Walk through the foliage engraved into the wooden entrance mural and the room opens out into a full-length view of Victoria Harbour – an oval marble bar at its centre, floor-to-ceiling glass on the far side, and the water beyond. The space was designed by Hong Kong’s AB Concept around the myth of Jason and the Argonauts – conceived as a vessel for exploration, a platform for spirits discovery – and carries that concept with a lightness of touch. Curved architectural forms dissolve the line between inside and out, with small terrariums and live botanicals placed throughout the room. The intention was always a conservatory rather than a conventional bar, and the room carries that through in every detail.

The back-bar tower that anchors the space is both sculptural and functional – a five-metre column of rotating glass cylinders framed in brass, lit from within, rising like a lighthouse behind the bar. The Field Guide collection occupies the upper tiers, its spirits chosen for the novelty of their production and provenance rather than their familiarity, half of them making their Hong Kong debut here. A dedicated book documents each one – story, production method, sourcing philosophy – categorised outside the traditional spirits classification system entirely. On the lower rail, the house pours arrive in reusable ecoSPIRITS orbs, their presence a quiet but deliberate statement about how seriously the bar takes its environmental commitments.

Alongside the Field Guide collection sits the bar’s own gin, co-created with Never Never Distilling Co. in Australia, blending Chinese tea, kumquat, and Szechuan botanicals into something that behaves more like a salty vermouth than a standard London Dry. There is also a collaboration saison brewed with local kumquat and Hong Kong yeast, and zero-proof and low-ABV options listed at the same price tier as their alcoholic counterparts.

The cocktail menu is built around ten ingredients sourced from or closely associated with Hong Kong – pineapple, grapefruit, kumquat, grapes, corn, cacao, bergamot, hops, marigold, and wood – with the idea of letting guests navigate by ingredient rather than by style. A rotating series of riffs on classics runs alongside, changed four times a year, as does the signature Argo Martini in citrus or savoury variations.

The preparation behind the drinks is handled in a dedicated lab on the second floor, entirely reserved for the bar’s use. One person works there three days a week, running a hydraulic cold press, rotary evaporator, sous-vide, and centrifuge – producing the clarified juices, hydrosols, infusions, and ferments that underpin the menu. Batches are small and precisely logged, with everything rotated on a first-in-first-out basis. The trimmings from each process feed back into vinegars, cordials, or the bar’s collaboration with a local fermentery, so the cycle closes on itself rather than going to waste.

Twelve thousand bottles have been kept out of landfill since the ecoSPIRITS system launched at the bar – and that figure covers the house pours alone.

Menu creation is deliberately collective, with every member of the team – bartenders, bar-backs, floor staff – pitching one cocktail idea each season, drawing on personal background, cultural reference, or seasonal ingredient. Pitches go to an anonymous team vote, and winning concepts are then developed in pairs, a senior bartender working with one other to test, refine, and present. The drink passes through three tasting stages before it reaches service, and the result is a menu that reflects the team’s actual composition – Filipino, Indian, Nepali, mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong influences have all shaped pitches – rather than the output of a single creative lead.

Training covers service standards, the ecoSPIRITS handling process, hydrosol distillation, and cocktail technique including vacuum redistillation and Kold-Draft ice carving, with external masterclasses from spirit producers and collaborators running throughout the year. A Learning and Development Manager tracks individual progression and supports each team member through the process.

Staff are paid above the local living wage, with a generous bonus paid at Chinese New Year, full health insurance, a retirement plan with employer contribution, and complimentary nights at Four Seasons properties worldwide. Tips go into a pool distributed by democratic team vote, with management taking no share.

Four times a year, Argo opens its doors for Mega Friends – events that invite three bars from around the world to take over the space for an industry gathering under the harbour lights. Guest shifts and international pop-ups extend that network further, keeping the bar connected to what is happening elsewhere in the global drinks community.

The pre-shift briefing runs for thirty minutes before each service, and every team member gets a moment in it – bartender, bar-back, runner alike, each with thirty seconds to share a win from the last shift, a guest story, or a personal note. It also makes room for a focused look at a new ingredient or technique before closing the same way each time, with the whole team together: “Let go of what you know.”