Foxglove — Hong Kong, China
Secret bars are nothing new, of course, but very few have mastered the quirky yet elegant style of the newly opened Foxglove tucked away on Duddell Street, at the heart of the city’s Central district.
The speakeasy-style lounge bar is accessible only via an unmarked entrance hidden inside a walk through boutique of classic hand-made Fox umbrellas showcased Kingsman-secret-service-style within sleek brass-edged wall cabinets.
Inside, the creative interiors by Hong Kong designer Nelson Chow pay homage to a fictitious globetrotting English gentleman with a theatrical blend of gentlemen’s private club and intimate jazz bar. Think low-lit moody lighting, bespoke ink-blue leather and wood furnishings and a sculptural cream lacquer ceiling that wraps around the cocktail bar. Even the washrooms have been given a whimsical touch with ship cabin-style doors and mirrors.
The Narnia-like experience continues with two private rooms, again accessed via secret entrances. The first features an arched ceiling reminiscent of a vintage First Class train cabin, a dramatic blood red palette, walls lined with Fox umbrella stems, and classic car-inspired bespoke design lamps.
Apart from the original cocktails (we were particularly taken with the ‘Bitter Truth’, a warming concoction of Kraken black spiced rum with Angostura bitters, orange and lime), the design highlight is the VVIP room decorated in an emerald green palette, with seductively comfortable leather club chairs, and walls and ceiling clad in book-lined shelves.
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
ADDRESS
6 Duddell Street
Catherine Shaw is a writer, editor and consultant specialising in architecture and design. She has written and contributed to over ten books, including award-winning monographs on art collector and designer Alan Chan, and on architect William Lim's Asian design philosophy. She has also authored books on architect André Fu, on Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, and on Beijing-based OPEN Architecture's most significant cultural projects across China.
-
A Lagos exhibition celebrates Fela Kuti's defining soundAn exhibition, Afrobeat Rebellion, currently showing at the Ecobank PanAfrican Centre in Lagos, explores the life of Afrobeat father Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
La Monique brings the French Riviera to Santa MonicaA transportive room of velvet, candlelight, and Riviera chic, serving French favourites with a modern wink
-
Tour Peridot, Hong Kong’s hypnotic new barLocated on the 38th floor of The Henderson, Studio Paolo Ferrari’s latest project is a study in ‘light, refraction, and intimacy’
-
A discreet bolthole adds historic charm to Chongqing’s skyscraper jumbleWith a landscape bristling with gleaming towers, Sunyata Ren’ai Hall Hotel quietly emerges as the Chinese city’s most design-forward stay
-
Rosewood is searching for the next generation of women leadersThe Rosewood Foundation introduces ‘Rise to the Table,’ a fully sponsored initiative aimed at addressing the gender gap in the food and beverage sector
-
Discover a futuristic bar in Shanghai with mad-scientist energyPenicillin opens in Shanghai with a clinical steel and concrete design by LC Studio alongside trailblazing, sustainable cocktails
-
A colossal ‘ship’ in Shanghai honours Louis Vuitton’s travel legacyLouis Vuitton’s The Louis is an OMA-designed hub combining retail, culture and dining in the heart of Nanjing West Road
-
The Trip to Hong Kong: exploring a bold new capital of cultureA resilient desire to shift perceptions yet preserve heritage is driving a new energy in Hong Kong as the next generation creates a bold new capital of culture
-
Take off with the June 2025 Travel Issue of Wallpaper*Head to Hong Kong, paint the town red in Las Vegas, reimagine room service, and make a splash in sizzling swimwear – the June issue is hot to globe-trot, on newsstands now
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher