I can confirm that The Aubrey is the best restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental’s portfolio for its residence in Hong Kong. I have dined at each restaurant (The Chinnery, Café Causette, Mandarin Bar and Grill, Man Wah), and this one rises above them all. The only annoying trait is lunch: there is no à la carte option. I mentioned my annoyance to the team, so I am yet to see if they took my feedback on board. At the end of the day, I am just one guest; they have a model that obviously works for them, but it doesn’t for me. I sat down and got right back up when I saw the menu and then walked out. Facing a set menu at lunchtime leads to no freedom of choice. Come dinner, however, it’s completely different—à la carte is available.
The restaurant offers a Japanese izakaya ‘experience’. Located on the 25th floor with views over Victoria Harbour, you can eat and drink all day here, split into three distinctive bar areas, a drawing room, and a curio lounge. They made it nice. Because I am older, I am becoming increasingly agitated by loud ‘club’ music (I am not twenty any longer), and they play this on certain nights, transforming it into what they try to sell as an ‘exclusive hangout’. You need a special stamp on your wrist to enter. Not caring in the slightest about this in today’s world, I took a peek to see what it was all about, hung around for five minutes, then kindly made my excuses and left. It’s not my scene—shouting over my guests trying to have a conversation, everybody pretending to be cool and in the know. Even a notification on my watch alerted me: “Noise volume is too high; this can cause ear damage for prolonged periods.” Showing my age now, aren’t I?
On another occasion, I spoke with the manager, and we were able to reserve a quiet booth to eat and talk in peace. Here, we had the best food in the hotel. In the end, we visited twice. Firstly, the menu is everything you want to eat and more: oysters and caviar if you’re feeling flush, snacks and starters, robata, sandos, plus a selection of maki rolls, sushi, and sashimi. Rice and tempura are in their rightful place, and there’s a dessert menu. I liked what I was seeing, and that translated onto the plates. Forget about Nobu’s miso black cod (it’s had its day); take theirs here. My only criticism would be the egg on top of the mushroom rice—it needed more cooking (we sent it back). The dessert soufflé suffered the same issues as the one in Mandarin Bar and Grill: it was stodgy and could be made gluten-free to release itself from heaviness. It doesn’t need flour.
If visiting the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, The Aubrey needs to go at the top of your list. If, like me, you want a quiet evening, choose your night wisely to avoid the boom-boom, late-night disco. If a set menu doesn’t faze you, lunch can also be on the cards. The Aubrey is officially where they offer the best food.
