Time to kill before your ferry?  Or fancy some island chill-out while you chase the sunset, beer in hand?  Lamma isn’t all seafood shacks and hiking trails.  It has plenty of drinking dens to hit that happy hour high.

1. Lamma Grill  

Always packed with chattering locals, with a saloon-style pub atmosphere inside and additional seats on the waterfront if you fancy watching the boats bobbing in the harbour.  There’s an honesty book stall right outside if you’re drinking alone, plus you can order pizza from their takeaway hatch across the road – the chef will deliver it to your table himself! Look out for weekly specials (our current fave is the spicy tom yum).  Happy hour is Monday-Friday until 7:30pm, which leaves you plenty of time to catch that ferry.  $30 for all house spirits, pints of Carlsberg and Strongbow plus house wine.

Lamma Grill, 36 Yung Shue Wan Main St, Monday-Friday 4pm-close, weekends 12pm-close

 

 

2. Island Bar 

The watering hole of choice for locals and day-trippers alike, this Aussie-owned bar is the closest to the pier, making it the obvious choice for a quick drink before hopping back to Central.  It’s usually wall-to-wall with the Lamma afterwork crowd, who come for the cheap drinks, friendly staff (ask for Terry!) and expat clubhouse atmosphere.  Happy Hour here is Cheap Tuesdays, when all house drinks are only $20 – so you can treat yourself to as many Tsingtaos or gin and tonics as tomorrow’s hangover can stand.  They also have a loyalty card for returning customers.

Island Bar, 6 Main St, Yung Shue Wan, Monday-Friday 3pm-12am, weekends 12pm-12am

3. Candela 

Known simply to locals as Carlos’s Place, this stylishly tiled tapas joint will serve up amazing Spanish snacks with your happy hour drinks – just point and pick from the daily-changing deli counter.  And the drinks deals?  They change it up all the time, so just check the blackboard outside.  At the moment, there’s killer $30 margaritas all night long.  Candela also do a fixed $48 cocktail menu nightly, with crowd-pleasing classics like Moscow Mule and Bloody Mary.

Candela, 23 Main St, Yung Shue Wan,  4pm-late

4. The Beer Shack

Literally a tiny shack on the side of the popular hiking path linking Yung Shue Wan to Hung Shing Beach, this quirkily located pitstop is open only on weekends.  Run by the Hong Kong craft beer specialists Yardley Brothers, expect to find something new and unusual guesting on one of their four taps, such as pineapple wheat beer, or the Quit Your Job Saison.  Draft beer is about $50 a pint, which is a great flat deal for the quality on offer.

The Beer Shack, Lamma Island Family Walk near Sha Po Old Village, Saturdays and Sundays 1-6pm

5. Banyan Bay Cafe

Fancy getting the weekend started bright and early?  Banyan Bay is a popular weekend brunch spot, serving up huge full English breakfasts, pancakes and avocado on toast.  Those morning carbs will come in handy, as you can enjoy a proper boozy breakfast with their Early Sundowner offer, which means $38 Bloody Marys, Buck’s Fizz or prosecco from 9am (!) until 4pm.  Just don’t miss your boat home.

Banyan Bay Cafe, 67 Main St, Yung Shue Wan, 9am-12pm daily, closed Mondays