150 Best Restaurants in Hong Kong, China

Travel back to the romantic 1960s at this retro restaurant. Both the decor and the food have remained largely unchanged since the restaurant’s heyday, and you’ll find local interpretations of borscht, gravy-covered steaks, and other western dishes.

You don’t have to be vegetarian to enjoy the food at Grassroots Pantry. The health-conscious, plant-based menu here is full of vibrant flavors and always reflects the season’s freshest produce. Try the appetizer platters or the market-inspired stir-fries and pastas. Grassroots also offers a delicious selection of gluten-free desserts. Being healthy never tasted so good.

Come here for a refined, modern rendition of classic Korean cuisine. Barbecued meats are a must, and we especially recommend the sam gyup sal (thick slabs of pork belly). Moving away from the conventional dishes, Han Ga Ram also offers a few newfangled creations such as bulgogi beef and spicy pork sliders, which are available on the lunch menu. Traditionalists may want to wash down their meal with soju (a distilled rice liquor), but the staff is also happy to suggest wine pairings to go with each dish.

Located on a boisterous stretch of Temple Street, this crowded, open-air eatery is the perfect spot to soak in the local atmosphere. The food isn’t amazing, but it’s cheap and offers a wide range of choices. Stick to the wok-tossed stir-fries laced with pungent black-bean sauce or spicy chili salt. Hing Kee is also known for its clay-pot dishes, which are especially comforting during the colder winter months.

Opened by award-winning Sydney-based chef Jowett Yu, this funky eatery is nothing like your average Chinese restaurant. As the tongue-in-cheek name suggests, the food here is bold and playful, inspired by old-school Chinatown classics but with a decidedly modern twist. Standout creations include the Yunnan-style steak tartare with hot-and-sour sauce, as well as the roast wagyu short ribs with a jalapeño puree. The cocktail list is just as inspired—try the Cooler, which is made with vodka infused with oolong tea.

If you’re looking for stellar Cantonese cuisine, this is the place for you. The chefs serve a range of modern classics made from the freshest ingredients and influenced by their reverence for natural flavors. There are excellent—and expensive—dishes on the menu like double-boiled bird’s nest and braised abalone, but the humbler dishes like smoked vegetarian goose and braised beef brisket with pear really steal the show. Hoi King Heen is a great dinner destination, and the lunchtime dim sum menu is also worth checking out.

Though it’s expanded across Asia, Honeymoon Dessert’s first-ever store in Sai Kung still draws droves of loyal and new fans alike. The store sells homemade traditional Chinese desserts such as black-sesame sweet soup and the refreshing mango-pomelo sweet soup. It also does newfangled items, including durian pancakes and glutinous rice dumplings dusted with desiccated coconut and filled with fresh mango. In the summer, don’t miss out on the wide selection of cooling grass jelly creations.

On the 101st floor of the ICC building, Inakaya flaunts a jaw-dropping, bird’s-eye city view and an equally extravagant interior, the highlight of which is a robatayaki (Japanese equivalent of barbecue) room, where a long counter is adorned with baskets of fresh ingredients. Because robatayaki is served in bite-size morsels, prices can add up, but it’s a fun and unique experience.

Expert in the art of yakiniku (grilled meats), Iroha stocks top-quality ingredients for its tabletop grills. Many go for the premium Wagyu beef selection, but the seafood choices are also worth trying. The thick-sliced salted beef tongue is legendary.

This might not be the prettiest restaurant you’ve ever seen, but its panfried beef patties (translated as “veal goulash” on the menu) are incredibly delicious. The browned pastry packets arrive at the table piping hot and bursting with tender minced beef—good luck stopping after just one.

Located within the International Finance Center, Isola’s floor-to-ceiling windows and harborside terrace afford spectacular views of Hong Kong’s famous skyline. The restaurant serves regional Italian fare, with selections like hand-twisted pasta with Parma ham, black truffle, fava beans, and Norcia cheese, or sea bass baked in sea-salt crust. Don't pass up the simple and well-executed stone-baked pizzas. Isola is also as much of a nighttime destination as anything else, and it’s worth coming just to sample cocktails in the equally trendy Isobar upstairs.

