COVA Gateway Arcade Branch (Cake Shop & Caffe) — Restaurant in Kowloon

There are two Cova branches at Harbour City in TST. One is in the Ocean Centre section and there is this place on G/F of the Gateway Arcade. They have a retail shop/take-away section as well a separate entrance for the classic indoor seating area where you can enjoy meals, coffee, tea and desserts. Opening hours are 9am to 10pm daily.

Long before the third wave of coffee shops spread throughout the city, Cova was one of the safest choices for a proper coffee in Hong Kong. Similarly, before the countless French, Italian, American and other international dessert shops and bakeries began populating our malls, shopping centres and streets, there was Cova. These days, you have plenty choices for good, proper coffee and nice desserts, breads and cakes.... but Cova still has its place.

I haven't bought desserts here for some time now given the plethora of other options but I do stop by from time to time when nearby one of their places and in the mood for a solid, Italian roast style coffee. Recently passed by this Cova and was served up a predictably good macchiato, bold, strong with enough milk and foam to cut the edge. It was just strong enough, flavourful and a really nice coffee drink. Good to see Cova baristas still serving up solid ups of black after all...

Had odd and short lived experience. Walked here from nearby hotel for dinner around 8pm. Menu looked great. Friendly man at the front brought me to a table and left the menus. But then...no service. After 20 min I just walked out. Someone did come up to me after about 10 min, and asked if I’d like to start with a drink. Based on the way he was dressed compared to other staff I think it was the manager. No idea who my server was bc nobody else ever approached the table after that. I said to the man that I’d like some water and that I was ready to order. My table was still empty apart from the menus, no cutlery or anything setup. Another 10 min goes by, nothing. This is when I left. Funny bc the bartender on the way out said “have a good night” like I’d already finished up. There was half dozen staff walking around, mostly with little to do because the place is essentially empty. Maybe I’m missing something or there was a misunderstanding, but it was unusual nonetheless considering it looked like an upscale sit down restaurant 🤔 Anyway, I just laughed it off and went down one level to Dim Sum Library (again), I’ve gone there several times and service (and food) is...

The dinning room is well-furnished. Food & beverage are fantastic - we enjoy the afternoon tea and the signature lobster dinner there. However, food presentation is awful: coffee are found on the coffee saucer dish, table cloth are dirty. Staffs are not willing to clean up the finished plate and let them sat on the table over 30 minutes during dinning time. For such a relatively high-end restaurant, their staffs are unprofessional and poorly trained to customer. The restaurant manager (male) are not proactively to communicate with customers, mean and impolite. Waitress (female) like hide themselves in the inside of the restaurant and stand with unprofessional position ("hea" and lazy looking). If you are looking for good food, this restaurant may fit your requirement. However, if you are looking for professional services that met the food price, this Cova may disappoint you. We don't mind paying more for premium food...