Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong Unveils The Aubrey
Maximal Concepts took over the hotel's 25th floor with a Japonisme-inspired izakaya built around three bars, harbour views and a deep whisky list.
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and restaurant group Maximal Concepts announced on 23 September 2020 that they would open The Aubrey, described as an eccentric Japanese izakaya, on the hotel’s 25th floor overlooking Victoria Harbour. The venue opened in February 2021 after a complete makeover of the floor’s dining and bar space.
The design, by Maximal Concepts with Silverfox Studios, draws on Japonisme, the 19th-century movement in which Western artists absorbed Japanese influences. Art Deco details, bold colours and swirling patterns run through the rooms, and the entrance corridor is lined with gilded portraits beneath ceiling mirrors. Maximal Concepts co-founder Matt Reid said the venue was “set to honour the incredible cultural elements and exchanges” of that period.
The 102-seat space is organised around three bars: an 11-seat Main Bar, a four-seat Omakase Cocktail Bar taken by reservation, and a Champagne and Sake Bar. A 25-seat Curio Lounge and a 14-seat private dining room complete the floor.
In the kitchen, chef de cuisine Yukihito Tomiyama oversees sushi and sashimi, tempura, binchotan-grilled robata, oysters and a Miyazaki A5 wagyu sando, with hand-crafted wooden bento boxes at lunch. The drinks list covers sake, including sparkling styles, shochu served in highballs and chuhai, and around 120 rare and vintage whisky labels, under bar manager Devender Seghal, previously of Otto e Mezzo Bombana.
The opening team also set out a zero-waste approach that removed single-use plastics, using bamboo products from sustainable sources and a compostable cling wrap. Details are on the hotel’s The Aubrey page, and more on the city’s dining scene is in our Hong Kong guide.