Good coffee, great service, and beautiful interiors – these are the elements that make an exceptional cafe. Thanks to a years-long boom in artisanal coffee, Hong Kong has no shortage of places to get a high-quality caffeine fix, with a side of beautifully presented food options and interiors begging for the Instagram treatment. We searched high and low to find the best cafes in Hong Kong for work, play, or just watching time slip away.
Caffè Parabolica
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With the peaceful ocean breeze and surrounding flora and fauna, dining at Caffé Parabolica is the pinnacle of tranquility. Enjoy your meal knowing that every detail had been considered with care, from the textural contrasts of digging into their Mango Buckwheat Roll to the descriptions written on the menu. Favourable surroundings calls for an alfresco experience, so why not grab a coffee at their Bakeshop next door and let the sun soak away all your worries.
Shops 106A & 107A, G/F, The, 109 Repulse Bay Rd, Repulse Bay
Between
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Between opened its doors in picturesque Tai Kwun. The shop’s wooden interiors create a rustic yet modern feel, and provide the ideal ambience for either work or play, while light spills into the space via floor-to-ceiling windows that open up onto a terrace. The space was designed to “ruminate over uncomplicated fare,” with culture and community in mind. Drinks range from espressos to iced chocolate, turmeric lattes, and espresso martinis, with an equally diverse selection of food, including strawberry cream sandos and Hokkaido uni pasta.
2/F, JC Contemporary, 10 Hollywood Road, Tai Kwun, Central; between.life
Halfway Coffee
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Nestled between haphazard heaps of memorabilia on Cat Street, selling jade bracelets and vintage posters, is this contemporary Chinese coffee shop. Inside, it’s all brushed and exposed concrete, antique school tables and retro lamps, while a spacious area outside hums with the energy of the surrounding market stalls. Good, strong coffee is served in eclectic porcelain cups, while old-school glasses hold cold brews. There’s a short menu of delicious sweet and savoury food that’s presented exquisitely.
12 Tung St, Sheung Wan; facebook.com/halfwaycoffeehk
APT coffee
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This bamboo-fronted coffee shop on Moon Street is a minimalist delight. The space is sleek and white-washed, and offers customised coffee tailoring — decide between a nutty or fruity blend, various milk options, the temperature and foam volume of your brew. The menu lists ‘toast tailoring’ too, with diners able to choose the number of toppings, type of bread (either sourdough or fig and walnut), and spread.
2-12 Moon Street, Wanchai; apt-coffee.com
Fineprint
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This Australian-run coffee shop has expanded to 5 locations across Hong Kong Island. All are unpretentious spots that offer a range of single origin coffees all roasted by Fineprint, including a signature Peel Street Espresso Blend, and make everything in house from sourdough to jams and ricotta. Find plenty of Aussie favourites including avo toast and smashed eggs. Fineprint also stir up cocktails in the evening, with a new cocktail experience designed by James Barker who won Hong Kong Bartender of the Year in 2016.
1/F Three Exchange Square; 38 Peel St, Central; 12 South Ln, Shek Tong Tsui; 14 Second St, Sai Ying Pun; 1 Lily St, Tai Hang; fineprint.hk
Blue Bottle
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California-import Blue Bottle Coffee recently opened on Lyndhurst Terrace, bringing Hong Kong fresh brews that promise to use beans that are less than 48 hours out of the roasters. They’re sold in a 3,000-square-foot space, designed in collaboration with Japan’s Schemata Architects, that has an industrial minimalist feel with two floors of brushed concrete, stainless steel and marble, sleek wooden tables and mid-century modern furnishings. Try the much-lauded New Orleans-style iced coffee flavoured with chicory, and order from a menu of pastries and open-top sandwiches.
Blue Bottle Coffee, 38-42 Lyndhurst Terrace, G/F & 1/F, Central, Hong Kong; bluebottlecoffee.com
Neighbourhood Coffee
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From the team behind Halfway Coffee is another super-sleek coffee shop, this time for Aberdeen and Repulse Bay locals. Interiors are once again smart but eclectic featuring a mix of old and new, with earthy tones of wood and stone, purple acrylic chairs and plants, while books about Hong Kong history are displayed around the shop, local magazines adorn the walls and hawthorn flakes are stacked in glass jars. Neighbourhood’s food menu is short and sweet but what it does do is delicious, and it’s strong brews are served on stylish ceramic coasters.
Shop No.2, G/F Abba Center, 223-227 Aberdeen Main Road, Hong Kong; F, Shop B4, G, 35 Beach Rd, Repulse Bay; facebook.com
Tai Wo Tang
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Built in the 1920s, this Guangzhou-style pre-war tenement building in Kowloon City was formerly the Dahetang Ginseng Medicine Shop. Since 1937, it’s been providing free medical consultations for everyone, including celebrities and politicians, until it officially closed in 2017. It’s since been turned into a coffee shop but many of the traditional features remain — most noticeably the 100-year-old Baizi cabinet and gold sign outside. Order one of Tai Wo Tang’s signature lattes flavoured with Earl grey and honey or perhaps, as this is a former-medicine shop after all, one of its vitality teas.
G/F, 24 Nga Tsin Long Road, Kowloon City
Winstons Coffee
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With alfresco bar seating and an eye-catching marquee board reminiscent of an old-fashioned cinema, the Tai Hang branch of Australian-style cafe Winstons Coffee makes for the perfect neighbourhood gathering place; either for people-watching with an affogato and pistachio biscotti in hand, or munching on their signature matcha-infused egg tart.
