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Ashlyn Chak

Mostly Harmless, a Hong Kong bar ranked 45th on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list in 2024, is best known for its omakase cocktail menu, which changes daily and features ingredients sourced locally.
On March 27, it made an unexpected move to serving only mocktails – non-alcoholic drinks – and has since expanded its menu of elevated bar snacks.
It was a pivot, albeit one that may be temporary, that came about partly because the bar in Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Island was forced to reapply for its liquor licence, explains owner Ezra Star.
“We did our best and thought things were going the right way; then we were informed that what our licensing consultant told us wasn’t accurate. So we changed course and are just following what’s required to reapply.”

A bar does not stop being a bar just because it takes a break from serving alcoholic drinks, however.
Besides, says Star: “Mostly Harmless was never really [just] about alcohol. It was always about connecting people, having a good time and pushing the envelope on what we can do. We’re just exploring how to do that without alcohol.
“We were one of the first farm-to-glass bars in Hong Kong. Now we’re really excited to be one of the first non-alcoholic bars. It’s been an interesting adventure.”
When she first announced the sobering news in late March on social media, patrons and fellow bartenders did not know how to react. Many non-drinkers were excited, while some asked her if it was an early April Fool’s joke.
“People have been very odd to us lately, and I’ve been extremely straightforward,” she says.

She adds that while she does not know how long this alcohol-free period will last, as a non-drinker she is happy to focus on the positives and promote something she really cares about.
Star is not the only Hong Kong bartender to have given up alcohol. She counts COA’s Jay Khan, who has a non-alcoholic Mostly Harmless guest shift lined up shortly, as an industry contemporary who “doesn’t drink very often”.
“It’s nice to be able to create a space for the people who are already not drinking. Even if – or when – we bring back alcohol, we’ll continue doing these weekly bar community takeovers with some of the best bars in the city. We’re planning out as many as we can.”
On April 6, Bar Leone, named No 1 in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards in 2024, took over the alcohol-free shakers at Mostly Harmless next to Hong Kong charity More Good’s weekend kitchen pop-up.
Mocktails are nothing new for Mostly Harmless. Before the licensing debacle, three-quarters of the drinks on its daily cocktail menu had been available in “clean” versions without alcohol; it even catered to pregnant women with strict dietary requirements, such as avoiding fermented ingredients.
Now, living up to its name, the bar has truly become harmless. To Star, this temporary “dry” spell only means new challenges.

“Without the alcohol, you have to find all these creative ways to add body, such as extracting thickening agents from a corn cob. What we’ve been playing with is not only flavour, but texture,” she says.
“Because we don’t use a lot of dairy [produce], the body has to come from ingredients directly from the farm (Mostly Harmless works with one in the New Territories in Hong Kong). It’s super fun to play and just experiment.”
She considers this “an amazing opportunity for us to shine and do even more than we did before” as she discovers “a whole new playing field” for her to stretch her legs.
In the meantime, Mostly Harmless has expanded its food menu to 10 items and plans to introduce “a few larger dishes” for a more substantial snacking experience.
However, Star maintains that the bill of fare will “still be oriented towards bar food”. She and executive chef Darryl Blacker, who earned his chops in Japanese fine-dining kitchens, are gravitating towards Japanese flavours.

Star adds: “Whatever’s happening in the kitchen the bar is learning from, and the same back and forth. The food and the drinks are really getting to mix.
“There’s an amazing rice dish that changes based on what we want to make, so there’s something a little more hearty. For some of the smaller items, for example, we’re smoking our own meats just to capture the essence of what we want to make.”
Mostly Harmless’ drinks menu used to change daily; now it changes weekly, with everything subject to adjustment depending on the ingredients available each day.
It is an ongoing process. “How do we do what we can within the range of what we have?” Star asks rhetorically. “That is why we only serve a certain number of drinks; that is why everything is as simplified as possible.
“This is what we know we can do well, and we don’t want to add unless we know it’s good.”
She adds: “It’s very fun to watch people come into our space and re-evaluate the way they approach cocktails.”


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Ezra Star, owner of Mostly Harmless bar in Hong Kong, which has switched to selling mocktails. A non-drinker herself, she is happy to see the bar go in a new direction. Photo: Mostly Harmless/The Foundry Asia

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Using strawberries from a Hong Kong farm, the “clover club” mocktail is one of the first items on Mostly Harmless’ new alcohol-free menu. Photo: Mostly Harmless/The Foundry Asia

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