British celebrity-chef Jamie Oliver’s first Hong Kong venture may have had a slow start, but its heart is in the right place. The restaurant offers casual, unpretentious Italian cuisine with a heavy emphasis on sustainable, responsibly sourced ingredients. The menu follows the blueprint set out by other Jamie’s Italian outlets around the world. House favorites include hearty sharing planks loaded with cured meats, cheeses, pickles, and greens. Other familiar dishes include the famous prawn linguine.

The food at Jaspa's is delicious and filling, perfect after a day walking in the hills or enjoying the beach. The international menu is wide-ranging enough to satisfy all tastes. The chicken and Peking duck fajitas arrive on your table sizzling hot; grilled snapper with Asian herbs and Parmesan-crusted rack of lamb are also delicious. Enjoy your meal indoors or opt for a table on the alfresco terrace.

The space is dingy, the tables are cramped, and the staff is brash—but the food makes it all worth it. Kam Fung has been around for more than five decades, serving traditional Hong Kong café fare such as crumbly crusted freshly baked egg tarts, and pineapple buns wedged with a thick slab of butter. Wash everything down with the velvety smooth milk tea after a meal that’s cheap, quick, and absolutely satisfying.

Anyone seeking an authentic hot-pot experience need look no farther than Ko Lau Wan. Locals flock here for the tender beef and seafood that you cook at your table in a piping-hot pot of broth. The soup selection is quite extensive, but the satay broth and the fish stock with crab are particularly tasty. The owner comes from a fishing village in the New Territories, so there’s no wonder the cuttlefish, shrimp balls, sea urchin, amberjack, and abalone are all so tantalizingly fresh. The adventurous should try the geoduck, a giant clam popular among Hong Kongers, which can be eaten raw with soy sauce and wasabi or slightly cooked in soup.

Health-conscious diners will appreciate the simple Shanghainese vegetarian food served at this popular restaurant in the One Peking Road tower. The menu revels in its vegetarianism, rather than trying to emulate meat; highlights include the Golden Treasure Cold Platter, which includes delicious sweet gluten with mushrooms; the Shanghai-style cold noodles with seven different sauces; and bean-curd dumplings. Good, too, are the sweet panfried cakes. Set-price meals are incredibly cheap, but beware the high prices on the à la carte menu.

Joël Robuchon, one of the world's most iconic chefs, claims that his atelier (or “artist’s workshop”) is for contemporary casual dining. Diners sit on barstools around a counter designed like a modern Japanese sushi bar so that everyone can watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen.

This French-owned spot specializes in authentic, thin Breton crêpes filled with all sorts of sweet or savory fillings. Most of the clientele is French, which is a good indication of the authenticity of the food. Fillings for these made-fresh-to-order pancakes range from traditional to experimental; La Complète buckwheat galette is loaded with a classic combination of egg, ham, and deliciously gooey melted cheese, while L’Italienne has tomato, mozzarella cheese, anchovies, and olives. The dessert crêpe selection is just as wide-ranging. La Crêperie also carries a delicious apple cider—the traditional drink of choice for accompanying galettes in Brittany.

In homage to the iconic Relais de Venise restaurant in Paris, this intimate neighborhood brasserie offers only one entrée: steak frites. A typical dinner here includes a green salad, a perfectly grilled entrecôte steak, and unlimited refills of crispy, stick-thin fries. It’s probably one of the best deals in town. But if that’s not enough food for you, you can always pick up something from the dessert trolley, which features traditional confections such as éclairs and mille-feuilles.

You can identify Lab Made by the large crowd that’s usually gathered in front of the store. They come for the super-smooth, house-spun ice cream, which is made using liquid nitrogen. The freezing process takes only a minute, which is why everything can be made to order using the freshest ingredients. There are usually only a handful of flavors to choose from, and the menu changes on a weekly basis. If available, go for one of the Hong Kong–inspired flavors, such as bean-curd pudding or sweet red-bean soup.

