Made ByBar
The Old Man
Chef in Residence
Agung Prabowo
Bar Director
- 01CityHong Kong, Hong Kong
- 02RecognitionWorld's 50 Best — No. 1
The Old Man on Aberdeen Street has held a place inside the World's 50 Best Bars top ten and led Asia's 50 Best Bars rankings, making it one of the most decorated cocktail addresses in Hong Kong. The bar draws a steady crowd to Soho's lower slope with a literary-themed program and a commitment to technical precision over theatrical flourish. Booking ahead is advisable.
- World's 50 Best · #1
At a glance
- Price
- $$
- Per person
- $20
- Neighborhood
- Central
<h2>Aberdeen Street and the Shape of Hong Kong's Cocktail Scene</h2><p>Aberdeen Street rises from Central's financial grid into Soho's denser, narrower territory, where the buildings press closer and the evening crowd moves on foot between bars, restaurants, and late-night staircases. The lower stretch, around the mid-point of the street, has accumulated a concentration of serious drinking over the past decade, part of a broader shift in which Hong Kong's cocktail culture moved away from hotel lobbies and toward independently operated rooms with defined programs. <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-leone-hong-kong">Bar Leone</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/argo-hong-kong">Argo</a> are among the bars that now populate that independent tier, and The Old Man at the lower ground floor of 37-39 Aberdeen Street is the address that did the most to establish it.</p><p>The bar's trajectory through the World's 50 Best rankings tells a clear story about where Hong Kong sits in the global cocktail conversation. A number-five position in Asia's 50 Best in 2018 became number one in Asia by 2019, a year when it also held tenth place globally. By 2020 it had moved to fifteenth globally. Rankings shift, and the bar's position has settled into a different band since then, sitting at 71 in Asia's 50 Best by 2024 and 313 in the Top 500 Bars list in 2025. What that arc reflects is not decline but the rapid expansion of ranked competition across the region, with new bars from Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Seoul entering lists that were far less contested in 2018.</p><h2>A Literary Frame Around Technical Work</h2><p>The bar's name and conceptual frame reference Ernest Hemingway, a decision that places it in a tradition of bars that use literary identity as a structuring device rather than pure decoration. Hemingway's relationship with drinking was documented and deliberate, and his name still carries enough cultural weight to function as a shorthand for a particular kind of earnest, unfussy drinking culture. Whether that frame translates fully into the physical experience at Aberdeen Street is something each visitor decides for themselves, but it has given the program a coherent editorial identity that distinguishes it from bars that rely on ingredient provenance or local heritage alone.</p><p>Hong Kong's bar scene has historically split between two formats: the grand hotel bar, where <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/caprice-bar-hong-kong">Caprice Bar</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/ozone-the-ritzcarlton-hong-kong-soho-bar">OZONE at The Ritz-Carlton</a> operate in a register defined by scale, view, and service formality, and the independent room, smaller in footprint and more focused in its program. The Old Man belongs to the second category. Its ground-floor positioning on Aberdeen Street means you arrive without a lift or a lobby, which is precisely the point: the bar presents itself as a place for drinking rather than a destination for occasion-performance.</p><h2>What the Rankings Actually Mean for a Visitor</h2><p>A bar that held the number-nine position globally in 2019 and number one in Asia the same year carries a specific kind of credential. The World's 50 Best methodology draws on votes from drinks professionals, which means the recognition reflects peer assessment rather than critic reviews or customer ratings. For a visitor, that distinction matters: the bar is not highly ranked because it is approachable or photogenic, but because people working at the level of serious cocktail programs across the world considered it worth placing above most of their competitors.</p><p>The practical implication is that the program operates at a level where technique is assumed and execution is the differentiator. The wider context for that level of technical ambition in Hong Kong includes bars like <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/8-12-otto-e-mezzo-bombana-hong-kong">8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana</a>, which operates inside a different format but within the same expectation of precision. Globally, bars that have occupied similar ranking positions, including <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/kumiko">Kumiko in Chicago</a>, <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/jewel-of-the-south-new-orleans">Jewel of the South in New Orleans</a>, and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-leather-apron-honolulu">Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu</a>, share a common commitment to considered menus and service that treats the guest as someone with a genuine interest in what they are drinking.</p><h2>The Soho Setting as Context</h2><p>Soho in Central occupies a specific position in Hong Kong's drinking geography. It is not the city's most glamorous drinking address, which arguably sits higher up the hill or in Tsim Sha Tsui across the harbour. It is, instead, the part of the city where people go when they want a particular bar rather than a particular atmosphere. The density of the area means that an evening in Soho often involves more than one address, and The Old Man sits well as either an opening or a closing stop, depending on the pace of the night.</p><p>Other cities with comparably dense independent bar cultures, such as New York with <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/superbueno-new-york-city">Superbueno</a> or Houston with <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/julep-houston">Julep</a>, tend to cluster their leading rooms in specific neighbourhoods, and Soho performs that function for Hong Kong. Frankfurt's independent bar scene, where <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/the-parlour-frankfurt-on-the-main">The Parlour</a> operates, follows a similar logic: quality concentrates in a walkable area where word of mouth and repeat visits sustain the program. Aberdeen Street benefits from exactly that kind of neighbourhood logic.</p>
Know before you go
- Dress code
- smart_casual
- Reservations
- walk_in_friendly
Frequently asked
What accolades does The Old Man have?
The Old Man has received recognition including: Top 500 Bars Best Bars #313 (2025); World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars #71 (2024); World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars #47 (2023); World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars #42 (2021); World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars #22 (2020); World's 50 Best Best Bar….
Where can I find The Old Man?
The Old Man is located at Lower G/F, 37-39 Aberdeen Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong, 39 Aberdeen St, Central, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
What cocktail do people recommend at The Old Man?
The bar's program is built around a Hemingway conceptual frame, so drinks drawing on mid-century classics and their riffs form the core of what regulars return for. That editorial identity has been consistent enough to carry the bar to the number-nine position globally in the World's 50 Best Bars (2019), which suggests the program earns its references rather than merely trading on them. Specific current menu items are best confirmed directly at the bar on Aberdeen Street.
Why do people go to The Old Man?
The track record is the clearest answer: number one in Asia and number nine globally in the World's 50 Best Bars in 2019, with consecutive appearances across seven years through 2025 including a Top 500 ranking this year. That sustained presence across the rankings separates it from bars that spike once and fade. It sits at the lower ground floor of 37-39 Aberdeen Street in Soho, Central, a neighbourhood that rewards deliberate visits rather than casual foot traffic, which tends to self-select a crowd that came specifically for the drinks.
Should I book The Old Man in advance?
A bar with seven consecutive years on the World's 50 Best and Asia's 50 Best lists draws consistent demand from both Hong Kong regulars and visiting drinkers who treat the rankings as a travel checklist. Arriving without a reservation on a weekend carries real risk. Checking current booking policy directly with the bar at 37-39 Aberdeen Street is advisable before a Friday or Saturday visit.
Address
Lower G/F, 37-39 Aberdeen Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong, 39 Aberdeen St, Central, Hong Kong
Central
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