18 Best Restaurants in Hong Kong, China

Celebrated chef Gray Kunz’s restaurant offers expertly prepared modern European fare in a casual and relaxed 49th-floor locale with stunning urban vistas. A fan of fresh, seasonal ingredients, Kunz incorporates local produce into the ever-evolving menu whenever possible, often adding Asian flavors to excellent effect.

Chef Jason Atherton worked at some of the best kitchens in the world before opening the highly successful London restaurant Pollen Street Social in 2011. His culinary empire has since expanded to more than a dozen outlets around the world, with Aberdeen Street Social being one of the more recent additions. This bi-level space is located at the former Police Married Quarters and encompasses a restaurant, café, and bar. Head upstairs to enjoy meticulously plated modern British fare, such as the signature CLT (crab, lettuce, and tomato) and braised ox cheek with roasted bone marrow. You can also grab a table downstairs and try the casual, all-day menu and house special drinks.

You can dine on a range of Hong Kong classics at this no-frills cha chaan teng. The service is curt and the turnover is fast, but the scrambled egg sandwich is moist and pillowy soft.

Rosewood Hong Kong's lush afternoon tea experience at The Butterfly Room will make you feel as though you're a Disney princess. The fixed set comes with creative welcome bites, finger sandwiches, baked scones, and sweets—not to mention the dramatic chocolate trolley that'll roll by the table when you think you can't physically stomach another pastry.

The nicest spot for a drink or casual meal at Repulse Bay, Classified has two highly coveted swing sofas hanging from its open frontage, which offer glorious beach and sea views. The brunch-centric menu riffs around bacon and eggs, avocado on toast, and eggs Benedict, along with smoothies, fresh juice, and freshly brewed coffee---or you can go for healthy salads, pasta, and tartines at lunch or dinner. A selection of wines, beers, and cocktails makes it a worthy choice for sundowner drinks.

The first thing you’ll notice here is the most Disney-ish touch: a computer-animated koi pond, where electronic fish dart out of the way as you walk by. Once inside the crystal-studded space, your focus will turn to the food on the pan-Chinese menu. Favorites include Sichuan dan dan noodles, honey-glazed barbecued pork, and double-boiled pear topped with mandarin peel. Kids will get a kick out of the “character dim sum,” which includes pork and vegetable buns shaped like Toy Story’s little green men, and seafood pancakes bearing the likeness of Mickey Mouse. Make sure to order these in 24--48 hours in advance.

Art and food come together in this beautiful two-story establishment, which encompasses a bar, garden terrace, and dining room. The interiors are sophisticated yet inviting, and the Cantonese cuisine has garnered plenty of praise from locals and visitors alike. Signature items include crispy salted chicken and fried lobster with scallions and shallots. The dim sum lunch here is also popular.

As its name suggests, this restaurant goes back to the basics by focusing on a few key ingredients. Everything that passes through the kitchen is top grade, whether it’s the fresh homemade tagliatelle with chicken and truffle emulsion, or the whole roasted Italian sea bass with fennel. Dishes are categorized into small or large plates, but everything is designed to share. Fish & Meat offers decent cocktails, but if you’re serious about your drinks, check out its sister bar, Stockton, which is located below the restaurant.

This culinary gem does modern-fusion cuisine without any pretentious gimmicks. The food is well thought out and expertly executed in a constantly changing, market-driven menu. Reasonably priced set lunch and dinner menus are available, but the tasting menu (six or eight courses) is the way to go. Sunday brunch here is legendary, and requires booking several weeks ahead. The food is paired with friendly and attentive service.

Named after Barcelona's most bustling boulevard, the Catalan-inspired recipes are the brainchild of Netflix celebrity chef Rafa Gil. Highlights from the tapas menu include the bombas (deep-fried smoked potato and meat balls covered in bread crumbs and spicy sauce) and the famous ham, cheese, and truffle “bikini” sandwiches. Another must-try is the Segovian-style roasted suckling pig, which is large enough to feed four. The elegant velvet-and-rattan main dining room is beautiful, but the place to be is on the outdoor terrace, which boasts spectacular views of Victoria Harbour. This is, without a doubt, one of the finest Spanish restaurants in the city.

Lobster and steaks top the bill at this classy grill in the Shangri-La Hotel. With a vibe that is at once formal and cozy, the restaurant features live jazz performances Tuesday to Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. For a luxe blowout, go for the seafood platter, where you can find Boston lobster, seasonal oysters, Alaskan crab, prawns, and fresh clams. 

Bright, white, and postindustrial, this smart Sai Ying Pun café is a buzzy place to brunch (think healthy, ingredient-packed \"buddha bowls\" and smashed avocado on sourdough toast), hang out with friends, or tap away on a computer while nursing a flat white and a pastry. NOC roasts its single-origin beans in-house; the rich coffee aromas whump you in the nose as soon as you enter the café.

From croissants to caneles, Plumcot makes all manner of pastries—and very well. This is one of Hong Kong's most popular patisseries and sells out nearly every day, so go early if you want a bite. The artisanal ice creams in experimental flavors like blue cheese are worth a try, too. On weekends, look out for seasonal bakes like bear claws filled with vanilla custard, and brioche smeared with homemade jam. 

If you’re exploring Sha Tin and aren't opposed to dining at a hotel, consider visiting Sha Tin 18 for a pan-Chinese feast. The restaurant is equipped with several open kitchens, each with its own culinary specialty. Northern Chinese dishes are best, and you’ll find a range of homespun noodles and dumplings, but the traditional Peking duck, which is roasted in-house and served as three separate courses, is also excellent. If you’re dropping by for lunch, the extensive dim sum menu should keep you well sated. Save room for dessert, though, because the selection—which includes preserved beancurd cheesecake and plum sherbet—is definitely more innovative than just about any other in the New Territories.

Having found great success in the United Kingdom, restaurateur Alan Yau has returned to his home city with this retro-inspired restaurant concept headed by Australian chef Shane Osborn. The menu combines Osborn’s classical culinary training with seasonal Asian ingredients such as soy dressing and fresh wasabi leaves. Meats are done especially well, and diners tend to wax lyrical about the Sagabuta pork loin, as well as the dry-aged rib eye prepared on the Josper grill. Aside from lunch and dinner, St Betty offers a fantastic weekend brunch and Sunday roast menu.

Tucked away on a quiet street across from the famed Blue House, Stone Nullah Tavern serves new American cuisine that revolves around locally sourced ingredients. The menu changes regularly, but you’ll always find unabashedly hearty offerings such as cheddar mac and cheese and the notorious "fat kid cake" (essentially four desserts mixed into one). Adventurous diners will enjoy the wide selection of offal-centric dishes, including crispy pig’s head, tripe “fries,” and chicken liver dip served with homemade potato chips.

Dim sum joints don’t get more local than this Kennedy Town institution, which starts service at 3 am every day. From the juicy, taut har gow (crystal shrimp dumplings) to the sweet and sour fried spareribs, everything is prepared by hand. English menus are pinned to the walls, or you can simply point at steamers of tasty tidbits as they pass through the dining room. Diners choose and prepare their own tea at a counter, and a mandatory \"tea charge\" per person is added to the bill.

From the well-spaced tables overlooking the bay to the unobtrusive service to the menu of delicious French-inspired classics, this is an unabashedly regal experience that delivers with finesse at every turn. The beautiful colonial setting pays homage to the former Repulse Bay Hotel, and is also the perfect place to enjoy a traditional English afternoon tea.