Rubin Verebes is the managing editor of Foodie and is very opinionated. Transforming his hobby of eating and drinking into a career, he shares his account of Hong Kong’s F&B scene and the worldwide state of dining in Rubin’s Take, his dedicated opinion column.
This opinion is a divisive one, a hard metaphorical pill to swallow for some. This has become something of a trend that has not settled since the start of the mid 2020s, zeroing in on one neighbourhood: SoHo.
In the wake of the Bar Leone earning the golden title as The World’s Best Bar on Oct. 8, making our SoHo – not New York’s or London’s, which also picked up awards at the ceremony – literally worldclass, I however firmly believe this to be true: there is more to drinking in Hong Kong than SoHo.
In a mumbling chat after a meeting a few weeks ago, a colleague was reminiscing about Hong Kong’s whirlwind Rugby 7s competition held in April, where Hong Kong reverted into an adult playground for visitors rediscovering the city after years of missing their patronage. It felt like the old hurly-burly days of Hong Kong, he said. And he was right.
Lan Kwai Fong became, for a three-day weekend at least, a recreation of the rose-tinted pre-pandemic, pre-protest days: shoulder-to-shoulder street partying filled with youth, cheap alcohol, and revelry.
Wan Chai temporarily garnered its reputation for old-school drinking again. Causeway Bay was heaving with day-drinkers-turned-night-drinkers eager to return to the former 7s stomping grounds. Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon City enjoyed significant runoff from attendees evacuating Kai Tak following the day of matches.
The pandemic obviously changed the way and why people drink in Hong Kong. Lan Kwai Fong was the world-famous centre of Hong Kong drinking. Wednesday to Sunday saw throngs of thirsty locals and tourists pile onto the street or into shisha venues and bars. It was Asia’s version of Brazil’s carnival every weekend.
Now, we have SoHo for some of the world’s finest cocktails. Bar Leone’s 1st place finish in the World’s 50 Best Bars 2025, including Argo in 56th, GOKAN in 70th, The Savory Project in 86th, shows this. Less chaotic street drinking? Yes. But a lack of street charm a la the olden days of drinking Central-side? Possibly.
People still drink in Lan Kwai Fong for a taste of the old times or a chill beer. Wan Chai enjoys a strong love from a regular crowd, Causeway Bay is favoured by Japanese cocktail and pub-lovers, whilst Tsim Sha Tsui emulates the vibes of Lan Kwai Fong.
But for cocktails, SoHo is, for better or worse, the best bet.
For those wishing for a weekend drinking in great bars and enjoying cocktails, the magnetic pull to SoHo is sometimes just that strong. It makes regular weekly visits too easy not to avoid. When there are 50 plus cocktail bars lining SoHo’s dozen streets, this makes it a challenge to leave for a drink elsewhere.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not an excuse for me to bash SoHo. The neighbourhood has metamorphosed into a cocktail haven for a drinking crowd who care less about getting sloshed, and more about taste today. This is very important for the rebuilding of Hong Kong’s touristic image to bring back visitors, but it’s not everything.
But, other places deserve your attention. I love a drink in Sham Shui Po to explore the area’s informal beer dens, an annual pilgrimage to Prince Edward Sai Cheung Street for bars rough around the edge, Causeway Bay’s rooftop bars, or Wan Chai’s ever-familiar British-style pubs for a crisp pint.
Hong Kong’s strength in drinking should lie in the fact that every other neighbourhood ought to be attractive for those wanting a drink, not just to make an inevitable return to SoHo for your weekly cocktail visit.
The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and do not represent or reflect the views of Foodie.
