Few cities anywhere can match its dramatic natural setting, iconic skyline and cultural diversity, but for those still looking for a reason to visit Hong Kong, it is hands-down one of the world’s very best places to eat.
From humble local dumpling, noodle and roast meat spots with steamed-up windows beckoning you in, all the way through to a veritable galaxy of Michelin stars, Hong Kong dazzles locals and visitors alike with the breadth, style, and brilliance of its culinary scene.
Your biggest challenge in this neon-lit food wonderland? Somehow choosing where to eat. Now that the city is finally back open to all international visitors, there’s some catching up that you’re going to have to do as well if you’re returning for the first time since Covid-19 lockdowns began. So while places like Arcane, Simon Rogan’s Aulis HK, and Lung King Heen are still great dining destinations, we wanted to show you the new places you’ve missed while you’ve been away. Here are the 11 best new restaurants in Hong Kong to open the last few years.
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Rosita
Agustin Balbi and Ricardo Chaneton are two of Hong Kong’s most talented and exciting chefs, hailing from Argentina and Venezuela respectively. Their own restaurants Ando and Mono offer sublime relaxed fine dining, but the great friends have also teamed up to open Rosita in the city’s Wan Chai district. Celebrating new Latin American cuisine with influences from Japan and France, the tasting menu starts with traditional arepas paired with chicken liver mousse and aji amarillo butter. Their twist on ceviche—by using a base of passion fruit—wows the palate, while a lobster stew combines decadence with family-style comfort. Don’t miss their flawless churros with a show-stopping dulce de leche dip to finish.
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Castellana
Hong Kong already boasts an astonishing number of Italian restaurants, but the city’s appetite for the country’s cuisine seems insatiable. Castellana sits in the heart of Central district and reminds why Piedmont is a culinary powerhouse thanks to menus from chef Romero Morelli, which meld creativity and tradition. Lunch is a big draw for the local business crowd, but dinner sees couples, friends, and families kicking back with wines from a list including more than 300 labels from Piedmont alone. The “60-degree Contemporary Minestrone” cleverly reimagines the classic soup, while another plate pairs premium Wagyu with fermented green grapes. Trust us, it really works.
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Agora
Spanish chef Antonio Oviedo continues to pack in the diners at his brilliant tapas joint 22 Ships, but now the full expression of his repertoire comes into play at Agora. Located in the striking heritage development of Tai Kwun in the heart of downtown Hong Kong Island, Agora lets him push the boundaries across beautifully executed à la carte and tasting menus. Standouts at dinner include the sensational soccarat which celebrates the crispy, crunchy part of paella and also mar y muntanya, a Catalan take on surf and turf with sea cucumber and morcilla, a blood sausage. The real delicacy of percebes, an expensive barnacle from Spain’s rocky coastlines, are another must-try.
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Mora
One of the leading lights in Hong Kong’s dining scene, chef Vicky Lau holds two Michelin stars for her thoughtful, beautiful dishes which combine the best of French and Chinese cuisine at Tate Dining Room. A recent new opening celebrates the often underestimated world of soybeans, a true pan-Asian staple, in their myriad incarnations. That translates in the tasting menu into highlights such as house made mapo tofu, where the spiced, silky tofu is paired with Brittany lobster, although the hero ingredient changes with the seasons. Elsewhere a cold udon noodle comes with chicken marinated in fermented chili and bean curd to truly surprise the palate.
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BaseHall 02
A high-end food court may not be an obvious choice when you have a limited number of dining windows, but BaseHall 02 offers an eclectic range of cuisines from iconic Hong Kong eateries through to serious fine dining. Thirteen separate concepts vie for your business, but we recommend trying a number of famed local spots. Kamcentre Roast Goose live up to their name with brilliant Hong Kong barbecue, Ah Chun Shandong Dumplings have been crafting handmade dumplings for decades, while On Lee Noodle Shop serves up classic dishes from local diners known as cha chaan teng—such as noodles with springy fish balls or toast slathered with butter, peanut butter and Carnation evaporated milk. Oh yes.
