Cafeography
Hong Kong · Wan Chai

Cafés in Wan Chai

Cha chaan tengs on Spring Garden Lane, Star Street espresso and the trams of Johnston Road.

Photo: Wei Wen Lai, Pexels License

Wan Chai sits between Admiralty and Causeway Bay, on land the sea once covered. In 1841 the shoreline ran along Queen's Road East near Spring Gardens and Ship Street; the Praya East scheme pushed it out to about Gloucester Road, and reclamation from 1965 to 1972 took it to Convention Avenue.1 The old shore streets are now the inland half of the district, with Hennessy Road and the tram line between them and the harbor.1

For coffee, Wan Chai has some of the city's best-known cha chaan tengs and a compact espresso quarter. Kam Fung (金鳳茶餐廳) has served milk tea at 41 Spring Garden Lane since 1956, and Honolulu Coffee Shop (檀島咖啡餅店) opened in 1940; its Wan Chai shop is at 176–178 Hennessy Road.5 Up the slope, the Star Street lanes hold Blue Bottle's largest Hong Kong café.4

Local tip: Hide & Seed on Jaffe Road is closed at weekends, so on a Saturday try ARTISTA Perfetto on Sharp Street West, open from 09:00.

At a glance

70Cafés listed
3With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
19:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: ARTISTA Perfetto, from 08:00 (Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–19:00).
  • Most listed streets: 莊士敦道 Johnston Road (3), Hennessy Rd (2), 皇后大道東 Queen's Road East (2).
  • Most common features: bakery café (4%), wi-fi (1%), specialty (1%).

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Coffee chains in Wan Chai

Getting around: trams, Hennessy Road and the MTR

The MTR Island line runs beneath Hennessy Road, and Wan Chai station has eight exits.1 Trams between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan run along Johnston Road and Hennessy Road, and most buses from Admiralty to Causeway Bay use Hennessy Road too.1 Since 2022, Exhibition Centre station on the East Rail line has served the harbor side.1

From Admiralty, the 280 m Three Pacific Place Link, finished in 2007 with travelators, connects Pacific Place and the MTR to the Star Street lanes.2

Star Street and the first power station

In 1890 Hongkong Electric opened its first generating station on Star Street, and the streets around it were named after the sun, moon and stars, a reference to the Three Character Classic.2 The plant was demolished in 1922. Swire Properties began buying property in the area in 1988 and turned it into a precinct of cafés, galleries and shops along Star, Moon and Sun Streets, St. Francis Street and Wing Fung Street.2

Blue Bottle opened its third Hong Kong café at 15 St. Francis Yard in December 2021: three floors themed on the sun, moon and stars, with a grab-and-go counter downstairs and a drip bar on the first floor.4 Elephant Grounds is at 8 Wing Fung Street, and Harakako is on St. Francis Street.

Lee Tung Avenue and the bing sutts of Johnston Road

Lee Tung Street was known as Wedding Card Street (囍帖街) for the printers who designed and made wedding invitations there.3 The Urban Renewal Authority announced a HK$3.58 billion redevelopment in 2003, every building on the street was demolished in December 2007, and the rebuilt street was named Lee Tung Avenue in October 2015.3 Passione is in the Lee Tung Avenue underground mall.

Johnston Road, the tram street, keeps two bing sutts with old names, 秋田冰室 Akita Cafe and 順流冰室 Lucky Cafe, and Ginger Bakery. Southorn Playground, on the same road, was where laborers waited for work in colonial mornings; today older residents play Chinese chess there.1

Spring Garden Lane, Hennessy Road and weekday hours

Spring Garden Lane was a red-light street in the early colonial years.1 Kam Fung, at No. 41, opened at 06:45 in 2023 and charged HK$21 for a hot milk tea and HK$23 for an iced one; Honolulu Coffee Shop's egg tarts are said to have up to 192 layers of pastry, and its milk tea cost HK$22 hot.5 My Cup of Tea is at 6–12 Spring Garden Lane, and 壺 Potion House at 20 Tai Wong Street East.

Craft Coffee Roaster, which sources directly from farmers in Ethiopia and Latin America, added a small Wan Chai shop in 2022.6 Most espresso bars here keep office hours: Hide & Seed at 324–338 Jaffe Road opens Monday to Friday 08:00–17:30, 笑林寺 Cloud nine at 33 Morrison Hill Road weekdays 08:00–18:00, and ARTISTA Perfetto at 3 Sharp Street West weekdays 08:00–19:00. Lungo and Noda Coffee share 314–324 Hennessy Road.

Sources

  1. Wan Chai, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Star Street (Hong Kong), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Lee Tung Street, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Blue Bottle Coffee opens its third branch in Wan Chai, Tatler Asia (December 20, 2021), 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. What's Behind the Rise of Specialty Coffee in Hong Kong?, Zolima CityMag (April 10, 2025), accessed October 2026
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In Wan Chai, also browse: Wi-Fi Bakery cafés Specialty coffee

FAQ

Wan Chai cafés: questions

Why are Star, Moon and Sun Streets in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, named that way?

In 1890 Hongkong Electric opened its first power station on Star Street in Wan Chai, and the surrounding streets were named Sun, Moon and Star after a line in the Three Character Classic. The plant was demolished in 1922. Since 1988 Swire Properties has turned the area into a small precinct of cafés, galleries and shops.

What was Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, before Lee Tung Avenue?

Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai was known as Wedding Card Street, a center for printing wedding invitations. The Urban Renewal Authority announced a HK$3.58 billion redevelopment in 2003, all its buildings were demolished in December 2007, and the rebuilt street was named Lee Tung Avenue in October 2015.

Where is the Blue Bottle café in Wan Chai, Hong Kong?

Blue Bottle's Wan Chai café is at 15 St. Francis Yard in the Star Street lanes. It opened in December 2021 as the brand's third and largest Hong Kong branch, with three floors themed on the sun, moon and stars, a grab-and-go counter on the ground floor and a drip coffee bar on the first floor.

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