The Woods

It’s neither here nor there. The drinks are okay, the service is okay, the ambience is okay. Okay then.

Really, really cool vibe at this bar with the feel of a really baller basement. The wood finish on all the furniture and bar screaming, «Matthew L. most definitely can’t afford this!» Got invited out here by Kevin L. last May during my last night in HK for what could be described as some strong ass drinks. Straight up.
I ordered the negroni off the menu, as well as the market special fruit drink, because I was on vacation and market special sounded like it could be anything. It was literally anything and everything when it came to the different types of fruit in that thing. Either way, it was strong, refreshing, and just what I was looking for during the especially humid and rainy time in Hong Kong.
Definitely a chill date spot or a quiet place to catch up!

Be prepared for a long night in The Woods. The brainchild of three sisters and UC Berkeley alumna, it’s a very eclectic place. Concrete flooring, dark mood lighting, a few seating clusters, makes the place ready for adventure. Auntie Esther had a gift of five flights of drinks for us to try. Pepper rimed vodka shooters, bourbon with balsamic watermelon chasers, a whiskey with a bone marrow back, vodka your pour over cotton candy? Sorry, I can’t even remember the last one…

Alex, the bartender, at The Woods is awesome.
Not happy with your cocktail? He’ll make sure to make something else for you to ensure you enjoy your drink.

I’ve been here twice, one time for just drinks, another for the prix-​fixe menu.
For drinks, this place was swell. The bar is beautifully designed, appropriately dim, and the nights we were there it was either medium full (late on a Friday) or medium empty (on a Monday), and a pleasant place to sit. The bartender was great, and while he seemed a little hesitant to make something off-​menu, the two drinks he made from the menu were good. One was green and had peas in it, and it was a little overpowered by apple juice but still very good. The other was rum and ginger goodness. Ingredients seemed fresh and prepped in-​house, the cocktails looked and felt super fancy, the preparation elaborate and careful, etc. Thumbs up.
We liked it enough that we decided to come back for the prix-​fixe menu, which promises a five-​course drinks menu paired with food, with the drinks being the centerpieces of each course. It seemed really, really appealing, but was in the end disappointing. The drinks were fancy and innovative, and beautiful to see prepared and then to look at, but they weren’t so great to drink. And the food similarly was beautiful and interesting, but it didn’t really pair with the drinks as promised, and overall wasn’t so delicious that I’d go out of my way to have it again. Note the prix-​fixe menu changes monthly, so it could be a hit-​and-​miss experience, and given the care that went into it, I could see it being very good some months. But when I was here (May 2015) it seemed like they were striving for wow-​factor and presentation over all else. So we got a lot of style but not much substance.
As far as style, though, there were highlights. Every single drink and dish looked great, but at one point the bartender lit whiskey on fire and, with the lights dimmed, «rolled» it, pouring it from one cup into another, with the cups about two feet apart, so that it looked like blue fire cutting through the dark, over and over. It wasn’t worth the price of the menu, but it was awesome.
Note, this place is pricey, but you get a lot of care, style, and theatricality for the price.

Cute spot!!!
Also, with cute bartenders. Uh oh…
Again, potent drink had.
I believe it was rum, cucumber, basil, & I don’t remember the other ingredients. It was a great, refreshing digestif after my meal. Ah… hope I used that right. Eh…
Cocktails are not digestifs. Yet, they are to me depending on the content of them. My rule for myself :)
Classy, yet trendy spot. Not too far from LKF.

