If you’ve been waiting to visit Hong Kong, now’s the time to go. The city is currently home to the world’s top-ranked bar and the number one hotel, according to The World’s 50 Best, an organization that takes such things seriously. So, there’s plenty to do for the adventurous and thirsty traveler.

Across my visits, including a recent trip for The World’s 50 Best Bars event, I sampled as many drinks at as many bars as I could. I’ve been fortunate to travel through top cocktail cities like New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, and Seoul, and Hong Kong ranks right up there with the best. Neon reflections shimmer off skyscrapers, and twisting alleys hide whole worlds behind unmarked doors. Drinking here is practically a civic sport, and within a few city blocks you can travel from aperitivo dens to avant-garde cocktail labs to casual mezcal bars. So I did just that, covering a lot of ground in the process. These are the 10 best cocktail bars in Hong Kong.

Bar Leone

Lorenzo Antinori is the man behind Bar Leone, the world’s current top-ranked bar. He channels the spirit of a classic Italian neighborhood joint, then gives it an upgrade via “cocktail popolari,” or cocktails for the people. One of my favorites is the Olive Oil sour made with bourbon, Italian brandy, oloroso sherry, olive oil, lemon, and egg white. It’s somehow light and rich at the same time, and the texture is incredible. The bar also serves a great mortadella sandwich and house-smokes its own olives. Those olives make a fine snack or a garnish for the bar’s Dirty Martini, which is better than just about every other Dirty Martini.

Argo

Four Seasons is responsible for an impressive collection of bars around the world. Hong Kong’s Argo is no exception. The gorgeous, futuristic-looking back bar opens to reveal a display of spotlit bottles, and the bar team makes some of the city’s most elegant drinks. One surprising example is just called “grapes!” and features the humble fruit in each component: VSOP cognac, pisco, grape mead, acidified white port, and vine caramel. I’ll never take grapes for granted again, but I will get back to Argo as soon as possible.

Coa

Hong Kong isn’t where you expect to find a top-notch mezcal bar, but the city does so many things well; why not agave spirits? Coa, which is named for the machete-like tool used to harvest agave, was opened in 2017 by Jay Khan. He became enamored with mezcal after visiting traditional palenques in Mexico and decided to bring the spirit to Hong Kong, and he’s been instrumental in growing mezcal’s reputation and availability in the city. Coa has become a regular on the 50 Best list, and Khan has since opened a second location in Shanghai.

Penicillin

Penicillin is one of Hong Kong’s most sustainability-focused cocktail bars, built around a closed-loop philosophy that minimizes waste at every stage of service. The team repurposes food scraps, ferments leftover ingredients, and produces many in-house elements, from vinegars to distilled flavor extracts. The approach is technical but practical, and the drinks are structured and balanced rather than needlessly experimental. The lab-like interior really hammers home the point that science has been revolutionary, from antibiotics to (arguably less important) cocktails.

The Savory Project

The Savory Project is, like the name implies, dedicated to savory drinks. The menu leans into ingredients more commonly found in kitchens, including tomatoes, mushrooms, herbs, and cheese. One drink is modeled after a Thai Beef Salad, and many are presented with detailed garnishes—on our last visit, we got a dehydrated, candied bell pepper ring. The room itself is tiny, but you can always expect good drinks, good music, and a crowd willing to try something outside the box.

Darkside

The world’s top-ranked hotel needs a good bar. So inside the Rosewood Hong Kong, there’s DarkSide, a good-looking ode to spirits and classic cocktails, with some live jazz for good measure. The back bar includes a large selection of whiskeys, brandies, rums, and other dark spirits, so you can skip cocktails entirely and just focus on sipping something neat. But those cocktails are creative and thoughtful, made with high-end ingredients and precise execution.

Gokan

Shingo Gokan is one of the most influential names in bars. He’s the man behind Tokyo’s SG Club, New York’s Sip & Guzzle, and several popular bars in Shanghai. His eponymous bar, Gokan, opened in Hong Kong in 2024, and it quickly became one of the city’s best cocktail joints. Gokan conveniently means “five senses” in Japanese, so the bar explores sight, taste, smell, touch, and even hearing across its menu.

Quinary

Open since 2012, Quinary has long been associated with Hong Kong’s more technical, multi-sensory approach to cocktails. Drinks often incorporate elements such as foams, infused aromas, gels, or temperature contrasts, developed through lots of prep and lab-style equipment like centrifuges and rotovaps. One drink I loved is the Ruby Rouge, which features sous-vide oysters, sesame-infused vodka, gin, and sherry, and shallot vinegar. It’s incredibly complex and flavorful while remaining balanced, which is what Quinary is all about.

The Opposites

Across the Opposites’ menu, cofounders Antonio Lai (Quinary) and Samuel Kwok present two versions of a similar drink. Each is responsible for one version of, for example, a Paloma or a Pimm’s Cup. One might be more classic-leaning while the other is more experimental, or one could be more spirit-forward while the other is lighter. It’s a fun way to see how the bartenders’ minds work, and on my visit, it meant sipping one Pimm’s Cup made with strawberry and shiso and then another made with tomato water, strawberry caviar, and cucumber air.

Mostly Harmless

Besides just a great name, Mostly Harmless is a minimalist, omakase-style bar that takes a seasonal and ingredient-led approach to its menu. The drinks change regularly but typically highlight produce, herbs, and lighter flavor structures, like in the excellent Tomato Martini. Another fun example was a recent drink that called for red and golden beets, corn, and honey, and could be made alcoholic or not, per the guest’s preference. For a while, Mostly Harmless operated as a no-alcohol bar, but fear not, alcohol is back.