Executive Bar

This place is AMAZING!!! Best cocktails and presentation in town. Ichiro, the owner and Master, is friendly and very knowledgeable. His style in the way he shakes his cocktails is a must see. A highly recommended a stop here for a cocktail or two before heading to dinner. Beautiful view as well!

Japanese whiskeys are definitely the IT drink at the moment, especially after a single malt from Yamazaki got named best whiskey in 2014. But way before the hype, this bar has been offering fine Japanese single malts to HK. With the bar manager hailing from a hotel bar, he has great product knowledge and respect for the tipple. Cocktails here are avant garde and whiskeys are meant to be sipped. Each ice sphere is hand carved, adding to the whole experience. The bar itself is relatively small, with a capacity around 20 people or less. Prices are also a bit on the steeper end, but if you want a quiet intimate evening and quality cocktails/​whiskey, this is a great choice. The door says members only, which isn’t exactly true; basically it just means you should book since its small and usually full. There’s also a minimum charge ($ 200~300 I think), which shouldn’t be a concern unless you are on the run and only want one drink, in which case I wouldn’t recommend you to come here at all.

b.a.r. Executive Bar — it’s funny how «non-​executive» you really are.
I have never been so offended by any restaurant, bar, lounges, hotels, or any other customer service experiences in my life, which includes my consulting years where I traveled every week to another state or country, than right here at b.a.r. Executive Bar.
Right upon entering the bar, the bartender told me there is a minimum charge of $ 250 per person. I said okay, that’s fine… Then 5 seconds later, another staff comes up to me and says the same thing. «There is a minimum here.» My response was yes, $ 250. She then looks at the sign outside the door, picks it up, reads it again, and says: Yes, it is $ 250. My response was, «okay…» I had already agreed to the $ 250 minimum charge, and the area is very small so I couldn’t bare to understand why they had to say that to me twice, within an extremely short period of time… They were treating me as if I can’t pay $ 250 at all… Granted I came from the gym with tights and a lose Facebook zip up sweatshirt on… But still, if I was dressed inappropriately, I would have much rather them tell me off the bat, I would have understand and gone elsewhere. But I do not appreciate them try to rule me out with a stupid «minimum charge.» My cousin is an executive director at Nomura and was baffled when I told her there is a minimum charge of $ 250. She’s been around the block, worked her whole life in Hong Kong and knows the ins and outs here. She told me herself that she’s never heard of such obscured thing of having a minimum drink charge of $ 250, especially since they don’t offer any food option for purchase.
In addition to feeling extremely offended upon entering this place, I was also not serviced at all even though I sat at the bar. I even had my menu closed so that they would know I’m ready to order… There were 3 other groups at this bar — they all sat at the bar as well. Everyone of them got serviced except me. At this point, I was SOOOOO furious and REALLY need a drink. At the beginning, I only came here to kill time while I wait for my cousin to get off work, but after experiencing all the subpar service from this bar, I now NEED a drink, badly. I even asked the woman who told me there is a minimum who I could order from. She couldn’t hear me /​ignored me. So I asked her a bit louder and that’s when the bartender finally heard me and asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted a Gimlet and then the manager of the bar made it for me. There were only three people working at this bar: Manager, Bartender, and Woman who preps and cleans. After I ordered my drink, I was furiously texting with my cousin (who was on her way to come see me), a bartender I’m friends with from Angel’s Share, and my friend who recommended this place to me. After my gimlet was done, I actually didn’t drink it for a good 5 minutes since I was still angrily texting to multiple people about how effing pissed off I am about the service here at this presumptuous bar. I basically started downing the gimlet and looked around to check out the other customers, I wanted to see what they had that I don’t that I wasn’t getting served the way they were. To be honest, the only differences were 1) They weren’t alone, they’re there with another friend, and 2) They were men. WTF? Sigh.
Anyways, the manager saw me looking around and then the conservation is as follows:
Manager: How is the gimlet?
Me: Good, thanks. (Breaks out a small smile just to be nice even though I’m so freaking pissed)
Manager: The drink is very strong for you. It is okay?
:Wtf was he trying to say to me? All that went through my mind was how dare he tell me what is or isn’t strong for me, what is or isn’t right for me. I had nothing else to say to him besides:
Me: Oh, I drink a lot.
:He did not comment on my response:
I finished the gimlet pretty quickly, like I said, I needed to drink after this fiasco. The second drink was a Moscow Mule. The moscow mule tasted like there was no alcohol in it whatsoever. This one was hardly to down since it had tons of carbon dioxide from the dry ginger ale (as opposed to the ginger beer that is usually used??). I had to finish it fairly fast since my cousin had arrived at this point and she didn’t order anything to drink due to the stupid minimum. We were getting dinner after the moscow mule. The total for the two drinks came out to $ 311+.
Also, this is apparently a members’ only whisky bar, but… neither my friend nor myself are members and they let us in. This is odd, confusing, and just darn straight inconsistent. Is it members’ only or not? And if it is, they should really follow their own rules instead of treating me, a paying customer, rudely.

Channelling Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson in Lost in Translation? Executive Bar is the place you need to be. Single-​handedly started the whiskey bar trend in Hong Kong, this bar boasts an astounding range of whiskies from all over the world, each glass served with hand-​chipped giant ice sphere or cube. (Which keeps the drink cold whilst minimizing dilution) Describe your favorite whiskey to Ichiro the bartender and he can broaden your drinks repertoire with further suggestions. He can also whip up old school cocktails for those who want a change in palate, and makes a mean Bellini outside Cipriani.
Used to be a best-​kept secret, this small bar is now constantly packed with salarymen looking for a relaxing drink after work. Reservations are a must, as Ichiro is known to turn away guests who just turn up at the door looking for a quick drink. Minimum charges apply.
Bottomline: the Japanese-​western late 80s lounge décor, the exhaustive whiskey menu, Ichiro’s vast knowledge in whiskey, the crystal-​clear hand-​chipped ice spheres and the bar’s exclusivity.