Love this place for drinks, but my wallet says otherwise.
Like its name, the place has plenty of tree stumps for tables and chairs. Maybe not the most comfortable set up but I’m sure your buttocks will not feel much after a good amount of alcohol. Place is pretty clean, great for a chill night just to sit and hang around with your friends. It’s not the same vibe as the ones down the block towards LKF where music’s blasting.
They’ve got some pretty interesting drinks such as the Tom Yum shooter and the Purple Yam Rum. Yeah, it’s a bit weird to taste tom yum, a spicy and sour soup taste in a chilled drink. The drink barely smells like it either, but definitely tastes like one. My favorite that night was the purple yam rum. I’ve eaten plenty of purple yam as a kid, that drink has a hint of sweetness and load of childhood memories (if it was a virgin drink). If you’re a dark liquor lover, you would enjoy the purple yam rum. The sweetness of yam doesn’t mask the alcohol as much as the other drinks. The rich purple color is just gorgeous. Actually most of their drinks have great presentation. I gave their Butternut Rye a try, just that it looked better than it tasted.
The drinks here do not get you drunk or tipsy, unfortunately (or fortunately for some). It’s not heavy on the alcohol for the most part. The drinks taste good and go down well, it’s very easy to add up in cost. 3 – 4 cocktails and a few shooters could easily add up. I think the shooters are about $ 100 – 120, and cocktails are about $ 130 – 150.

I was introduced to The Woods by a friend who hosted her birthday there and is now, one of my favorite places that newly opened. Drinks are great and the location superb.
The staffs are still a bit new so things can take some time on a busy night. However the owner, Victoria is fabulous. She knows her drink and made us try some very interesting tequila which i know ask for every time i go.
I remember though that one of the Veuve Clicquot was bad and she was quick to get us a new one. I went back many times and all the rest were good. They even use special champagne glass designed for the woods (although one of our friends broke one).
I’ve always had a good time when i come here and the cocktails are delicious. It remains one of the few casual places for a quick chit chat after work.

Ok, so I’ve only been to one bar in Hong Kong during my short trip there but I think the Woods has become my official favorite spot for their mocktails. Yes, did I just say mocktails? For those who don’t know me, I can hardly drink anything alcohol. You name it. beer, hard liquor, wine. I get the Asian flush syndrome but for me, it also goes beyond that which I will spare you from the details. In other words, I am allergic to alcohol and it is one of the those disappointments in my life where I can’t have as much fun at bars or cocktail lounges with other people. But thank goodness for mocktails and this place makes an awesome virgin pineapple margarita. I’ve tried other mocktails back home but nothing came as close to this one. The Woods has its speakeasy-​ish charm to it and the crowd is mostly tailored to expats given that its located in Central. My husband also happen to randomly bump into a high school friend here, so it was quite a small world.

The Woods is Hong Kong’s newest trendy watering hole in Central. We sort of came here by accident. We were stumbling around Wyndham street and saw the cutest little sign and walked right on in.
It was really packed for a Thursday night, we came in around 11pm and had to wait a few minutes before we were seated. It is not exactly a big space but the space was converted into a really cool woodsy setting. The colour scheme was very inviting, birch wood, golds, browns… ahhh so comfy.
While waiting for a table, we observed a few girls by the bar taking photos of cotton candy… I WANT THAT!
As soon as we sat down, we tried to order it but the waitress said it was only for the full course. boo. disappointed. couldn’t we pay for it? Oh well. it was too late for food anyway so we passed.
I got a whisky cocktail and my friend got a papaya cocktail. They were both okay, the papaya cocktail was surprisingly strong. It was even stronger than my whisky! Unfortunately (fortunately) my friend couldn’t finish it, so, you know, being a good friend, I finished her drink.
As the night got deeper, more people began to show up. They were all standing by the bar by then. I like this bar and will be back to try their other cocktails… hopefully the cotton candy drink too! ;)

The Woods has taken over the space of a Hong Kong nightlife institution, gave it a massive facelift and has the ambition to spotlight cocktails as the main course of a meal. One taste of their unique artisanal cocktails and you will see that they work hard on their ingredients and their drinks presentations.
The woods also offer a chef table concept where guests can sample a four-​course liquid meal paired by small eats — a role reversal of drinks and food. I have yet to try that but after a night of 3 consecutive cocktails with their fries I am intrigued to try more of their delicious cocktails and yummy bar food.
Bottomline: beautiful interior, the chef table (call ahead to book), the bees’ knees cocktail