Hong Kong’s newest restaurants and cafés to visit in January 2026
A new year settles in, and Hong Kong’s dining scene wastes little time in finding its stride. January’s openings offer a wide range of venues: focused kitchens built around one idea done well, neighbourhood spots designed for repeat visits, and chefs doubling down on specificity rather than scale.
From disciplined noodle bars and quietly assured Italian cooking to bakeries, cafés and regional cuisines still underrepresented in the city, the mood is thoughtful rather than flashy. It’s a measured start to the year, one that suggests 2026 is less about chasing trends and more about sharpening intent. Keep reading to find our more.
Looking back? Check out our archive of 2025 openings in Hong Kong
JANUARY
Social Goods Club
Social Goods Club, Central pairs French-style pastries with brunch plates, build-your-own options and a coffee programme designed for repeat visits
Social Goods Club lands at the foot of Pottinger Street with the confidence of a place that understands baking and how people eat. Part modern bakery, part all-day café, it balances French technique with a broad, pragmatic menu that runs from laminated pastries to proper brunch plates.
The pastry counter moves between croissants, pain au chocolat, canelé and more playful numbers such as pistachio maritozzi and pandan rolls, while the kitchen leans into daytime staples done cleanly: ricotta toast, power bowls, acai bowls and a well-judged all-day breakfast. Heartier options include egg benedict, vegetable frittata and Turkish eggs with sourdough, with a build-your-own plate format that lets diners add proteins, including smoked salmon, sous vide chicken breast or grilled beef tenderloin, alongside grains and vegetables. Drinks follow the same thoughtful logic, from coffee classics to matcha made with Matchali, cloud-style coconut drinks and kombucha on tap.
Social Goods ClubAddress: LG, Sun Lee Building, 43 Wellington Street (entrance on Pottinger Street) , Central, Hong Kong
Dieci
Dieci offers a rotating menu shaped by regional tradition, market finds and an intimate chef’s counter setting
Dieci opens with a tightly focused idea of what an Italian osteria can be in Hong Kong today, led by chef Paolo Olivieri and built around a monthly-changing menu of ten seasonal dishes. The approach is deliberately restrained: a short list that shifts with the market and draws on regional Italian cooking, particularly from Lazio, without drifting into nostalgia for its own sake.
Dishes move between raw and cooked, light and slow-simmered, from Fassona beef tartare finished with black truffle to Tuscan wild boar ragù, Roman puntarelle dressed with anchovy and a deeply traditional ossobuco. Daily specials add flexibility, guided by what arrives fresh each morning. The room mirrors the cooking: retro trattoria references, a chef’s counter at the centre, and an atmosphere that favours conversation.
DieciAddress: Basement, 29-31 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
Dae Yeop
House-made buckwheat noodles for Pyongyang naengmyeon, served cold in clear beef broth and paired with hanwoo beef
Dae Yeop (대엽평양냉면 or 大燁), also known as Big Light Noodle, brings a very specific Korean obsession to Causeway Bay: Pyongyang naengmyeon, the cold buckwheat noodle dish rooted in North Korean cooking. The Seoul-born noodle bar is built around a live noodle station, where house-made buckwheat noodles are prepared to order and served in a clean, chilled beef broth that prizes clarity over punch. In Hong Kong, the noodles are paired with slices of Hanwoo (Korean beef), prized for its depth rather than excess richness, while a supporting cast of barbecue dishes rounds out the menu for those who want something warm on the side.
You may also like: Raising the steaks with Hanwoo, Korea’s native beef and national treasure
Right Tea-rific
Expect Hong Kong-style milk tea and cha chaan teng classics and more at Right Tea-rific
Right Tea-rific extends Nansen Lai’s ongoing commitment to Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng culture, approaching milk tea and comfort food as everyday essentials rather than nostalgic props. Best known for venues such as Flower Drum, Fat J’s Char Siu and Lai’s Kitchen, Lai uses this opening to focus on the basics done properly: quality Hong Kong-style milk tea built on a carefully blended brew, sandwiches and baked goods designed to pair with it, and a short list of familiar classics including French toast, pineapple buns and egg tarts. The menu leans practical but thoughtful, with touches such as homemade jams by passionate jam maker Wilson Fok adding quiet character without complicating the point. It’s a small, sincere operation that frames cha chaan teng staples as something worth preserving.
Right Tea-rificAddress: Shop D, Harvard Commercial Building, 105-111 Thomson Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Mason Pocket
Mason Pocket focuses on freshly baked bread, pastries and coffee, with Portuguese egg tarts as a house highlight
Mason Pocket occupies a corner site on Queen’s Road West, signalling its intentions as a bakery café that expects to be used throughout the day rather than passed through once. The emphasis is on bread and baking, with loaves and pastries produced in-house and supported by coffee and a short brunch menu that keeps things straightforward. Portuguese egg tarts are positioned as a house draw, while the wider offering is geared towards everyday eating, the kind of place for a coffee with a pastry, or a casual late-morning plate.
Mason PocketAddress: Queen’s Terrace, 1 Queen Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Yurt
Yurt arrives in Central with no interest in chasing the usual dining tropes, instead putting Central Asian cooking front and centre in a city that rarely sees it. Drawing from the cuisines of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the menu is built on hearty, soulful dishes designed for sustenance as much as flavour. Beshbarmaq sits at the core of the offering: handmade noodle parcels with onion and carrot, served traditionally with the option of horse meat sausage for those willing to eat it as it’s meant to be. With a fully halal kitchen and a focus on dishes rooted in everyday Central Asian life, Yurt makes a persuasive case for widening Hong Kong’s idea of what regional dining can look like.
YurtAddress: 32 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong
The Spoon Pasta Bar
Slow-cooked Wagyu folded into a white ragù, finished with curry spice and coconut cream for a Malaysian-leaning take on an Italian staple
The Spoon Pasta Bar is a new addition to Gough Street in Central, positioning itself as a neighbourhood osteria rather than a formal Italian dining room, with fully homemade pasta and a menu that blends Italian structure with Malaysian-accented flavours. Think crab meat with lemon-chilli mixed pasta, taking loose cues from chilli crab, and Wagyu bolognese ragu bianco with curry coconut cream pappardelle, introducing gentle spice and richness without overwhelming the dish. A truffle and mushroom lasagna roll reworks the traditional bake into tighter spirals for better sauce coverage, and seafood brown butter tomato rigatoni uses elongated tubular pasta to trap every drop of its shellfish-led sauce. Classics such as linguine alle vongole, beef tenderloin tartare and homemade focaccia with pesto and garlic confit keep the menu grounded, while an open kitchen and casual room underscore the restaurant’s aim to make Italian home-style cooking feel like an everyday pleasure.
The Spoon Pasta BarAddress: G/F, 24 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
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