New bars to try in Hong Kong this November

Mong Kok's The Madhouse Taproom – a beer bar offering 20 draft taps of craft beers and a bottle selection from around the world – branched out to Causeway Bay with the opening of their new taproom, The Madhouse CWB, decked in a Carnival themed interior design. The new beer den is offering a variety of limited-edition dessert dark beer – available in Asia for the first time – from the Amundsen Bryggeri winery from Oslo, Norway. Grab any of Amundsen's Dessert in a Can beers or enjoy a draft beer on the tap which includes a Rocky Road Ice Cream, Blueberry Pancake, and Neapolitan Ice Cream. For beer lovers with a penchant for whisky, you can indulge in Bourbon Aged Whiskey in Barrel Dark Beers available in three different flavours – rocky road ice cream, sea salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter caramel crisp jam doughnut.

Bar veterans and founders of The Old Man Agung Prabowo and Roman Ghale have finally opened the highly-anticipated Penicillin in Central. Touted as the first eco-conscious bar in Hong Kong, the cocktail menu, titled You Gotta Sustain it, is divided into three sections and focuses on locally sourced or upcycled ingredients and stays as authentic as possible to the flavours of Hong Kong. The menu includes a Penicillin section highlighting a series of drinks inspired by the original Penicillin cocktail, offering cocktails like Something Clear ($90) – infused with goat's milk whiskey, clarified citrus, ginger honey wine, and a smoky flame – and Foraged and Found ($90) – made with locally foraged ingredients such as wild oregano and gooseberry. For the more adventurous, there's an On-and-Off section, a rotating selection of cocktails made with seasonal local farm produce and ingredients. The last part of the menu offers non-alcoholic Organic Ferments, which highlights Penicillin's selection of fermented ingredients. 

Dead & (pronounced "dead end") is the latest bar co-venture by bar industry veteran's Agung Prabowo and Roman Ghale. Located at the end of Wo On Lane in Lan Kwai Fong, the new watering hole is a traditional dive bar offering affordable drinks and a party vibe that can spill out onto the streets of LKF and to the amphitheatre next door. According to Agung, the bar aims to compete with 'club 7-Eleven' more than the bars in the surrounding area as cheap booze is good at attracting hordes of Hongkongers to LKF.  

Honky Tonks Tavern is a restaurant, wine and cocktail bar from the group behind Shady Acres with Ryan Nightingale and Mike Watt. Taking over Les Fils à Maman's former location in Man Hing Lane, Honky Tonks Tavern is backed by familiar fixtures from the F&B scene. Behind the bar is Edgarito Santillan (formerly Terrible Baby) and Adam Schmidt (formerly PDT), while chef Andrew Mast (formerly Chinched, Newfoundland, Canada) is in the kitchen, with Matt Richardson (formerly Ho Lee Fook and Aaharn) managing the front of the house.

Expect servings of Nashville hot chicken, non-classic thin pizzas, and a variety of nostalgic American grub that can be paired with Australian natural lo-fi wines. For easy-breezy, happy hours, the cocktail programme will include long drinks, spritzes, and highballs that people can enjoy at the large u-shaped bar. 

After closing down their original venue last September, Tap - The Ale Project reopened their taproom just two doors down from its previous location, on Hak Po Street in Mong Kok. The new taproom, which is no so different from the previous Tap, offers casual vibes with 18 craft beer taps to choose from, as well as a revamped food menu that includes new dishes and fan favourites from the past. The new interior remains stripped back to better showcase the beer taps themselves and feature everything from locally brewed beers to experimental beers fermented with a cocktail of wild yeasts.

Located in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui East's waterfront, Boticario aims to transport cocktail lovers to 1920s Buenos Aires, a time when Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world. This new cocktail den features a two-level cocktail bar and grill with both indoor and al fresco seating. Staying true to the theme, the bar's cocktail menu combines the herbal healing traditions of South America's pharmacies with the timeless heritage of spirit botanicals while the food on offer showcases Mediterranean and Latin dishes. Expect a menu of craft spirits and drinks made with homemade sodas, phosphates (citrus substitute), tonics, tinctures, and infusions. 

Enjoy coffee by day and cocktails by night at Tin Hau's newly-opened cafe and bar Superhooman. Located next to boutique hotel Tuve, this new hangout spot features a pan-Asian food menu and craft cocktails created by consulting bartender Shelley Tai (bar manager of Singapore bar Nutmeg & Clove). The cocktail programme offers eight signature drinks ($118/order) three of which are served on draught. Cocktails include a riff on a classic espresso martini, Superhooman Espressotini, a herbal sour Wake-Up-Call, and a fruity take on the classic aperitif, Rhubarb Negroni. 

Another recent opening joining the lineup of bars in Tsim Sha Tsui East is Avenue 75, an intimate cocktail bar and restaurant serving Asian-inspired tapas and craft cocktails. Helmed by bartender Shane Siu – who is also the creative mind and hands behind the venue's wall paintings – the cocktail programme takes inspirations from the famous artworks of masters such as French artist Paul Cézanne, Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, and Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Severinovich Malevich. Sample cocktails like the pandan-flavoured Diamond Black, coffee-laced Poker Soul, and creamy concoction See My Pearl, among others.