This was asked by Meaninglesskiss on another thread but buried in between four other questions, and I think it deserves its own thread:

4) Any good NON-mongering bars to chill out at? As I'll be with a group of work colleagues so some nice normal places would be awesome. Hotel bar not covered by expenses so we definitely don't want to drink there

Here are the list of my favorite chill bars around, by neighborhood. A couple of them are pricey but other factors put them on the list.

TST:

The Tsim Sha Tsui nightlife spot is two blocks of Ashley Road, between Haiphong and Peking roads. Of these, Castros is fun and reasonable. It's up on the second floor of the corrner of Ashley and Ichang, and has big windows so you can look down on the street and people watch.

Felix: 28th floor of the Peninsula hotel. NOT a bargain, but who cares. Go for one martini, then go for cheaper drinks down the road at Castros. This bar has one of the most spectacular views around. Sweeping views of Victoria Harbor, really fantastic. Great place to take a date, great place to watch the light show. If you had a short trip to HK and had time to go to just one bar, this is the one I'd recommend.

Wan Chai:

The Wanch. 54 Jaffe, near Fenwick. The Wanch wins for the great live music. Often no cover charge. Unpretentious and fun, very different vibe than the rest of Wan Chai.

The Pawn. 62 Johnston Road. Isn't really a bargain, except for their good happy hour deal. Lots of fun! Up on the second floor of a former pawnshop, has excellent pub food and great beers. Definitely an expat hangout as it evokes a British pub a lot better than other contenders.

Central:

Sevva: (top floor Prince's Building) Although not cheap at all, and the interior part is pretty lame, like Felix, Sevva is another bar with a spectacular outdoor space. It's near this bowl of space surrounded by big bank buildings, and you're halfway up the heigh of the HSBC and Bank of China so it really feels like an eagles nest. Great place, ignore the trendy crowd.

Red: (top of IFC Mall) outdoors on top of the IFC mall, its nice since it doesn't have pushy servers and is very social. Good spot for a quick after work drink.

Lan Kwai Fong: NO, just no. There is barely anything here not overrun by tourists. One of the things we're looking for is chill, right? Not 2011 discopop at earblleed levels? Let the haters hate, and call me wrong on this. I just think there are too many great bars in the immediate vicinity of LKF than to actually go in to the places there.

Example of better right next to LKF: Blk Brd, 8 Lyndhurst Terrace. Nice little whiskey bar steps away from LKF. Not the cheapest, but a reminder of what makes HK unique. Oh and this one is classy too.

Shueng Wan:

The Press Room. Hollwyood road near the Man Moh Temple. Chill, maybe a bit too expat. But good wine bar on the street level and good people watching here.


Other people please chime in with your faves I would like to hear too!

I used to frequent Red. It gets pretty busy but the benefit is that there's a lot of outdoor open space since it's on the IFC Mall terrace (5th floor I think -- It's the highest level that you can reach by escalator). Red is owned by the Pure Group (of Pure Fitness) so expect expensive prices (and also because this is IFC Mall and Central). There's also another bar that's tiny if you go west instead of east towards Red. I think there are 10-12 bars/restaurants in or just outside IFC Mall.

I used to spend my lunches at the terrace outside Red. Free seats with a great view of the harbour. It was surprisingly never busy at lunch. I guess either not many people know about it or it was too far to walk to.