Holly Brown

This is probably one of the bigger sized cafes you’ll find in HK. Plenty of space and seats if you’re in need of somewhere to chill with a group. Also a decent spot to start off a casual date if you’re not fond of having adult beverages around the corner.
The gelato is a-​okay. There are decent flavors and you can get it in either a cup, cone, etc. It’s a super hot day so I’m sitting here enjoying a small cup as we speak!
Their coffee is just alright. Typical espresso based drinks along with some okay drip coffee. But it’ll get the job done if you’re looking just for a caffeine fix.
The vibe is cozy and can get quite lively and loud after work hours. Either way, you can study, have a quick meeting or organize a meet up.
Get your sugar and java fix at the same time!

Holly Brown’s is very close to the central mtr station and extremely easy to get to. I stumbled upon here by accident with a group of friends. This is definitely a great place for big groups!
I shared the monster looking shake with a friend and it was delicious. It was a chocolate banana milkshake topped with a donut, some brownie pieces, banana slices, and some whipped cream! It was quite a treat. What struck me was that the shake was not too thick. I was happy about that because I don’t really like thick milkshakes. My other friend ordered ice cream scoops that came in waffle cones. Presentation was pretty on point!
My friend had a good time and I will likely be back to try the other things they have to offer, especially since it is so centrally located!

We went to Holly Brown at 10AM on a Saturday for coffee and one of their advertised «New York» bagels.
This place is huge by Hong Kong standards. Lots of seating, very open, appears to have an upstairs section for additional seating, then it is open at the door front too and kind of spills into the street. I am not certain if Holly Brown is a coffee place that sells ice cream or and ice cream shop that sells coffee.
We had coffee and two breakfast sandwiches on their advertised «New York» bagels. As for the New York bagel, I don’t think these bagels are in the direct lineage of a true NY bagel… maybe like a distant cousin twice removed of a NY bagel. It was OK and you could tell it was attempting to be a NY bagel, but missed the mark (not large enough, not doughy enough… with NY bagels it is all about the water used to make them!) Not sure if I could find a better NY bagel in Hong Kong, so the jury is out a bit on the bagel from Holly Brown.
My breakfast sandwich was salmon, avacado and a poached egg on top of a plain bagel. Along with my regular coffee americano, something left me a bit flat about this place. The coffee was thin, no punch of flavor or fullness in the bean. My Holly Brown experience was average. Not great, not awful, not memorable, just average. My breakfast had no wow moment. I had no moment of customer service amazement. Coffe was average. Average is a 3 to me on Unilocal.
Maybe ice cream is really their thing and we will try that the next time. As a coffee option, I will not return.

Always enjoyed the spacious lounge area and the staff is very polite and doesn’t rush u like everyone else in Hong Kong!
Had the chocolate today, creamy smooth!
Music isn’t drowning out conversations and people tend to be more civilized because it’s close to Central unlike MK! Staff actually speaks decent English so that’s a plus for foreigners!

Deliciously creamy and thick gelato! Split the mini mo in a waffle cone cup with a friend and it was HKD $ 58 for a large.
Had yummy bits of chocolate and Oreos all mixed into its luxuriously thick texture! Highly recommend this if you love thick ice cream.

Regardless of how big of a dinner I have, I somehow always end up here to «share» a large waffle basket of happiness with my girlfriend.
Our no 1 go to is the chocothon with extra brownies. If you are a chocolate fan, this seriously does not disappoint.
But hello patrons, the waffle basket is to be eaten! This is why it’s in a paper cup. Why people leave it behind baffles me. Why not just ask for it in the paper cup if you never intended on eating it? Go figure.
I’ve also had the giant toast with ice creams here too. Made from brioche it is also delicious. I would also highly recommend it!

This busy café is a great place to catch up with friends. There is seating upstairs and downstairs, but be aware that it’s FREEZING in there. It’s definitely a bring a sweater type of place. They also offer free WiFi except for the hours of 12pm-​2pm. Their iced lattes is one of the best I’ve had in town. It’s very fragrant and tasty. Holly Brown does run on the expensive side though so be prepared.

