Gokan, Hong Kong

Venues & Concepts

Dec 1

Inside the Experience

There are bars you drink at, and there are bars you enter.
Gokan Hong Kong, the latest outpost from SG Group founder Shingo Gokan, belongs firmly in the latter category — a fully realised world where the five senses (五感) become the foundation for everything from the cocktails to the cuisine to the quiet, attentive choreography of service.

Tucked inside the historic site of Hong Kong’s first icehouse, the space carries both nostalgia and precision. You feel it immediately: the coolness of the marble bar top, the sound of ice being carved (a Gokan signature), the warm notes of wood and amber lighting that soften the room’s edges. What could easily have become a temple of craft instead feels welcoming, relaxed, and deeply human — a bar built on technique, but driven by heart.

The philosophy of shokunin — mastery pursued through repetition, discipline, and reverence — runs through the entire experience. Here, boundaries blur: mixology becomes cuisine; cuisine references cocktail technique; dishes emphasise the same sensory balance as the drinks. It’s a hybrid bar-bistro concept, but elevated to a meticulous standard that only Gokan’s lineage can deliver.

The menu is organised by the five flavour pillars — sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, savoury — and each category unfolds with curious twists and cultural references. Fans regularly return for the now-iconic Watermelon Koffeezz, a clarified watermelon and light-roast coffee gin fizz that captures both the nostalgia of Japanese summers and the modern craft of Tokyo-style coffee culture.
Equally emblematic is the Mapo Mary, built around the bar’s own wagyu mapo tofu, delivering Sichuan heat in an unexpectedly refined way.
Then there’s Khun’s Tommy, a tom yum interpretation of Tommy’s Margarita that tastes as playful as it reads.

The food menu mirrors the drinks in spirit: izakaya-inspired, technique-driven, seasonal. Dishes are structured around the five Japanese cooking methods — raw, steam, grill, fry, simmer — and often incorporate spirits or cocktail methodology. The Macallan Crème Brûlée kakigori is a dessert that seems to have been invented in the mind of a bartender who dreams in textures; the Tipsy Shrimp Cocktail marinates its seafood in baijiu for a punchy, aromatic edge; the Goka-Chiki appears frequently in reviews as a reliably excellent pairing.

The service is what ties everything together. Guests describe it as warm, intuitive, quietly attentive, with bartenders who not only explain the drinks but anticipate needs — an umbrella on a rainy night, a new snack replenished before you ask, a personalised cocktail if they sense your palate. Sit at the bar and the experience becomes even more alive: conversations, craft, movement, energy.

Gokan feels like a living room for Hong Kong’s cocktail community — sophisticated but easy, precise but never stiff, rooted in Japanese craft yet distinctly local. It is the kind of bar where you come in for a drink and end up staying for a meal, or where one cocktail becomes three because the next flavour profile is too tempting to ignore.

Within months of opening, it has already become one of Hong Kong’s most beloved modern bars — and judging by the loyalty of its early regulars, it’s only just getting started.

What People Say Most Often

Cocktails are innovative, playful and beautifully balanced
Watermelon Coffeezz and Mapo Mary are house icons
Food quality is unexpectedly high — “you can almost dine here”
Atmosphere is relaxed Japanese vintage, warm lighting, great for conversation
Service is consistently praised — kind, attentive, personable
Excellent bar seating for chatting with bartenders
Not overly loud, comfortable for groups or dates
Highly recommended for both food and drinks
Considered one of Hong Kong’s best new cocktail bars

Editorial Snapshot

Overview

A collaboration between Shingo Gokan and Hong Kong F&B veterans Russell Stradmoor and Amanda Cheung, Gokan brings a sensory-driven, shokunin-inspired bar concept to the heart of the city. Located in a building that once stored Hong Kong’s earliest supply of ice, the bar blends history, craftsmanship and culinary innovation into a polished but welcoming experience.

The Experience

Dim lighting, soft vintage cues and an easy, conversational atmosphere set the tone. Cocktails are categorised by the five Japanese flavour pillars, and dishes follow the five Japanese cooking methods. It’s a bar that feels as thoughtful as it is relaxed.

Signatures to Try

Watermelon Koffeezz
Clarified watermelon + specialty coffee = bright, silky, unforgettable.

Mapo Mary
A savoury, spicy take on a Bloody Mary using wagyu mapo tofu.

Khun’s Tommy
A tom-yum-powered riff on Tommy’s Margarita.

Grilled Corn Colada
Tropical, sweet, roasted, playful.

Matcha Kintoki
Cultural nostalgia in a glass.

Why People Love It

Because it’s not just a cocktail bar — it’s a sensory, story-driven dining and drinking experience with the warmth of Japanese hospitality and the modern creativity of Hong Kong. The flavours are bold yet balanced, the atmosphere feels cosy but stylish, and the service is consistently praised for its friendliness and care.