22 Ships — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

Best Spanish Restaurant in Hong Kong 🇪🇸

I still remember my first visit to 22 Ships in Wan Chai, where I dined with my mother and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However, after a few visits, I felt the quality declined until they relocated to PMQ in Central. A recent birthday celebration with friends rekindled my love for the restaurant, as the food once again delivered the stunning impact I had experienced on my first visit, and even exceeded it!

(Image 1) Paella De Carabinero 🌟 Although the Spanish red prawn paella costs HKD 1198, it is a must-try. The prawn meat is tender and springy, rich in collagen, with an intense flavor. It's perfect for four people, with the rice being smoky and infused with seafood essence. Mixing in the prawn oil enhances the aroma!

(Image 2) Manchego Lamb 🌟 The shoulder lamb is tender and flavorful, with a slight gamey taste that is acceptable. It is glazed with rosemary honey, which locks in the juices while adding a hint of sweetness. The sauce is a must-try, although I'm unsure of its exact composition; it’s simply delicious.

(Image 3) Uni Toast 🌟 Sea urchin paired with sea urchin yolk sauce—what could be better?! I also appreciate the sourdough base, which is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

(Image 4) Tortilla This classic Spanish omelette has a good flavor, although it didn’t quite hit my palate.

(Image 5) Gazpacho 🌟 On a hot summer day, this dish is incredibly refreshing. The chilled tomato soup is revitalizing, especially with the cucumber sorbet—what a delightful starter!

(Image 6) Mejillones En Escabeche Among the twelve tapas, this was my least favorite. The mussels were sizable and springy, but the oil had a taste reminiscent of sardines, which I found quite ordinary.

(Image 7) Oyster Salpicón The oysters were fresh and creamy; however, the onions and vinegar in the dish were too subtle, making the flavor less pronounced. A bit more acidity and intensity would enhance the overall experience.

(Image 8) Padrón Peppers A must-order dish when enjoying Spanish cuisine, they taste somewhat like stuffed peppers but without the fish.

(Image 9) Escabeche The scallops were tender, but I believe the sauce could be improved; it currently feels quite standard.

(Image 10) Croquetas De Jamón These ham croquettes are excellent! The crispy exterior bursts with flavor upon biting.

(Image 11) Burnt Basque Cheesecake 🌟 The first bite reveals that this is not your typical creamy cheesecake; it is rich in flavor with a slight hint of sheep's milk. Made with Idiazábal sheep's milk cheese from northern Spain, it has a caramelized exterior and a soft interior, achieving a wonderful balance—truly satisfying!

(Image 12) Albaricoque Al Jerez After so many dishes, a light dessert is needed to cleanse the palate. Since this dessert features fruit and was recommended by the staff, it was worth a try! The apricot is tender, and the color is beautiful. Paired with sherry ice cream, it’s quite refreshing.

Additionally, the service deserves praise! Due to the extreme heat during the summer and our seating near the entrance, the staff kindly offered to close the main door to help cool us down. These little details are very important to customers...

Captured on August 1,...

My girlfriend and I went for dinner at 22 Ships. We go relatively frequently because the food is excellent and the atmosphere is great.

Unfortunately we had a weirdly bad service experience which marred the evening. In addition to a range of typically delicious tapas, we ordered the octopus paella. My girlfriend is allergic to crustaceans and shortly after eating, her throat started swelling up. Seated at the counter, we asked the chef whether the dish contained shrimp and he told us it was prepared with a lobster stock.

We then called the waiter over and said they should have asked whether anyone has any allergies. This is fairly standard practice and even if you thought we probably should have flagged the issue, I would have expected a reaction along the lines of “oh no are you all right how can we help we’re very sorry you’re having an allergic reaction.”

What ensued was a 15 minute argument. I have itemised the various steps below for convenience:

You’re having an allergic reaction. Umm maybe you should have told us you’re allergic??

Okay so maybe other places do ask for allergies but I don’t actually think this dish has prawns in (I.e maybe you’re making this up) [chef confirms it does indeed contain crustaceans]

Okay so you’re having an allergic reaction and I should have asked but English is my second language (also my girlfriend’s second language and the waiter spoke excellent English, seems entirely irrelevant)

A highly begrudging apology (after 15 minutes of basically gaslighting my girlfriend and making us look unreasonable and histrionic)

No manager came to intervene. While the restaurant kindly took the paella off our bill, this really doesn’t compensate for the lack of empathy. I would have happily paid the full price for receiving an immediate expression of concern.

Want to underline food remains excellent and this is one of the best tapas spots in HK but this standard of service...

Relaxing spanish dinner in 22ships

Playing the mexican music with the drum slapping, the environment is so chilling haaa, but 22ships indeed a spanish tapas bar haaa, and what i saw in their web, stating there’s no service charge here and offering rustic spanish dishes

Roasted Suckling Pig with 1/4 portion having very crispy layer and so good eating the fried skin with juicy pork meats insides, and it’s tasty dipping into the sauce, even yummy haa, i like the lovely small leg, it also comes with a bowl of salad

Black Octopus Paella is well cooked and the taste is not the same as paella i usually eat, the flavor is pretty complex with seafood essences, i simply love the rice, paella is a dish of saffron flavored rice cooked with seafoods, this time we only have octopus as meat but which is too salty but i indeed like eating the rice haa, can’t stop eating highly recommend the rice

Burnt Basque Cheesecake is much better than i thought haa, with very rich cream cheese and i can taste they got a double layers, some cream cheese liquid melting insides the cheesecake, such a lovely one and good celebrating my friend’s birthday haaa

The food quality is pretty nice, just the octopus is a bit too salty, and the staffs are generally friendly esp the girl greeting me the first in the reception counter

22ships

Taste 4.3 Service 4.3 Envir 4 Hygiene...