The Cell

The oldest bar in Hong Kong is a topic of serious debate, but some would argue that the title belongs to this former watering hole for off-duty officers. The British-era Marine Police Headquarters Compound, located near the ferry terminal in Kowloon, was built in 1884, and included a mess hall that also functioned as a bar. 

Over the subsequent century, the mess hall is thought to have moved to different parts of the compound and functioned under different names—the Sergeants’ Mess, Water Police Canteen, Marine Police Canteen and Marine Police Officers’ Mess—but it has retained the same address. The Marine Police left the building in 1996, at which point the compound was vacant, and in 2009 the building was renovated, making the bar fully open to the public for the first time under the name Mariners’ Rest.

Today, the compound has been rebranded as 1881 Heritage, a complex housing various accommodation, dining and shopping options. The bar is still there, but has been rebranded as The Cell, named for the three former jail cells that now function as semi-private rooms (one still has a squat toilet). These days, the emphasis is on whiskies, which can be enjoyed in a colonial-era-feeling space outfitted with old black and white photos of the Marine Police, heavy leather furniture and aged wood flooring and furnishings.

The greater compound is home to Moreton Bay fig trees that were brought to Hong Kong by visiting sailors—allegedly a tradition at the time—gas lamps and a signal tower equipped with a “time ball,” an early device used to send time signals to ships.