Best Ship Street Restaurants & Bars in Hong Kong

Consider this your ultimate guide to the best Hong Kong Ship Street restaurants and bars. 

Wan Chai is a wild place, and has been for decades. I love getting nitty and gritty at the dive bars in Wan Chai as much as the next guy, but sometimes it’s needed to remove yourself from the humanity and sin, and move things up a few streets. Over the years, Wan Chai has been quickly doing that, now boasting numerous hip, social, and quality bars and restaurants just a few streets up from the likes of Amazonia and Escape. Ship Street has become an absolute favorite of mine to eat AND drink on. 

In fact, it’s now my preferred area to hang out and drink at. Granted, it does not go all night like Lockhart Road and its immediate area. But, it’s just as fun – in its own way. And, you can tick off several places in a night if you’re looking for a short little pub crawl in Wan Chai. 

Below are two of the best ship street restaurants and bars in Hong Kong to start (and end) your night out at. Wait, let’s make that three, with an honorable mention.

22 Ships

Credit to 22 Ships’ Facebook page.

Serving up mouth-watering tapas and both red and white sangria (I didn’t even know white sangria was a thing), 22 Ships is the restaurant that first put Ship Street on the map as a destination for great food and drinks (as far as I’m concerned). If you’ve ever walked down Ship Street, you can’t miss it, as it boasts several outside stools facing an open window, bright white Christmas lights, and a vibe so enticing, you can’t help but look (or enter).  

While 22 Ships is quite small (only 35 seats), it sure doesn’t feel it, with it’s exposed front counter with seating and inevitable patron congregation on the street. This is literally “the restaurant” on Ship Street to be seen at. My biggest gripe with tapas is that I usually walk out feeling hungry. That’s not the case here.

From their Spanish breakfast (with potatoes and chorizo), to truffle toasties with quail egg), all the way to their white pork and foie gras burgers (with avocado and pickled cucumbers), you can’t go wrong (or hungry). My personal favorites include their salmon tartare, octopus with chili and garlic, and baby chicken with pine nut dressing. While my palate likely isn’t as refined (well, it’s not very refined at all) as even the average Labrador retriever, 22 Ships knows how to perfectly draw upon several types of textures and temperatures in each dish to highlight multitudes in food the average person (me) might have otherwise never realized. 

I have not yet tried their seafood paella though, as I generally find paellas to be pretty overpriced at most tapas restaurants. This is more out of my own bizarre principles, rather than the quality of their paella – which looks incredible. Plus, I always feel like when you order paella, you are somewhat capped in the other dishes you can order (as it’s often pretty substantial).

Keep in mind 22 Ships doesn’t take reservations, so I recommend showing up right on the dot at 6PM if you have a large-ish group and want a seat for the night!  

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/22Shipshkg/ 

Hours: 

Monday – Closed

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 5:30PM-11PM

Wednesday 12PM-11PM

Saturday & Sunday 12PM-3PM, 5:30PM-11PM

Location: 22 Ship Street, Wanchai Hong Kong

Thaiwan Bar

Credit to Thaiwan’s Facebook page.

Having lived in Taiwan for several years, you can bet I make this a regular hangout when I’m in Hong Kong. Thaiwan Bar draws its name from the words Thailand’ and ‘Taiwan’, honoring the backgrounds of the owners. This is the bar my friends and I usually meet up at just to catch-up, snag some craft beers, and take it easy (more of an ideal than a reality). By 11PM, you can usually find a healthy mix of expats and locals who have congregated outside, enjoying a humid Hong Kong night. 

It is the first bar that I can ever remember drinking Japanese beer not classified as a light beer (Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin). When I’m beer homesick in Asia, it’s always a reliable spot to grab a Founders All Day IPA – how can you hate a beer that comes in 15 packs?   

Thaiwan Bar is also a spot that won’t break the bank, sporting HKD $48 lager happy hours ($58 for Guinness), and $58 drinks from their spirit rack. I’m a huge snacker when I drink, and Thaiwan knows what I want, offering sweet potato fries, chicken wings, Thai prawn chips, dumplings, and pork belly baos. Everytime I come to Thaiwan, a simple catch-up drink somehow always turns into a 6AM night on Lockhart. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing though.  

Thaiwan is also a great launching spot for a more sinister night ahead in Wan Chai, so be careful with how many drinks you get in you. 

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/thaiwan.co/ 

Hours: 5PM-2AM Every Night

Location: 31 Ship Street Wanchai, Hong Kong

Honorable Mention: Motorino Wan Chai 

Credit to Motorino’s Facebook page.

For a while, I gave up on finding good pizza in Asia (yes, even Hong Kong). However, things took a turn for the better as I discovered a great little pizza joint down the road from me on Mosque Street in Mid-Levels back in 2014 (formerly Zafferano, now Mountain Paradise). From there, my faith in pizza in Hong Kong was restored, and shortly after, I stumbled upon Motorino – a straight-forward, no frills, pizza joint located halfway between Johnston Road and the aforementioned 3BM and Thaiwan. 

If you’re going to judge a pizzeria, you have to establish a control slice, which for me is the margherita. Motorino’s margherita sports a classic thin crust, fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil, making for a compact, simple, and tangy slice. 

This is the spot on Ship Street to go if you’re looking for a classic NYC pizza and a bottle of wine. It’s simple, but so am I.     

If you’re looking to stay more centrally located, don’t worry, there’s a Motorino right on Shelley St. in SoHo. 

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.motorinohongkong.com/ 

Hours: 11AM-11PM Every Day

Location: 15 Ship St, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

It should be no surprise that any one of these spots would make great spots for a date. But if you are looking for some more active dates, check out my blog post on fun date ideas in Hong Kong.