Beijing Restaurant Review: Char

Choose life. Choose a variety of Wagyu beef. Choose a steak knife. Choose a flavored salt. Choose a mustard.

Had Trainspotting been set in middle-class dining circles rather than economically depressed 1980s Scotland, the film may have opened like this. And rather than meeting in a dingy Edinburgh pub, the characters may have convened here in Lido. Because at the Crowne Plaza’s long-awaited new steakhouse Char, choice is everything.

This welcome series of dilemmas begins, as one might expect, with the steak itself. We opt for the Tajima Wagyu (RMB668 for 200g fillet; RMB558 for 250g sirloin), but there is something to suit all budgets: a Blackmore Wagyu for larger ones and some affordable, though still excellent cuts for those more modest.

As our steak arrives, the choices flow more readily. First we are presented with a series of hand-made knives (Antler, Laguiole, et al). Next, a flight of six flavored salts – including an activated charcoal black lava salt – arrives at the table. Finally, we are brought three pots from which a waiter carefully scoops mustard onto our steak board.

What you choose to do with your steak is your own business. Every combination we try is a winner, though that may more to do with the excellently cooked, intensely marbled cuts than with the salts we choose to top them with.

But the choices need not stop there. Although you’d be foolhardy to leave Char without a dish from the grill, the menu features much else worth sampling. Of the seafood options, we recommend the delightful ceviche (RMB168) that sees refreshing streaks of citrus weave between bites of lobster and salmon. The black cod with confit baby carrot (RMB288) is another standout. It comes with a subtly sweet star anise and lime syrup that you can brush onto the crisp skin at your own pleasure.

The quality of the food hints at why the Shanghai branch of Char has caused such a stir. And the relaxed, rustic environment suggests that the Beijing incarnation can replicate – if not surpass – its success.

Crowne Plaza Beijing Lido, 6 Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区将台路6号丽都皇冠假日酒店（8443 6220）

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