Liberty Private Works ...(sorry no it doesn't)
It is always a shame when bad things happen to potentially good restaurants. In this case Liberty Private Works, a private kitchen in Central sadly becomes a
victim. The bad pretty much starts from before you even get to the Restaurant. Located on the 26th Floor of 11 Stanley Street, the uninitiated, will first go to the main Lifts, only to be told "to use the one round the corner", this being a temporary Service Lift. With only one lift serving that level, there can be a wait at
times. Brushing off logistics, upon our arrival to the 26th floor, we were met
with a haze of cooking smoke and fumes, note we had yet to even make it the
Restaurant yet.
Opening the door to the place and my heart sank. While it had been described as one of the best private kitchens "featuring an open
kitchen", turns out that is the only feature, it is one big open kitchen,
set in a U shape around which diners are seated. That is if you can see
anything through the haze of fumes.
Liberty Private Works, suffers from immensely poor planning, both from the essential
Liberty Private Works, suffers from immensely poor planning, both from the essential
side in terms of allowing for proper extraction of cooking fumes, and the fact that
diners are perched on rather high stools packed in closely together. Proving to
be a challenge for some, me included and while I am not that tall I am
certainly not that short either.
Part of the poor planning includes not allowing for areas to service / greet guests and the only greeting we received was the cooking haze. No one offered to assist with the wine we had brought along. (It's okay to bring wine, it's a Private Kitchen right?)
Purpose of an open kitchen. Lets consider the reasons behind an open kitchen, some say it's to break down barriers and provide a complete dining experience, others like to enjoy seeing what the Chefs do. However, in the case of Liberty Private Works, the experience is a negative one, there is no benefit of having an open kitchen, with little or no interaction between the Chefs and guests. In this case, you don't get to see much being cooked, and mostly see them arranging food on a plate. This is
Part of the poor planning includes not allowing for areas to service / greet guests and the only greeting we received was the cooking haze. No one offered to assist with the wine we had brought along. (It's okay to bring wine, it's a Private Kitchen right?)
Purpose of an open kitchen. Lets consider the reasons behind an open kitchen, some say it's to break down barriers and provide a complete dining experience, others like to enjoy seeing what the Chefs do. However, in the case of Liberty Private Works, the experience is a negative one, there is no benefit of having an open kitchen, with little or no interaction between the Chefs and guests. In this case, you don't get to see much being cooked, and mostly see them arranging food on a plate. This is
okay for say a few courses, but by the time you are past the fifth course, you are
also pretty past seeing them spend time carefully arranging food on a plate,
only for you wolf it down in but a few moments.
Personally, while I remain open to new styles and ways I have yet to see an open kitchen that really lives up to the hype. Mostly, it seems a Restaurant saves money by combining the seating and kitchen facilities. If you want a positive open kitchen type of experience, just stick with good Teppanyaki any day. Just to assure you that I am not exaggerating the effect of the cooking haze, several members of our party had to request for damp cloths to wipe their eyes with, some popped out for a breath of much needed fresh air and even my Laundry Man Mr Wong across the road turned his nose up and the clothes I dropped off to be Laundered post dining.
Bickbats aside, all the hype I had heard about the food did live up to and exceed expectations and that's about it.
Costs - Average per person HKD$ 800+ (Post dining Laundry extra)
Liberty Private Works 26th Floor, 11 Stanley Street Central, Hong Kong.
Personally, while I remain open to new styles and ways I have yet to see an open kitchen that really lives up to the hype. Mostly, it seems a Restaurant saves money by combining the seating and kitchen facilities. If you want a positive open kitchen type of experience, just stick with good Teppanyaki any day. Just to assure you that I am not exaggerating the effect of the cooking haze, several members of our party had to request for damp cloths to wipe their eyes with, some popped out for a breath of much needed fresh air and even my Laundry Man Mr Wong across the road turned his nose up and the clothes I dropped off to be Laundered post dining.
Bickbats aside, all the hype I had heard about the food did live up to and exceed expectations and that's about it.
Costs - Average per person HKD$ 800+ (Post dining Laundry extra)
Liberty Private Works 26th Floor, 11 Stanley Street Central, Hong Kong.
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