Bit Point

31 D’Aguilar St T2523 7436. Mon-Sat noon-2am, Sun 4pm-late; happy hour 4-9pm. German theme-bar, concentrating on meals until around 10pm, after which the bar starts selling industrial quantities of lager and schnapps as the jukebox blares.

Bulldog

Ground Floor, 17 Lan Kwai Fong T2523 3528. Mon-Thurs & Sun noon-2am, Fri & Sat noon-4am; happy hour 5-8pm. Fourteen-metre-long bar, plasma screen TVs tuned to world sports and a dart board - this bar and grill is for kicking back in and getting rowdy over a game of soccer.

California

Ground Floor, California Tower, 30-32 Lan Kwai Fong T2521 1345. Mon, Tues & Thurs noon-1am, Wed, Fri & Sat noon-4am, Sun 6pm-midnight.

Expensive American bar and restaurant with a tiny dance floor on which yuppies strut their stuff . It’s been around for too long to be at the cutting edge of anything, but can still be fun on occasion.

Captain’s Bar

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 5 Connaught Rd T2521 0111. Daily 11am-2.30am.

Knowledgeable bar staff can provide you with every cocktail known to man, and the atmosphere is lively, with an excellent Filipino band playing nightly 9pm-2am.

C Bar

Ground Floor, California Tower, 30-32 D’Aguilar St T2530 3695. Mon-Thurs 7.30pm-1am, Fri & Sat 7.30pm-2am, Sun 2-10pm. Tiny corner-bar whose big draw is frozen cocktails dispensed with a giant syringe. The associated C Club downstairs pulls in hip and very young crowds with Ibiza DJs playing house music. A fun and rowdy place.

Club 64

Ground Floor, 12-14 Wing Wah Lane T2523 2801. Happy hour is a long 2.30-9pm. Mon-Sat noon-2am, Sun noon-6pm. Down-at-heel, back-alley drinking den playing blues and rock to an enthusiastic, vaguely indie crowd mast mights, many of whom spill out onto the pavement later.

D26

26 D’Aguilar St T2877 1610. Small, low-key bar which is a good place for a warm-up drink or if you actually want a conversation with your companions.

Fringe Club

2 Lower Albert Rd T2521 7251. Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri & Sat noon-3am; happy hour 4-9pm.

The ground-floor bar of this theatre and art-gallery complex has good-value beers and live music, and there’s also a popular rooftop bar.

Insomnia

38-44 D’Aguilar St T2525 0957. Daily 8am-6am. Street-side bar where, early on in the evening at least, conversation is possible. Later, the house band plays covers at maximum volume to an enthusiastic dance crowd.

Keg

52 D’Aguilar St T2810 0369. Mon-Thurs & Sun 5pm-1am, Fri & Sat 5pm-2am. Decked out in wood and metal trim to resemble the inside of a barrel, this place has a big range of imported beers, including Ruddles and Hoegaarden. Popular with expat Brits who want more than Pilsner in their pint pots.

Post ’97

9 Lan Kwai Fong T2186 1816. Sun-Thurs 9.30-1am, Fri & Sat 9.30-2.30am. There’s a disco downstairs and a arty, bohemian atmosphere in the bar upstairs, with a strong gay presence on Friday nights. Serves fryups, sandwiches and all-day breakfasts.

Schnurrbart

Ground Floor, Winner Building, 27 D’Aguilar St T2523 4700. Mon-Thurs noon-12.30am, Fri & Sat noon-1.30am, Sun 6pm-12.30am.

Long-established German bar with herring and sausage snacks, and some of the best beer around. Serious headaches are available courtesy of the 25 different kinds of schnapps on offer.