Megabites: Hooters

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Launched in era when using sex to sell didn’t attract widespread social media scorn, for a generation of people Hooters name alone will conjure images of busty waitresses in their ubiquitous bright orange shorts. So what does Hooters bring to Hong Kong in 2016? In truth not much, the current marketing pitch is that it’s a family restaurant. But it’s just a sports bar, all-be-it one that appears stuck in the 80s. The walls of the downstairs bar area are festooned with TV screens, while beer taps protrude from a surfboard. The waitresses uniforms which used to raunchy are now positively tame compared some of the shorts, tops and yoga gear you’ll see girls wear on the streets today.

Social media’s invasion into every part of our lives, paired with quality camera lenses on mobile phones has seen an explosion in food porn. Especially locally where it seems impossible for people to eat a meal or enjoy a drink without taking multiple photos and sharing them with the world. Restaurants, bars and cafes have responded and regardless of the taste or flavour of the dish, outside of traditional local outlets, your food is likely to be presented to look great in a photo.

Hooters food just doesn’t generate that ‘ummm that looks tasty’ vibe when it arrives at the table – unlike many similarly priced and cheaper restaurants in the area. In fact for a restaurant famed for ‘American sized portions’ several of the dishes showcased at the media tasting looked more than a little lost on the big white plates.

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The 225gram Western BBQ burger ($178) might have cracked the mustard a decade ago but burgers in Hong Kong have moved on – which has been great news for burger lovers, even at the increased prices. I want to like it, it’s a big patty, has visible amounts of cheese and bacon but the patty isn’t freshly ground beef, lacks any flavour and is cooked to an even grey. And there the price $178!

It’s saddens me to say, because I like a good burger, that in the taste stakes a Butchers Club burger (one of the best local burgers around, and not quite half the price) is to a Hooters’ burger, what a Hooters burger is to basic $10 McDonalds hamburger. Really disappointing.

What will attract some is that you can choose the sauce that many of the main dishes – including prawns, wings, chicken – are cooked in. There are thirteen sauces and three dressings options. For each 5 pieces ordered you can choose a different sauce, so for example if you order 10 boneless chicken wings you could have 5 cooked in 911 and 5 in BBQ.

Hooters original buffalo shrimp (12/$170, 24/$330) are tangy and pretty good to enjoy with a beer while watching sport. Similarly the chicken wings are massive compared to many around town, but you pay for them. As you do with the 220gram ribeye at $388, which comes with 9 chips and half a cherry tomato.

The nachos are uninspiring and really pricey ($158-188) for what despite the large plate is a pretty small portion. There are far better nachos around.

So many of the dishes, prices excepted, would have been deemed pretty damn good a decade ago. And it’s easy to see why Hooters is popular in Thailand, Vietnam, China etc. But bar/pub food and customer expectations in Hong Kong are different today and what we were served at the media preview really doesn’t compare well with what’s currently available around Hong Kong.

There will be the usual voices bitching about exploitation but the ‘Hooters girls’ seem happy, whether their vibrant energy and effervescence will be enough to see most customers return more than once is questionable. There are no real sports bars in Central anymore, and beyond the name that will certainly attract a number of patrons but to succeed in today’s very competitive market as a restaurant, they’ll need to up their game.

This may sound overly negative as they’ll probably make million$, but for the price I want a little more from my bar/restaurant these days. However for those looking for an 80s style American Sports Bar there’s no need to power-up the DeLorean, Hooters is your place – have fun, but respect the ladies by keeping your hands to yourself.

Hooters
43-55 Wyndham Street, Central. Tel: 2399-7773
Opening hours: 11am-2am. www.hootershongkong.com
Opening Soon.

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