Cafeography
Hong Kong · Central, Soho & Lan Kwai Fong

Cafés in Central, Soho & Lan Kwai Fong

Gage Street milk tea, espresso on Stanley Street and the escalator up to SoHo.

Photo: Abhishek Navlakha, Pexels License

Central is the business district on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, and above Queen's Road Central its streets climb steeply toward the Mid-Levels. The Central–Mid-Levels escalator, which opened on 15 October 1993, covers more than 800 m and rises over 135 m through 18 escalators and three moving walkways.1 SoHo, short for "South of Hollywood Road", grew around Staunton and Elgin Streets after it opened; the name first appeared in the South China Morning Post in 1996.2

Coffee here runs from a 1950s street stall to espresso bars a few lanes away. Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園) at 2 Gage Street started in 1952 as a dai pai dong (大牌檔, licensed street stall) and still works from its tin-roofed stall beside an air-conditioned dining room.56 The specialty side is newer: Chart Coffee on Queen Victoria Street is co-owned by a former barista from 18 Grams, one of the city's first specialty roasters, and Coco Espresso has grown from one of the early cafés into several branches.7

Local tip: Ride the escalator down before 10:00, step off at Lyndhurst Terrace and walk down Gage Street to Lan Fong Yuen's street stall at No. 2, which opens at 07:00. An iced milk tea there cost HK$2 more than a hot one in 2023.

At a glance

64Cafés listed
5With opening hours
07:30Earliest opening
22:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: The Diner, from 07:30 (Daily 07:30–22:30).
  • Most listed streets: 德輔道中 Des Voeux Road Central (2), 威靈頓街 Wellington Street (2).
  • Most common features: specialty (3%), takeaway (2%), air-con (2%).

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Coffee chains in Central, Soho & Lan Kwai Fong

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Riding the escalator through Central

The escalator is one-way and switches direction by the clock: downhill from 06:00 to 10:00, uphill from 10:00 to midnight.1 Between Queen's Road Central and Hollywood Road it follows Cochrane Street, then crosses Staunton Street on its way up to Conduit Road.1 Gage Street begins right beside it, at the corner of Lyndhurst Terrace and Cochrane Street, and runs gently downhill across Graham and Peel Streets toward Aberdeen Street.8

So the morning is the time to work downhill: ride from the Mid-Levels before 10:00 and step off at Staunton Street, Hollywood Road or Lyndhurst Terrace.

Gage Street, Graham Street and the dai pai dong

The street market on Graham Street, between Queen's Road Central and Hollywood Road, dates back more than 160 years; Queen Elizabeth II walked it on 5 May 1975.4 The Urban Renewal Authority is redeveloping Graham and Peel Streets and plans to demolish the market.4

Lan Fong Yuen sits on Gage Street just off the market, open daily 07:00–18:00. It brews with Sri Lankan tea and Malaysian filled milk, and in October 2023 a hot silk-stocking milk tea cost HK$20 and an iced one HK$22.5 Its stall is one of a shrinking kind: the government stopped issuing new dai pai dong licences in 1956 and has bought them back since 1983, and only 17 stalls were left across Hong Kong in July 2024.6

Espresso bars from Stanley Street to Staunton Street

Stanley Street has two of the area's espresso bars: COCO ESPRESSO at No. 50, with Wi-Fi, open Monday to Friday 08:00–18:00 and weekends from 09:00, and Holly Brown Coffee at No. 22. Uphill, Holistic Coffee is at 34 Graham Street, Fineprint at 38 Peel Street and Barista by Givres at 7 Staunton Street, with Frenchies at 39–43 Hollywood Road.

Chart Coffee, at 218 Queen Victoria Street, opens 08:00–18:00 on weekdays and 10:00–19:00 at weekends. Its co-owner Wilson Chung won a siphon brewing competition in 2019, and the company roasts its own beans in the New Territories.7 South Lane, at 30–32 Robinson Road in the Mid-Levels, opens daily 08:00–17:00 and takes cards.

Lan Kwai Fong and coffee after dark

Lan Kwai Fong is a small knot of streets and alleys whose L-shaped main street joins D'Aguilar Street at both ends.3 Hawkers worked it before the Second World War; the bar district took shape after Disco Disco opened at 40 D'Aguilar Street in December 1978 and Allan Zeman opened a restaurant called California in 1983.3

Coffee in Central keeps office hours, and most cafés here close by 19:00. The Diner, at 4–8 Arbuthnot Road, stays open 07:30–22:30, the longest day in the area. Down at the piers, Museum Café 8 on Man Kwong Street opens at 09:30 and closes at 19:00 Monday to Wednesday and 20:00 from Thursday to Sunday.

Sources

  1. Central–Mid-Levels escalator and walkway system, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. SoHo, Hong Kong, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Lan Kwai Fong, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Graham Street Market, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. 【奶茶推介】香港十大茶餐廳港式奶茶, Yahoo Food Hong Kong (updated October 30, 2023), accessed October 2026
  6. Dai pai dong, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. What's Behind the Rise of Specialty Coffee in Hong Kong?, Zolima CityMag (April 10, 2025), accessed October 2026
  8. Gage Street, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Central, Soho & Lan Kwai Fong cafés: questions

When does the Central–Mid-Levels escalator in Hong Kong run uphill?

The Central–Mid-Levels escalator runs downhill from 06:00 to 10:00 and uphill from 10:00 to midnight. Opened in October 1993, it covers more than 800 m and climbs over 135 m from Queen's Road Central to Conduit Road, using 18 escalators and three moving walkways. Gage Street, SoHo's Staunton Street and Hollywood Road all have exits along the way.

What is Lan Fong Yuen in Central, Hong Kong, known for?

Lan Fong Yuen, at 2 Gage Street in Central, opened in 1952 as a dai pai dong street stall and claims to have invented Hong Kong's silk-stocking milk tea. It still runs its tin-roofed stall next to an indoor dining room and opens daily from 07:00 to 18:00. In October 2023 a hot milk tea cost HK$20 and an iced one HK$22.

What does SoHo mean in Central, Hong Kong?

SoHo in Central stands for "South of Hollywood Road". The area centers on Staunton Street and Elgin Street, and it grew into a district of restaurants, bars and cafés after the Central–Mid-Levels escalator opened in 1993. The name first appeared in the South China Morning Post in 1996.

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