10 Best Nightlife in Wan Chai

This super-stylish cocktail bar and restaurant is housed in one of the most famous colonial buildings in Wan Chai, which was left in a state of disrepair for a long time but is now back and drawing in the crowds. The upstairs terrace is split between a gastropub theme, where you can watch the trams rolling along Johnston Road, and a classier cocktail bar.

The Pawn wouldn’t seem out of place in the trendiest parts of SoHo and has prices to match (cocktails cost HK$90-120), but if you are looking for a bit more sophistication than your average bar in Wan Chai then this is the place.

Carnegies is a chilled pub on Lockhart Road which gets packed with the after-work crowd thanks to the excellent weekday happy hour between 6pm and 7pm, plus other daily specials. There’s also a full range of pub grub if you need to soak up all those happy hour drinks.

The lively bar area is a friendly place to drop into a friendly conversation, and with '70s and '80s classics on the stereo you could be in any western city – perfect for those times when you're missing a taste of home. On weekends, it can get fairly boisterous in Carnegies, no doubt helped by the longest shot menu in Hong Kong, with 336 separate items to choose from.

Every city has that one bar which is open later than all the others and in Hong Kong that bar is Joe Bananas. With an excellent live Filipino band rocking the stage and reasonably priced drinks, everyone overlooks the slightly sticky floor and lingering eyes from women seated around the dancefloor.

In truth, the modern reincarnation of this Wan Chai legend (the bar closed briefly and reopened in 2014) is far tamer than before, but it is still a fun, lively bar and the place to go when you can’t stand your night to end.

Despite the newer gastropubs and classy bars creeping into the area, the ageing bars on Lockhart Road are still an undeniable part of Wan Chai and it would be remiss to leave them out. They are easy to spot because of the gaudy neon signs and ladies sitting out front trying to bring customers in.

Whether this is a warning for where to avoid or a hint for where to check out, popular bars include Club Bunny, Cavalier and San Francisco. If you enter you’ll be encouraged to buy overpriced drinks in exchange for conversation while watching the dancing on stage.

Queen Victoria is a good old British boozer that offers a welcoming environment, with the regulars propping up the bar and probably the cheapest drinks in downtown Hong Kong.

Mondays are quiz nights at Queen Victoria, while weekends are given over to English football on the telly before a DJ plays rock and pop standards from any era. Located on Lockhart Road just a few minutes’ walk from Wan Chai MTR Station, this is one of the friendliest places in town.

Hong Kong isn’t short of rooftop bars but Wooloomooloo Steakhouse is the only one in Wan Chai, making it a logical choice for spending the night sipping cocktails, soaking up the sights and even indulging in some choice cuts of Australian steak.

Comprising a stylish dining room and open-air roof terrace, it’s possible to spend the whole night at Wooloomooloo Steakhouse. The view overlooking Happy Valley Racecourse in neighbouring Causeway Bay is not to be missed either.

If you fancy a night out on Lockhart Road but don’t want any seediness usually associated with this area of Wan Chai, then Coyote Mexican Bar and Grill is a great choice.

Try their frozen margaritas along with some great Tex-Mex finger food while you get down to the lively Latino tunes. Happy hour runs from 3pm to 8pm offering buy-one-get-one-free on all drinks.

Ultra-modish wine and tapas bar Ham & Sherry is fairly tucked away on Ship Street, but well worth the time to find it if you’re looking for something trendy in Wan Chai. It’s the newest establishment by Michelin-starred Chef Jason Atherton (who also has restaurants ‘22 Ships’ and ‘Aberdeen Street Social’ to his name) and is part restaurant, part bar, part Spanish taberna crossover. The food is fantastic, but so too is the extensive range of wines, Sherries and signature cocktails.