Asia boasts some of the world’s top Italian culinary experiences, ingredients, chefs and chef-patrons. Hong Kong, as an international business center and tourist destination, features some of the best Italian dining and drinking experiences in Asia.
Italian restaurants and bars are frequented by locals and visitors, highlighted in the local press and promoted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board as an integral part of the city’s international food and drink scene.
Italian Michelin-starred restaurants are major players in Hong Kong’s culinary tourism scene. They include the three-star 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA and two- star Octavium, both led by by Chef Umberto Bombana, a native northern Italian.One-star favorites include Tosca di Angelo at the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, overseen by Chef Angelo Aglianó of Sicily, and Estro, by Chef Antimo Maria Merone from Naples, and TUBER Umberto Bombana, another fine dining restaurant.
The city offers numerous popular dining spots, including casual restaurants focused on handmade pasta, Tuscan trattorias, cozy American red-sauce joints, Italian pastry shops and gelaterias, and a range of pizza options that often inspire friendly debates.
Hong Kong boasts some of the best Italian bars and drinks, including Bar Leone, headed by Lorenzo Antinori, which was named The World’s Best Bar and Best Bar in Asia in 2025. Bar Leone is a take on Rome’s classic bars and features fresh and familiar cocktails.
Everyone loves Italian cuisine, and Hong Kong boasts a wide range of food and beverage experiences across too many corners of the city to highlight here.
Many established restaurants and five-star hotels draw Italian chefs and hospitality professionals to Hong Kong. They often stay working in a series of hotel openings, new restaurant groups and culinary concepts. Some eventually open their own signature restaurants, adding to the unique and diverse Italian food and beverage “hospitalityscape” in Hong Kong.
Italian nationals in Hong Kong offer their perspectives on the city’s Italian experiences, the broad appeal of the cuisine, why Hong Kong is a destination for Italian food and beverages, and the city’s abundance of Italian chefs, hospitality professionals and venues.
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The chefs bringing Italy to Hong Kong
Chef Paolo Olivieri, who is from the countryside of Lazio in central Italy, has worked in Dubai, London, and some of Hong Kong’s top hotels and restaurants. He has now opened his own character-filled Italian osteria, DIECI, a modern interpretation of a traditional family trattoria.
He believes the many Italian food and beverage experiences in Hong Kong are due to Italian cuisine being “naturally approachable for everyone, straightforward, ingredient-driven, and easy for guests to understand.” He notes that Hong Kong people have “strong gastronomic knowledge: they travel, they explore, and they can immediately recognize when an experience is truly authentic.”
Olivieri sees a “modern Italian renaissance in the city” represented by restaurants like DEICI, Trattoria Felino, which is inspired by Naples, and Ninetta, an Italian trattoria. These restaurants provide “real tradition, clear identity, and honest Italian cooking without unnecessary complications.”
Chef Davide Borin, a native of Treviso, Italy, who has worked in hotels and restaurants in Italy and Dubai, believes Hong Kong attracts chefs because of the excitement of Asia and Western sensibilities, and offers Italian chefs a starting point to see the world and enhance their careers.
He feels Italian food is “comforting and satisfying for every palate and successful because it’s easy to understand for the masses…pizza, pasta, gelato!” Italian restaurants in Hong Kong can be an “affordable” and enjoyable way to experience a “quick trip to Italy.”
Chef Davide credits places like “Little Napoli Pizzeria, DIECI, Trattoria Felino, Pici Pasta Bar, Osteria Marzia, Bar Leone, Sabatini Ristorante Italiano, Grissini, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA” for bringing Italy to Hong Kong.
Chef Fabio Bardi, a pastry chef and native of Sardinia, has worked around the world and in Hong Kong at Michelin-star restaurants. His experience includes 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA and Estro, as well as pastry concept Dang Wen Li by Dominque Ansel. He has since opened his own shop featuring Maritozzo and gelato in Hong Kong.
Chef Bardi feels that “approach to food and family culture” are similarities which drive Hong Kong’s affinity for Italian cuisine, as well as the “appreciation for quality and craftsmanship.”
He also credits Hong Kong’s status as an “international hub” in Asia for attracting “talented Italian chefs, baristas, and restaurateurs” and an “audience” that is “curious, knowledgeable and willing to embrace authenticity.” He also describes Hong Kong people as “adventurous” and finds this exciting.
From handmade pasta to Neapolitan pizza
Recently, I entertained a friend from Singapore at Associazione Chianti, a Tuscan trattoria featuring “elevated cucina povera.” We enjoyed glasses of Italian wine and shared the Insalata Cesare, made with crisp, perfectly dressed chicory leaves with anchovies, Parmesan and lemon dressing; the Costata alla Fiorentina, a charred bone-in ribeye steak that is fatty in all the right places; and the cavatelli, served in a lightly creamy sauce of olive oil and Parmesan. The charming restaurant is tucked away in a row of authentic specialty restaurants wedged in between Queen’s Road East and Johnston Road.
In Hong Kong, there are pizza places for every price point and palate. One of the city’s favorites is Little Napoli Pizzeria. Chef Gavino Pilo, a native of Naples, makes traditional Neapolitan pizza here. For me, it is the perfect pizza, with a crust that is both soft and crisp. The service is quick and focused, and a few other Neapolitan affettati, or cold cuts and cured meats and insalata are on the menu, along with a rotating dessert. The Italian-style lemon ice, granita di limone, is the perfect ending to a delicious pizza and worth a special stop. It can be enjoyed outside while watching Hong Kong pass by.
Hong Kong is home to both approachable and aspirational Italian restaurants, bars and hospitality experiences. They reinforce Hong Kong’s reputation as an international dining destination and Italian cuisine’s enduring popularity among locals and visitors.
