The queue outside Bar Leone isn’t just for its acclaimed cocktails. More than a few guests are making a pilgrimage for Leone’s signature smoked olives – cheekily called “the world’s best olives (maybe)” – and its mortadella sandwich, with layers of thinly sliced mortadella, creamy whipped ricotta and tangy pickled chillies sandwiched between crispy focaccia. Up the road at sister bar Montana, the pulled-pork sliders have their own following.
Not long ago, bar food in Hong Kong usually meant a bowl of peanuts, pretzels or prawn crackers to go with your drink – regardless of whether you were having beer, wine or cocktails. Now the city’s best bars are treating food as part of the main event. Not as a garnish for drinks, but a reason to come, stay and return.
So pronounced is this trend that at some establishments, the kitchen is threatening to overshadow the bar. At The Diplomat, the burger – a simple yet satisfying quarter-pound Wagyu beef patty cooked medium-rare, topped with melted Cheddar cheese and house-made aioli on a toasted sesame seed bun – was named fourth-best in the world and No 1 in Asia on The World’s 101 Best Burger Places list.
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