"Asia's first Michelin-starred Latin American counter — Ricardo Chaneton's Venezuela by way of Mirazur. Book it weeks out to impress a client."
Ricardo Chaneton was Mauro Colagreco's sous chef at Mirazur in the years it climbed to number one on the World's 50 Best. Born in Venezuela, trained across France and Italy, he came to Hong Kong in 2019 to run Petrus, then opened Mono on his own in 2020 on the fifth floor of 18 On Lan Street, in Central. In 2022 it became the first Latin American restaurant in Asia to win a Michelin star. The dinner tasting starts at HK$1,888, and Mono sits at No. 24 on Asia's 50 Best 2025.
Chaneton cooks one menu, and it is his alone: French technique bent toward the Latin America he grew up in. The Danish langoustine finished with fermented Ecuadorian cacao is the dish to measure him by — the cacao laid into a dense shrimp stock so the sweetness reads as depth, not dessert. It holds. The king crab with caviar is the other set piece, clean and exact. Mono makes its own cacao from Ecuadorian pods, fermenting the fruit on banana leaves, and closes the meal on it: a jelly and a sorbet from the same source. The framework runs on a defined Latin pantry — South American cacao, Peruvian ají limo, Mexican mole spice — and the wine and cocktail lists follow it south. From HK$1,888 for six courses, HK$2,288 for eight, it is fairly priced against Central's top tier.
Roughly twenty-two seats, split between a kitchen counter and a handful of tables. The design carries no Latin-American costume — the influence is on the plate, not the walls. Noise stays at conversation level; lighting is low and even; tables are generous, not banquette-tight. Dress is smart-casual and most guests lean dressier. The counter is the seat to ask for: it puts Chaneton's cooking in front of you and makes a solo or a two-top feel like the right call. The only real barrier is the reservation.
Book Mono for a client dinner for three reasons: no other Central kitchen serves a comparable Latin American tasting, Chaneton's Venezuela-via-Mirazur story does the talking for you, and the room is serious without performing. The single menu removes the ordering negotiation. Pair it with our Hong Kong dining guide, the wider best restaurants to impress clients, and tables for a first date in Hong Kong.
Not for anyone who wants to order off a menu — Mono runs one fixed tasting of around eight courses across three hours, with no à la carte and no swapping out the cacao thread that defines it.
Yes, if a single chef's point of view is what you are paying for. Ricardo Chaneton cooks one Latin American tasting menu rooted in his Venezuelan childhood and his years as a Mirazur sous chef, and the Danish langoustine in fermented Ecuadorian cacao is the kind of dish almost no other kitchen attempts. From HK$1,888 it is fairly priced for a Michelin-starred counter in Central.
Hard for weekend evenings. Mono seats around twenty-two, books through SevenRooms and the restaurant website, and prime Friday and Saturday tables go four to six weeks out. Weekday and lunch seatings are easier. Set a SevenRooms alert and take an early or late slot if your dates are fixed. Larger parties should plan further ahead.
There is one menu, so the choice is made for you. Watch for the Danish langoustine finished with fermented Ecuadorian cacao and the king crab with caviar — the dishes that define the kitchen. Mono ferments its own cacao from Ecuadorian pods, and the cacao-fruit dessert is the close. Pair with the Latin American spirits on the cocktail list.
Yes — it is one of Central's most distinctive tables for a client dinner. The cuisine is unusual enough to carry the conversation, Chaneton's Venezuelan-French-via-Mirazur story is genuinely interesting, and the room is refined without theatre. Book four to six weeks ahead for an evening table. See our Hong Kong dining guide for nearby alternatives.
Via SevenRooms / restaurant site · 4–6 weeks ahead
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Mono is the city's only Latin American Michelin counter. See how it ranks against Central's Cantonese rooms and chef's-table kitchens.
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