Leela

Manav Tuli's Lucknowi tokri chaat at Leela comes in an edible basket of deep-fried grated potato filled with chickpeas and chutneys.

Why go

Tuli ran the kitchen at CHAAT in the Rosewood hotel from May 2020. CHAAT held a MICHELIN star for two years under him. He left in late 2023 and opened Leela with JIA Group in Causeway Bay that November.1 He grew up in Mumbai and trained at the Oberoi there and at Chutney Mary and Tamarind in London.7 5 He built the menu around the Maurya Empire of around 300 BCE. Janice Leung Hayes, who keeps Eater's Hong Kong map, wrote in 2025 that it reads like an anthropological study of India.1 5 The South China Morning Post's 100 Top Tables put the cooking among the best of its kind in Hong Kong in 2026.4

Order from the tandoor. Rubin Verebes of Foodie ate at Leela in April 2024 and called the oven arguably where chef Manav excels. He found the chestnut paneer tikka an awesome and must-order plate of food, creamy and slightly salty inside and out, with notes of fenugreek, turmeric, onion and garlic. The coconut sea bass came with a charred caramel-sweet exterior.1 In 2026 Tatler found that the squid hits the heat and comes back with that unmistakable smoky edge.3

The bone marrow biryani divides people. Verebes in 2024: The electric aftertastes of beefy fat and salt on the tongue are strong. Mr. Chow, a Hong Kong food blogger, ate in the first weeks, in late 2023, and found literally a bone in the middle, with no marrow on the rice. He also judged the kitchen a noticeable downgrade from Tuli's cooking at CHAAT.1 2

The service reports split the same way. Mr. Chow waited on the terrace while his table was readied in 2023: We felt neglected and ignored. Leung Hayes credits the front-of-house team in 2025 and calls Leela one of the top dining experiences in the city.2 5 Tatler's advice in 2026: If you see something unusual coming out of the tandoor, order it.3

Order this / avoid

Order: the Lucknowi tokri chaat. Verebes in 2024: the fried potato renders each bite moreish with salivatory sour chutney. Mr. Chow liked it too in 2023.1 2
Order: the chestnut paneer tikka (Verebes, 2024).1
Order: the coconut sea bass (Verebes, 2024). It is on the August 2026 tasting menu.11
Order: the smoked butter chicken, tandoor-cooked chicken in a smoked curry of red pepper, ground spices and onion. Verebes in 2024: Each swipe of your naan into the sauce is mesmerising. The Post says in 2026 you can have it flambéed with Laphroaig whisky.1 4
Order: the tandoori squid, made with local squid, HK$188 on the August 2026 menu (Tatler, 2026).13 3
Order: the Kumaoni raita, yogurt with mustard seed and cucumber. Verebes in 2024: it is ever so fresh.1
Avoid: the Saoji lamb shank. Mr. Chow called it ordinary and forgettable in the first weeks, in 2023.2

What locals & experts say

MICHELIN Guide (2025): With firm yet tender flesh, monkfish imported from France works a treat in the curry.9
Lauren Ho, Wallpaper (2024):* André Fu modelled the room on the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, with a 3.6m-high billowing ceiling – which mimics palatial roof contours.7
Award: Tatler Best 20 Restaurants Hong Kong, 2026. Time Out Hong Kong's 50 best restaurants, No. 13, 2025. Listed in the MICHELIN Guide, 2025.3 6 9

Good to know

Which Leela: a second Leela opened at Wynn Palace's Gourmet Pavilion in Macau by 2025. The meals described above were eaten at the Causeway Bay room.6
Price: the Royal Experience menu was HK$1,288 a head in August 2026. The tiffin-box set lunch ran HK$288 to 488 plus 10 percent service. Verebes put dinner for two at HK$750 to 1,000 in 2024.11 12 1
Timing: the house serves a tiffin lunch, dinner and a weekend brunch, with a happy hour Monday to Thursday. Call to check which days lunch runs.10
Booking: online at leela.hk, or call +852 2882 5316. Verebes found it hard to get a table in 2024.10 3 1
Where: Shop 301-310, 3/F, Lee Garden Three, 1 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay.3

Verdict

should-visit — Go to Leela in Causeway Bay for what Manav Tuli cooks in the tandoor, starting with the chestnut paneer tikka and the coconut sea bass. A blogger in the first weeks got a bone with no marrow in his biryani and was left waiting on the terrace.

Leela.