Soho institution Staunton’s returns to Central Hong Kong with a new menu, a lick of new paint, and all the vitality of a pint and a little blue pill.
If you don’t visit Soho in Hong Kong all that often, you might have been shocked to see one of its most endearing residents with doors ‘shuttered. However, fret not, as Stanton’s, an institution of Hong Kong’s hospitality scene that closed its doors during the dark days of 2021, has returned, invigorated, revitalised, and ready to once again sate the appetites of the escalator-climbing masses.
Let’s first look back; 1997 was a pivotal year for Hong Kong in more ways than one. Yes, it was the year the city was handed back to China, but it was also the year that Staunton’s first opened at the heart of Soho. The venue, with its location on the corner of Staunton and Shelley Street, adjacent to the Mid-Levels Escalator, was a little slice of the mother country for many Brits living in Hong Kong (and by default, Kiwis and Aussies). A true stalwart of comfort cuisine and a good pint or glass of vino, for two decades the restaurant-cum-wine bar rode the city’s highs and lows alongside its customers, offering the best curries and bangers and mash this side of the Thames.
Fast forward to today and the Staunton’s story has started new chapter, this time under new management but with the same light-hearted gastropub fare and the same dose of comforting nostalgia that made it such a Soho mainstay. Hospitality veteran Vinay Kapoor whose experience spans over 25 years in Hong Kong and who was among the first Staunton’s managers, is back at the helm as the restaurant continues to serve dishes that are bigger on flavour than razzle-dazzle.
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Highlights of the new menu include the sticky adobo wings, (as you’d expect, many of the dishes pay homage to the city’s cultural melting pot character) with crispy fried garlic and spring onions; signature Bangers & Mash with gravy that would make your mother sigh with bliss like she was watching a young Will Mellor on the telly; and Korean Fried Chicken so good it should come with a warning label instead of spicy kimchi mayo.
If you’re looking for something a little more substantial, you might want to opt for the Baba Ji Burger, a lamb inspiration laden with spices from the subcontinent, although let’s be honest, most of you will probably come for a cheeky roadie after a long day at the corporate coal face, and why not, with Staunton’s drinks offering laced with crowd-pleasing classics and wines that are as unpretentious as they are completely quaffable.
It’s just the good news the city’s been waiting for.
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