I hadn’t frequented Holly Brown since I packed up working for myself and got a corporate job (this was a sweet spot to bring you computer and get down to work), and I decided to head there with some friends for dessert.
The place has had a much needed face lift, and I enjoy the long tables they’ve put in — kinda makes me want to work from coffee shops again. I have to say, I normally looked at the ice creams and steered away, opting for their delicious savouries, but the ice cream did not let me down.
Big waffle cup, and they have an array of tasty flavours and banter full staff. I opted for a mint based scoop drizzled with caramel and splattered with honey comb. Delicious. Refreshing. Crunchy.
Two thumbs up.

The coffee is actually quite decent. but at what cost? Holly Brown is pricey (yes, even for Central), has an overly ex-​patty ambiance, and generally lacks the «umph» factor to elevate it above other coffee shops.
There are many good things about this place:
— Coffee is strong; very refreshing in a city of weaker coffees and diluted lattes.
— Gelato and desserts are tasty; although also pricey, duty calls when your sweet tooth bites.
— There is tons and tons of seating here. It’s quite loud downstairs, but so head upstairs if you want a (ever-​so-​slightly) quieter environment.
Come here if you want to chat with a friend or eat desserts, but not if you want to get work done. There’s free wifi (except 12 – 2 on weekdays), but it’s definitely too loud to hear yourself think. Great place for people watching.

This place is a really good place for ice cream. I got the double chocolate ice cream. The chocolate ice cream that I had was very good. Each bite contain many chocolate chips which I enjoyed very much. They gave a lot of ice cream so it was worth the money. If I remember correctly it was around HK$ 40-​HK$ 50. That’s a pretty good price considering that the ice cream store was in Central. As for the space it was clean, cozy, and modern. There was quite a bit of people in this location. I really liked this experience. And I hope to experience this again the next time I am in Hong Kong.

This place serves ice cream, dessert and coffee. And they have their own roaster and many varieties of coffee beans. Not bad for coffee lovers who brew espresso at home.
Mind you for the coffee anyhow. I than their espresso kind of thin. Might be best to ask for double shots or just go home to brew espresso. This place also only roast at dark roast, so it supposedly not suitable for drip or French press. I also don’t like how their Americano being served too hot.
Ice cream taste real good. And I enjoyed a place to seat down and enjoy a good chat with friends without being rushed. I will come again for the seat down chat time whenever being needed.
One thing to add, if the staffs that work at the ice cream section stop saying «eat shit» at each other while making chocolate ice cream, I would add one extra star.

Standard local Starbucks copy. A little better is a few ways; more seating, food a little better, etc. But not great in other ways; staff is indifferent & a bit pricy.

It’s better than Starbucks around the corner but I have to day that I come here because it’s close to where my appointment is and there is plenty of seating which allows me to get some work done.
I haven’t tried the food menu and have really only stuck to ordering the Americano and upgrading to the highlighted bean.
I see that they have a full breakfast and gelato so both are positives in my book but I’ve yet to try so will have to update my post in the future if I ever do try

HB is expanding enormously! Originally featuring its ice cream as we don’t have any ColdStone here. I used to order the Berry Mix to fulfill my craving for strawberry, blueberry, raspberry blah blah. If ice cream is about quality milk, no syrup, this shop is doing pretty okay.
But if you want to be aware of their portion (that’s how they price high), it is way too much and fatty. Their attitude is giving you a big bowl served in cute waffle then letting you swallowing all the calorie for a week’s dessert.
They also have the most expensive drip coffee. Thanks for reminding us your landlord is rising up your contract for your flagship store.
But I have to say it is a very cute chain with nice spots. A coffee for a rush morning, some muffin to stuff the starving brekkie. They are considerate and caring. And you can already smell they are getting better as well.

