Public

Missed Connection on 11^th April 2016, 12:15pm:
You were wearing a white blouse and black skirt and I was wearing light grey suit and a blue tie with speckles of my hastily consumed cream of mushroom soup ($ 15), which was a bit heavy on the cream and low on mushrooms.
You sat across from me at the family style table because at lunch time, though the seating is ample, the place is an absolute zoo. Maybe people come for the beautiful views that you get from the 37^th floor, or maybe it’s just super convenient if you work in One Island East. I know I go for the same reasons.
I saw you looking at my sandwich. That’s OK, it was a really nice sandwich of surprisingly flavorful pâté with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, all between a pleasantly squishy demi-​baguette ($ 55).
Were you surprised as I was to find such a bold sandwich combination at a rather sterile looking place such as Public? That’s OK, I am always pleasantly surprised by the somewhat unconventional menu at Public. Yesterday I had the corned beef and emmental mini-​baguette ($ 30) which was surprisingly filling despite its small stature. I’m afraid the mushroom soup was still pretty weak.
You were eating the pick-​three salad combo ($ 55), which is my favorite thing at Public. Today it was fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes, roasted veg, and penne with peas and pesto. It was lovely.
I hope you’ll agree with me in thinking that Public is one of the best places to lunch in the area.
Signed,
Chris H

Public is a great place to come and take your lunch break! Although be warned, if you come during peak hours you might not find a seat! Public serves a variety of food and they have different menu items each day. It’s kinda like a cafeteria style place where you can choose your meal. It reminds me a lot of Whole Foods and their food is pretty decent!
I love the Indian curry here! The chicken tikka and tandoori are pretty good and they do a pretty good veggie korma as well. I’ve also had the lamb roast before which is pretty good! They also have a sushi/​udon section as well as an Italian section which I have yet to try! If you get a drink with your meal it usually costs about 100hkd.
Overall a great casual place to come eat if you are too lazy to walk outside of your office building!

Public is a hidden gem in Quarry Bay, nestled in One Island East the business building, you will easily miss out this place, especially there is another one on ground floor and Pacific Coffee just the opposite.
Arrived to the 37^th floor with fast speed lift, you feel like you are in Sky100. They are similar with down-​to-​ground window, comfortable sitting area and stunning views, but you pay like hundred sixty there and none here. Yes, none, basically Public is a café and deli, so you are welcome to sit and have your own food, serving youself with view to Victoria Harbor, Lion Rock and Tseung Kwan O.
The coffee is not superb, but they have enough to offer includes a good drink list. Try to avoid coming in lunch time, will be packed with all businessmen.

Went for brekkie before work, nice view, chic and atmosphere. Not much variety in my opinion given it only does brekkie and lunch. The food is actually not bad but then nothing special, when comparing to Sydney standards, a 3 star (which is how I do my rating) but if compare to other HK restaurants, a 4star seems fair.

One Island East is a skyscraper in Quarry Bay run by Swire Properties, and in the building are hundreds of hungry office workers. Business-​savvy Swire would never miss an opportunity, and so, their concept was born — Public!
There are actually 3 Publics in the building, one Public on the ground floor, then Public the restaurant and Public the deli both on 38/​F. All of them cater to the lunch crowd.
This review is for the Deli on 38/​F.
The food is actually quite typical, sandwiches, salads and pasta, at decent quality and all in easily take away-​able packaging. In addition, they also have hot food counters serving curry, roasted foods and chinese, depending on the menu that day. The price is similar to a Simply Life, which is slightly below the $ 100 mark. Affordable and extremely convenient for people who work inside the building.
Public closes at 6pm, so is obviously a lunch-​only place, they do not aim to be the next Michelin restaurant, but the concept is clear: a good place to have a lunch BREAK: The area is spacious, seats are self serve and almost every seat gives you a sweeping view of the lush green hills behind Quarry Bay or a panorama of Victoria Harbor. You will get a true sense of the word «break» here. Besides that, there is also a foosball table, which I presume is a well-​appreciated installation, from the giggling office ladies playing with it, and for the really nervous people, there is a gigantic stock ticker and news display rolling across the top of the entire deli.
Overall, a decent place to buy takeaway or to chill during lunch. But be mindful of being overheard — remember that the restaurant almost exclusively serves people working in One Island East — today I bumped into my company Chairman grabbing a salad here!