Flutes

It’s the branding that haunts this place.
Fair enough, being a champagne bar in the middle of Soho is a good sell to stand out. But then, if you are just looking for a night to chill and relax, you’ll think, «hey, it’s some fancy high-​end champagne bar, let’s give it a pass and go for some low key lounge.»
The truth is, champagne bar is a bit misleading. You’ll get a wide range of the usual drinks. Full pint of Asahi for $ 45 at happy hour till 8pm, which is a steal on Elgin Street. They almost all kinds of liquors at happy hour price too.
Granted, you’d still want to get some sparkling here too. Go for the parma ham set that comes with two glasses of rosé? Oh yes, they serve food too! That’s right. Doesn’t seem like they have a kitchen here, but they bring over the pizza and other hot dishes from the restaurant next to it.
One minor miss — the air-​con. We were sitting not at the «outdoor balcony» but the table closest to the store front. Excuse us for being spoiled kids enjoying 24c air-​con everywhere since we were born, but the air-​con was really weak on a summer day like the night we visited. Champagne would have been much more enjoyable in a more pleasant temperature.

I’m a big fan of the bar Flutes on Elgin Street. It is primarily a champagne bar, serving a variety of champagne based cocktails, but does do a full range of other cocktails, wines, beers and spirits. They also have a small selection of bar snacks and small plates, the margarita pizza is particularly good.
For me, Flutes has always been a «let’s meet here before dinner» bar. Right at one end of Elgin Street, it is very easy to find, and has an open frontage onto the street, so you can sit at the front and watch the world go by whilst waiting for your hot date. The front seats are bar stools and high tables, which make a great elevated viewing spot to people watch, but I personally find these seats get uncomfortable over an evening, especially if the AC doesn’t quite reach you. I prefer to sit further in the back where there are low seats and tables, but these are unfortunately near the toilet.
Drinks are standard Soho price, around HKD80−90 for a regular mixer. Beware that the happy hour only extends to certain drinks.
The service is a little slow, even when the bar is empty. It has been much better in the past, so I may have just hit it on a bad day. Otherwise the staff are very friendly.
I personally come here a lot, but mainly for fancy drinks, celebrations, or to treat Mrs L. I probably wouldn’t meet the lads here for a pint, unless of course it was a pint of Janisson.