4 King St, Tai Hang ; winstonscoffee.com
NOC Sai Ying Pun
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Focusing on reinterpreted coffee drinks and health-oriented food offerings, the airy, industrial-chic surrounds of NOC (which stands for Not Only Coffee) make for a focused, minimalist coffee experience. Watch your pour-over being prepared at the open bar, before making your way over to admire the hulking Giesen coffee roaster. We recommend the Fizzpresso for its acidic kick, paired with a hearty shakshuka served in a cast-iron skillet.
321 Des Voeux Road West, Sai Ying Pun; noccoffeeco.com
Coffee & Laundry
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Undeniably one of the city’s most unconventional caffeine-oriented ventures, Coffee & Laundry combines (you guessed it) a cafe with a self-service laundromat, while serving as an unlikely platform for the local creative scene. The wood-panelled interior was designed by carpentry outfit Start From Zero, and the coffee cups have featured artwork by much-loved illustrators Little Thunder and Don Mak. Grab a signature Shakerato and sit with the cool kids out front while you wait for your wash cycle to finish.
1 Queen Street, Sheung Wan
The Cupping Room Roastery
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Founded in 2011, The Cupping Room is responsible for winning a fair share of Hong Kong’s barista awards, including 2nd place at the 2014 World Barista Championship, and today is spread across several locations throughout the city. We’re partial to the Roastery which, nestled in sleepy Po Hing Fong, roasts its single-origin beans on location. The food menu also boasts a strong offering of pastas.
62-72 Po Hing Fong, Sheung Wan; cuppingroom.hk
% Arabica Monster Mansion
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Founded in Kyoto, global artisanal coffee company %Arabica opened its fourth Hong Kong location at Quarry Bay’s Yick Fat Building, known colloquially as ‘Monster Mansion’ for its dystopian density which has made it the darling of Instagram and Hollywood alike. The interior of the cafe pairs %Arabica’s penchant for white-washed, minimalist decor with a mirrored ceiling that reflects the vertical display of burlap coffee bags, creating a vertigo-inducing effect. This, however, is nothing that their iced latte, using beans sourced from their farm in Kona, Hawaii, won’t fix.
Shop 3, G/F, Yick Fat Building, 1048-1056 King’s Road, Quarry Bay; arabica.hk
Omotesando Koffee
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The second Hong Kong branch of the cult Tokyo cafe Omotesando Koffee is situated in one of the calmer parts of Wan Chai, removed from the tourist bustle of its first location on Lee Tung Avenue and making for an altogether more chill atmosphere. Their 12-hour cold drip makes for a smooth, balanced drink, while a recently-launched food menu offers Japanese dishes, such as perfectly cuboid egg sandwiches.
33 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
NINETYs
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Staffed by painfully cool baristas working within a high-ceilinged, concrete-washed space in Wan Chai, NINETYs serves some of the most inspired Australian-style all-day dishes alongside a solid selection of coffee. The lobster benedict is an extravagant take on a classic, while the octopus barley salad elevates cafe dining to new levels.
222 Queen’s Road East
Elixir
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Stopped on the steps of Sheung Wan’s Mee Lun Street, Elixir combines a boutique concept with a coffee counter for a zen, boundary-crossing spatial experience. Lactose-intolerants can rejoice – the cafe offers almond, soy and macadamia milk substitutes from MILKLAB free of charge – while the osmanthus-infused cold brew tonic makes for a refreshing change.
9 Mee Lun Street, Sheung Wan
UNAR Coffee Company
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You’ll know you’ve found UNAR Coffee Company thanks to an expansive swivel door that denotes the entrance to this narrow yet delightfully plant-filled space. Its lack of seating, however, necessitates customers to enjoy their Italian coffee out on the street in a convivial crowd, all the better to appreciate Tai Hang’s quirky neighbourhood character.
15 Sun Chun Street, Causeway Bay
Le Goûter
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In cursive penmanship, the French-style cafe offers a warm greeting to everyone that steps in with “Salut toi” (“Hey you”) written out on their fan scallop mosaic floor. Situated right by the Kennedy town pier, the black-and-white themed cafe has become quite the Instagram sensation, but their pastries live up to the hype just as much as their interior design does. Founded by The Institut Disciples Escoffier graduates, Le Goûter does a decadent saint honoré, fragrant canelé and a range of savoury and sweet delights.
98 Catchick St, Kennedy Town
Wanaka
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Beloved vegetarian restaurant Years opens sister restaurant Wanaka in Blue House’s open space. Supporting local farmers, the restaurant serves up plant based whole foods in their peaceful Japanese-style oasis – a nice escape from bustling Wanchai. A notable mention goes to the “Smoked Spicy Avocado & Pomelo Sushi” that makes use of local organic okra from the Yisheng Farm in Kam Tin. With tall green umbrellas and wooden seating outside, diners can enjoy a nice meal in the sun with the company of puppies that frequent the pet-friendly space.
8 King Sing Street, Blue House,Wan Chai
JOMO Wanchai
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JOMO joins the robust coffee scene in Wanchai with their newest branch. As always the popular chiffon cakes remain a cornerstone of the menu, but their savoury options are also sure to impress including homemade pastas and a tempting rendition of the Hong Kong classic, the Iberico Bettota Barbecued Pork Rice. For those with dietary restrictions, a few vegetarian and vegan options are also available so nobody misses out.
23 Queen’s Rd E, Wan Chai
Allez Coffee
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Named “go on” in French, this retro-styled cafe is complete with ‘80s TV sets, old records and a turntable, bringing vintage flair to their little corner of Shek Kip Mei. Popular among visitors are the wide range of bagels of innovative flavours like the “Soft chocolate mochi bagel” and “Earl grey bagel with cheese milk cap”. But beyond bagels, the owners take their coffee very seriously as seen by them renting the space next door to accommodate their own coffee roaster. Check their Instagram for updates on the bean of the month.
Shop 2-3, G/F, Fook Tin Building, 38 Wai Chi Street, Shek Kip Mei