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Chaat
Over the years, Hong Kong has had a long and proud history with Indian food but nowhere has been able to hold a candle to the technicolor, vibrant, and fragrant dishes from chef Manav Tuli at one Michelin-starred Chaat. Located in the towering Rosewood Hong Kong, affording beautiful harbor views from its terrace, Chaat flies the flag for India in real style and lives up to its name by celebrating humble street snacks as much as refined, slow-cooked classics. Anything from their vast tandoor ovens is a sure-fire winner—especially their black pepper chicken tikka—while Hyderabadi lamb shank melds caramelized onion, clove, cinnamon, and much more in a symphony of flavors. Book in as soon as your flights are confirmed—this is rightly one very popular spot.
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Francis West
Dining out in Hong Kong can often make you wince once the check arrives, so great value local spots are beloved by locals and in-the-know visitors alike. One of the very best is Francis West in the heart of Soho, a compact, friendly, and independent joint which celebrates the cuisine of the North African Maghreb, namely Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco. Across the menu this means plates such as Tunisian grilled salad, stone baked Moroccan flatbreads, cuttlefish with spicy harissa paste or brilliantly smoky lamb merguez sausages. To wrap, desserts are always light but on-point, while wines from across the coastal Mediterranean complete the picture of the perfect neighborhood local.
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Yakinikumafia
Hong Kong loves interactive dining—especially hotpot—but for carnivores it doesn’t get much better than the funky temple to beef Yakinikumafia in the city’s Sheung Wan district. The interior design channels an airport departures hall which is apt given that the finest Japanese Wagyu is flown in for discerning diners to cook at grill-your-own tables. A combo set lets you try a range of cuts from lean through fatty—all of which are decadently delicious—but our tip is to get an order of their incredible Japanese beef curry rice with the sharp, sweet crunch of house-made pickles. Their latest menu addition comes with Wagyujiskan which combines yakiniku grilling with shabu-shabu, namely Japanese hotpot with dipping sauces.
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Magistracy Dining Room
Nowhere in Hong Kong is the dining setting as elegant or storied as Magistracy Dining Room—a truly breath-taking place to eat, housed in what was Hong Kong’s Supreme Court until 1979. Inspired by “powerful London dining rooms”—and reflecting Hong Kong’s British colonial past—the menu comes from American chef Matthew Kirkley who led Chicago’s L2O and San Francisco’s Coi to two and three Michelin stars respectively. Stunning seafood is the highlight with no expense spared, from Petrossian Tsar Imperial grade caviar to Osiblue shrimp from New Caledonia or blue lobster from Brittany. Dover Sole, served meunière style with brown butter, parsley, and lemon, shows serious technical prowess.
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Hansik Goo
Any self-respecting gastronaut in Asia will tell you that chef Mingoo Kang is a humble culinary superstar, thanks in part to Michelin two-starred Mingles in Seoul. In Hong Kong, Hansik Goo has also become a must-visit for his dishes which show the versatile genius of contemporary Korean cuisine. Cool, minimalist and light interiors are the backdrop to dishes such as the beloved sea mollusk abalone crafted with pear, cucumber, pine nut, and a mustard sauce. Our favorite has long been his staggeringly tasty samgye risotto which has been on the menu since day one, a moist roulade of chicken leg and breast with a risotto cooked in classic Korean chicken and ginseng soup.
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Testina
Trippa Milano is one of Italy’s most beloved nose-to-tail restaurants, a Milan institution celebrating every part of the animal in a similar vein to London’s legendary St. John. They have partnered with a Hong Kong restaurant group to open Testina, a modern trattoria which has proven hugely popular, thanks in part to the love of tripe in Cantonese culture. Honeycomb beef tripe is deep fried to make for an incredible antipasto, while the whole roast pig’s head—Testina, in Italian—is lifted by a brilliant salsa verde and horseradish. Delicate pastas and a whole roasted Montoro onion with capers and tomatoes shows mastery of other more vegetable-forward dishes by chef Marco Xodo.
