Cocktail Bar · SoHo · Hong Kong
The Savory Project
COA's founders run umami as a manifesto: beef jerky, corn husk, and fermented bean in the glass, sweetness dialed to zero.
The Pitch
Umami as a Manifesto
The Savory Project opened at 4 Staunton Street in May 2023, the second act from Jay Khan and Ajit Gurung of COA, twice named Asia's best bar. The brief is strict: savory, earthy, umami drinks, with sweet and fruity dialed to near zero.
Asia's 50 Best ranked it No. 32 in 2025, and Time Out handed it the 2024 Rising Star Award.
Beef jerky, fungi, corn husk, white soy, and brine all show up in the builds. Tatler covered the opening as a new category for Hong Kong drinking.
The Room
The Hexagonal Bar
A six sided bar anchors the room and turns the bartenders into hosts; there is no bad seat, which is the point. The Beat Asia's review credits the layout for making a technical menu feel social.
It sits steps from Peel Street and a short walk from the Mid Levels escalator.
The Drinks
Drinks That Read Like Dishes
Order the Pepper+Corn: corn husk cooked down for hours, then reduced sous vide before it reaches the glass, per The Beat Asia. The Thai Beef Salad mixes beef, peanuts, coconut, and chili; Gari Gari runs gari, Scotch, passionfruit, ponzu, and soda.
The Mala Punch carries Sichuan peppercorn and fermented bean over gin. A non alcoholic list keeps the same savory brief, per Time Out.
The Crowd
The Second Stop After COA
Industry drinkers, 50 Best list chasers, and SoHo regulars share the hexagon. Early evening is conversational; the room tightens after 9pm.
What regulars say:
- Asia's 50 Best placed it at No. 32 in 2025.
- Time Out gave it the 2024 Rising Star Award.
- The Drink Journal credits it with the clearest thesis in Hong Kong drinking: umami first, sugar last.
Who it is for:
- Drinkers bored of sweet cocktail lists
- A second stop on a COA pilgrimage
- Avoid if you want a fruity highball
The Verdict
Where It Lands
Hong Kong's most disciplined cocktail thesis since COA, from the same hands. Sit at the hexagon and order whatever sounds least like a drink.
Good to Know
Visit Information
Getting there: 4 Staunton Street, SoHo, Central; steps from Peel Street and the Mid Levels escalator.
Timing: Tuesday to Saturday 6pm to 1am, Sunday 6pm to midnight, closed Monday per Time Out. Walk ins welcome.
Cost: SoHo 50 Best tier pricing; budget like a tasting menu, not a happy hour.
Make a night of it: Start at COA for agave, cross to Bar Leone for the Roman counter, and finish at the hexagon.
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