Foodies were understandably excited when this iconic French patisserie set up shop in Hong Kong. Its pastel-colored macarons come in a rainbow of flavors, such as classic rose and sea-salt caramel. You can enjoy these delectable confections in the sit-down tearoom, or take them to go in one of the gorgeous pastry boxes.

Visit this outdoor stall for authentic Chinese desserts. Sweet soups made with red bean or ground black sesame are served in both hot and chilled versions. Warmed, chewy, glutinous rice balls heaped with sugar, crushed peanuts, and desiccated coconut are messy but delicious.

Bubble-shaped egg waffles are a local specialty in Hong Kong, and Lee Keung Kee offers a delicious version. The waffles here are crisp on the outside but soft and cottony on the inside.

This two-level restaurant and bar serves modern American food with fine-dining execution and finesse. The menu offers small sharing plates and includes refined yet hearty creations such as crabmeat and chorizo mac and cheese, or buttermilk-fried cornish hen served with organic honey. The team behind Liberty Exchange also runs a reservations-only kitchen near Lan Kwai Fong called Liberty Private Works, which offers a more personal (and more expensive) experience.

Off Sai Kung’s main drag, this hidden gem stands out as one of the finer seafood joints for those in the know. Unlike its big and boisterous competitors, this tiny store has no flashy fish tanks outside and the number of seats is extremely limited, so it’s best to book in advance. The food, however, is a cut above the rest. Try the fish soup—a milky-white broth with a hint of sweetness. There’s also the famous deep-fried abalone dusted in chili and salt. Aside from seafood, Loaf On also serves an amazing deep-fried tofu dish that’s crisp and golden on the outside and silken, soft, and supple in the center.

The giant tropical-fish tank at the entrance sets the scene, and, as the name suggests, lobster is the featured ingredient on the menu. It’s whipped into soups, served as appetizers, and presented in full glory in numerous entrées. The lobster bisque is creamy yet light, with great chunks of meat at the bottom. The seafood platter—Boston lobster, seasonal oysters, Alaskan crab, prawns, and fresh clams—doesn’t disappoint. If you prefer your shellfish cooked, go for the lobster thermidor or a simple steamed preparation. With a vibe that is at once formal and cozy, the restaurant is also great for before- or after-dinner drinks at the bar and features live jazz performances Monday to Saturday evening.

Hidden inside the famous Stanley Market, this warm, intimate eatery is rarely discovered by tourists. You may feel like you’ve walked into someone’s house when you enter the dining room, but Lucy’s is a professionally run restaurant offering excellent home-cooked dishes made from the freshest ingredients. The menu has a Mediterranean slant and often features light salads and grilled meats or fish. Desserts, especially the pecan pudding, are not to be missed. More upscale than most of the beachside restaurants in Stanley, and with lots more character, Lucy’s is a perfect end to a relaxed day browsing in the market, and easily your best bet in Stanley.

Dubbed Little Thailand, Kowloon City is home to some of the best Thai restaurants in town. Lung Jie is one of the more popular choices, and for good reason—the food is excellent and the flavors are authentic. The extensive menu covers all the basics, from stir-fried pad thai noodles to hot-and-sour tom yum soup. For something a little more adventurous, try the raw prawns, which are topped with garlic and chilies and served with a deliciously spicy dipping sauce on the side.

Inspired by New York’s 2nd Avenue Deli, with a gleaming tiled interior to match, Main St. Deli introduced traditional Big Apple neighborhood favorites to Hong Kong and found immediate popularity with visitors and locals alike. It continues to make lunch favorites such as pastrami on rye and hot corned-beef sandwiches. Reuben sandwiches and matzo-ball soup satisfy homesick New Yorkers. On the drinks side, kids can indulge in the wide variety of milk shakes, while the grown-ups enjoy the selection of American microbrews.