I was feeling as if the speakeasy concept had been somewhat overplayed in recent years and become slightly predictable. But a new lounge-bar in Hong Kong has successfully proved me wrong, raising the bar and bringing back the mystery and romance of it all…
FoxGlove opened in November of 2015 and pays homage to the fantasy of the British spy. Designed by the Hong Kong-based architectural firm NC Design & Architecture Ltd., patrons enter via a secret door of an elegant umbrella boutique professing to sell classic silver-handle English brollies. But there’s only one brolly in particular, whose meticulously carved silver handle will open the door to a secret world of “Kingsman-secret-service-style” luxury.
Once inside, wandering through the covert inner sanctum of Foxglove is like shadowing the journey of a globe-trotting gentleman spy.
The dining room looks like the inside of a retro-futuristic first class jet while walking through the hallways feels as if you’ve boarded a 20th century luxury ship.
Next you’ll be catching a high-speed train as you settle into into the VIP room railway car accented with umbrellas and vintage automobile headlights…
But the secrets don’t stop there.
The VVIP has another hidden entrance which can only be accessed by guests who know to place their hand on a floral painting at the end of a corridor until it glows. This signals the undercover bartender to open the door where a classic library awaits, a hidden sanctuary of leather club chairs, marble counters and books all around.
And just in case you need the floor plan, you know, to scope it out before like spies surely do…
Now if that doesn’t revive our enthusiasm for the speakeasy, I don’t know what will.
It does rather remind me of an episode from the 1960s Batman series I found while discovering the bizarre world of Bat Labels!
Foxglove is located at 6 Duddell Street, Printing House, 2nd Floor, Hong Kong.