A friend of mine took me there yesterday because he was having a huge craving for ice cream. I knew the place but had never been there before. In fact, I didn’t know it was Holly Brown because I had never paid attention and it looked completely different to its newly opened branch in Queensway Plaza, this one being a lot smaller and modern looking.
My friend went on to the ice cream counter and got some vanilla and banana, which he’s a big fan of! I had a green tea (nothing remarkable, maybe the price…35HKD…seriously?). I didn’t order the black coffee because I was advised to avoid it here. Not worth the price.
The fact that there are two counters and the ice cream one is strategically located by the door is smart. Most people just come in for a take away ice cream. We decided to stay in because it was so hot outside… One thing I love about this place is the size, it’s just huge! And spacious, even more so upstairs where there’s plenty of natural light especially if you sit close to the windows. Even though there were many free seats downstairs we went up to find comfier ones. I have to say that even though it’s nice and comfy overall (especially the big beige armchairs) it didn’t seem very clean. Our table, although empty, was filled with leftovers from previous customers and we had to put that away. I couldn’t see any members of the staff around, for the hour we stayed there.
It’s definitely a nice place to grab a drink with a friend if you happen to be around Central but I suspect most people come here for the ice cream alone.

There’s nothing better than a scoop of delicious gelato on a hot summer day — nobody can deny that — and Holly Brown is just the place for it!
Holly Brown on Stanley Street is one of my favorite places to get my gelato fix. Its location in the middle of Central makes it really easy to just stop by and get some gelato, but I usually have my gelato in-​store. This Holly Brown is pretty big — it spans two floors, although admittedly, I have never been upstairs. Because it’s so spacious, I hardly ever have trouble finding a seat downstairs anyway.
Their gelato is the most amazing stuff — creamy and super flavorful. Even though it is pricey, I find that their scoops are bigger than at other places. My favorite flavors include tiramisu, vanilla and the lemon sorbet. Their blue vanilla is pretty popular, mostly for its striking blue color, but taste-​wise it’s nothing special. It’s basically vanilla, but slightly sweeter, and I wouldn’t get a full scoop of it because I can’t shake the idea of all that artificial coloring! When I’m here, I normally get the double scoops to share with a friend — it’s more worth it than each person getting one scoop. Plus, this way, you can share the flavors too! The scoops come in a nice waffle cone, though I usually am not able to finish it.
The coffee here is not bad too. Well, I’ve actually only ever had the hot latte, but that’s impressed me enough. The latte is served very hot, and is milky but still quite strong. Their latte is definitely better than the likes of Starbucks and Pacific Coffee, but I’m not sure if I can say it’s worth the extra bucks!
Holly Brown does sandwiches and proper meals too, but I don’t know — to me, Holly Brown is all about the gelato and the coffee, so I don’t think I’ll ever stuff my face with anything other than their gelato here. Don’t be afraid to ask to try their flavors before deciding on your scoop (s) — or don’t — it’ll probably make it harder to choose, actually!

OK, it may be one of the most expensive coffee houses in HK, but I’m a fan of Holly Brown — especially the large store on Stanley Street in Central.
What Holly Brown pride themselves on, is their expertise in coffee. According to their website, it is their «intention to fill a gap in the market with a coffee company who will take its product offering and clientele seriously». Sounds a bit poncy, but I think what they are trying to say is that they serve decent coffee. I think this much at least is true.
Whilst pricey, the coffee is indeed very good, much better than the chain brands in HK. However, it is brewed quite strong, so you may prefer to opt for a latte or something milky to take the sharp edge off. The food is also good, my favourite of the moment being their pies, which are well filled, and have a crispy (as though fried) top. Unlike the other chain stores, they do serve proper hot meals.
The Stanley Street branch is big, covering two floors. The ground floor has more comfy seating — sofas, armchairs, whilst the upstairs is more tables and chairs. The upstairs unfortunately has an open top kitchen (as in the walls do not go up to the ceiling), which means that the whole top floor smells of cooking grease.
For all the tech heads, there is free wi-​fi here, but it does get switched off over the busy lunch period.
If you don’t fancy coffee, the gelato stand in store is excellent.