Hong Kong’s Honjo Serves Fun, Modern Japanese With Emphasis on Sharing

I found myself in an unusual position of booking a team dinner recently. Within the week, I was to find a spot that was near our Central office; would accommodate a dozen people (including a special out-of-towner with dietary restrictions); ideally wasn’t staid, stuffy or predictable; and would allow folks to imbibe should they want to — all without breaking the budget.

The result was Honjo, a Pirata Group restaurant that delivered with a convivial vibe in a private-ish area, plenty of sharing plates and free-flow drinks. The set menus and drinks package meant I didn’t have to tediously track our spending for the evening. I decided for everyone ahead of time that we’d opt for the cheapest menus (I wasn’t shy about the fact there was a strict per-head budget): the Osaka set menu (HK$680 per person) that most of the table partook in, the vegetarian-friendly Nagoya (HK$580) and the more-basic “package A” for beverages (HK$280), which included two hours of free-flow draft beer, wine, sake and cocktails (it lacked the champagne and spirits in the more premium “package B”). Logistics made easy.