer can now be called The National, and it’s all about Irish drinking and snacking.
The fourth bar opened by mixologist John Nugent, following The Diplomat, Cardinal Point, and Sugar King, The National & Hennessy Dining Room import the craic of Ireland, its pubby atmosphere, precise Guinness pouring technique, and salty snacks to Hong Kong, co-founded by Angel Chiu.
The pub takes its name from The National Tavern founded by Danish-born Irish businessman John Olson in 1866 on Queen’s Road Central. Now, 160 years later, bar-goers can wallow in a pint of Guinness (HKD85) served in the same way as the Irish and old Hong Kong heads have done.
Hot items on The National’s menu include the pint o’ prawns (HKD148), which is exactly what it says on the tin, beer-battered fish & chips (HKD188), rarebit cheese dip (HKD128), and a roast beef sandwich (HKD338) served with drippings.
Three Irish coffee cocktails, a host of European draught beers, “fizzy lifting drinks,” and shaken-and-stirred drinks form the bulk of the tipples on offer here.
The sit-downy carvery Hennessy Dining Room will join the pub on Nov. 20, located in a separate space deeper inside the venue’s square footage.
The National & Hennessy Dining Room, Shop 3, G/F, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street, Central, 3468 2082
