Cover Source: Second Draft
Source: Second Draft
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Despite shutting its doors in January, the popular brewpub makes a welcome return this month just a hop, skip and jump away from its first home in Tai Hang
To the dismay of many, much-loved gastropub Second Draft announced in January the closure of its original location in Tai Hang—prompting an outpouring of sadness from the F&B community at large. However unlike the many stories that would follow in the intervening months of stalwarts of the food and drink scene slipping into history—Jumbo Kingdom, Mido Cafe and Happy Cake Shop come to mind—it seems that Second Draft has a second life in it just yet.
As of this month, Tai Hang's loss is now Causeway Bay's gain as the gastropub—first opened in 2016 by The Ale Project, May Chow and Young Master Ales—unveils its new quarters in Fashion Walk, in a space carved out from another May Chow-helmed restaurant, Little Bao Diner.
See also: Second Draft is Closing, and Tai Hang Loses an Iconic Part of the Community
Above 23 beer taps line the walls (Source: Second Draft)
23 beer taps line the walls (Source: Second Draft)
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Above A selection of local and international craft pours rotates regularly (Source: Second Draft)
A selection of local and international craft pours rotates regularly (Source: Second Draft)
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While there's certainly been some downsizing, the new location delivers the same formula that has won Second Draft a loyal following of beer lovers over the years: 23 taps serve a rotating selection of brews from local and overseas craft breweries alike, while crowd favourites like the Tai Hang fries and mapo burrata make a return on the food menu, alongside new dishes like a grilled short rib sandwich, Jer Jer beef tendons, and beetroot and avocado.
Those looking to avoid a beer belly have the option of ordering a range of natural wines, cocktails, or Young Master's new Higherthan line of ready-to-drink highballs.
Interior-wise, Second Draft has also maintained its signature Star Ferry-inspired aesthetic of white-and-green tiling so redolent of the city to which it pays homage. While it might not have the same tucked-away feel of its first home, the return of Second Draft is nonetheless a win for Hong Kong's tenacious craft beer culture.
Second Draft
International
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$ $
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Shop H01, G/F, Fashion Walk, 9 Kingston Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Gavin Yeung is a Hong Kong-based writer and was the editor at Tatler Dining. He has written across the realms of F&B, design, fashion and travel, with a focus on in-depth profiles and experiential features. Previously, he held editorial positions at Hypebeast, Soho House and Vogue Hong Kong. He’s also a keen photographer and aspiring home bartender, and is constantly thinking of original, Cantonese-inflected (and occasionally questionable) cocktails to shake up. Follow him on Instagram at @gaviny.
