New Beijing Bars & Restaurants: July 2016
There are so many new bars and restaurants opening up in Beijing every month that sometimes even we find it difficult to keep up. Need a refresher? Here's a roundup of all the new restaurant and bar openings we featured in our July 2016 issue.
Restaurants
Casa Talia
Casa Talia serves tasty, reasonably priced European bites on Raffles City’s fourth floor. The casual-chic dining space offers hot and cold tapas, creamy risottos and ultra-shareable paellas. And while most of the flavors take their cues from Spain, there are also French and Italian touches. The resulting menu is full of recipes that are new but taste like comfort food nonetheless. Standouts include Casa Talia’s creamy take on cod (RMB68), tender beef tongue (RMB68) with cheese foam and “mama’s sauce” and the mushroom truffle risotto (RMB78). Read our full review here.
1B, 4/F, Raffles City, 1 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门南大街1号来福士购物中心4层（8409 4009）
Amaze
The contemporary Yunnanese restaurant is a rare beast in Beijing’s dining scene. Set around a curved bar Amaze is unapologetic in its modernity. Inside, sleek black table-tops and curiously shaped furniture sit beneath a ceiling of asymmetric wooden beams. The spoons are square. Vietnamese and Burmese flavors are subtly woven through the well-considered menu. The culinary heritage of Yunnan’s Dai ethnic minority shines through. In fact, two of the standout dishes both hail from the Dai heartland of Xishuangbanna on the Burmese border: songban pork neck (RMB88) and a grilled tilapia (RMB68). There are also plenty of familiar classics: beef and mint rolls (RMB52) and rare boletus mushrooms (RMB228). Read our full review here.
Room 202, Building 11, Shine Hills, 6 Antai Dajie, Shunyi 顺义区空港街道中粮祥云国际生活区南区安泰大街6号院11号楼202（131 2657 6006）
Char
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. There is 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. Of the seafood options, we recommend the delightful ceviche (RMB168) and the black cod with confit baby carrot (RMB288). Read our full review here.
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）
Tribe (Lido)
The population of this particular tribe has grown substantially – enough for it to spread to new hunting grounds. The territory in question, Lido, is a fertile one (ok, we’re done with the pre-industrial nomadic tribe metaphors). Thankfully the consistency that matters most – food quality – hasn’t suffered in the transition. Salads, grain bowls and other favorites from the original location have made their way across intact. The new dishes we try are equally on-point. The L-shaped space – complete with a long bar and outdoor patio – can seat over 100 people. There’s even space for a DJ booth, which may come in handy given that Tribe has geared the space more toward evening activities. Read our full review here.
Lido Place, Unit B-103, 6 Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区将台路6号B103室（6431 9289）
Wan
If you are craving a decent banh mi (RMB48) and are OK paying five times the price you would in Hanoi, check out new Wudaoying Hutong restaurant Wan. The classic Vietnamese sandwich comes in several flavors, with a side of crunchy prawn chips. There are some losers among Wan’s other offerings – the raw beef pho (RMB58) is underwhelming – but the vegetable and nut spring rolls (RMB36 for 6) are packed with flavor. Read our Mifan/Mafan review here.
10 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区五道营胡同10号（6401 0960）
Mizuki
Another month, another overpriced Japanese restaurant! (Seriously, we wrote that same sentence three months ago.) This time, it’s Mizuki, the Sanlitun North opening whose delightful design doesn’t make up for its cold service and uninspired dishes. If you’re looking for quality Japanese, there are about a hundred better places in Beijing you could go. Read our Mifan/Mafan review here.
Building 5, 8 Xindong Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区新东路首开铂郡北区8号院5号楼底商（8400 4908）
Buena Onda
Hatchery’s original concept from last summer, Buena Onda, is back – meaning more ceviche, pisco sours and, of course, ‘good vibes of South America.’ Its location upgrade – from container to incubator – coincides with a menu expansion too. There are empanitas (delicious tiny pies, RMB30 for three), picarones (sweet potato doughnuts, RMB45), skewers (RMB30-RMB40 for two) and more. Great for sharing, and the flavors are poppin'. Read our Mifan/Mafan review here.
12 Nongzhanguan Nanli, Chaoyang 朝阳区农展馆南里12号（6594 0188）
Fangye Café
Next to its more boisterous neighbors on Jiaodaokou Bei Santiao (ahem, Tiki Bungalow and Knight and Merchants), it’s easy to miss Fangye Café. The small but airy cafe serves single-origin coffee, hot chocolate, tea and milkshakes. With its hip interior design and environmentally-friendly (and wallet-friendly) ‘RMB5 off if you BYO cup’ deal, it’s worth checking out if you’re in the area and need a quick fix. Read our Mifan/Mafan review here.
34 Jiaodaokou Santiao, Dongcheng 东城区交道口三条34号（186 0093 1284）
Bars
La Social
Nali Patio’s newest resident, La Social, does serves arepas with drinks. And for now, that’s it – a simple concept, made sophisticated. For those who don’t know, arepas are maize-flour buns from South America, stuffed with fillings ranging from pork to avocado. At La Social, thick, chewy buns overflow with crispy pork, eggs, black beans and Gouda cheese (RMB42-48). The drink menu is just as long as the arepa menu (although, reader be warned, we visited during soft opening, so this could change). Its drink menu primarily serves to innovate. The Totuma Mojito (RMB88) is served in a hollowed-out coconut, while the El Viejo Fashion (RMB68) is an old fashioned with a base of Havana 7 rum instead of whisky. Read our full review here.
3/F Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路81号那里花园3层（5208 6030）
Da Vinci
Da Vinci, a cocktail bar in Yongli Service Apartments. This residential compound is where whisky-soaked speakeasies are apparently finding their new home (case in point, Botany). The people behind Da Vinci also have bar-scene cred. As the team behind the well-loved Parlor and Mai bars, they can craft serious drinks. And when we visit, they do – the Mona Lisa (RMB85) is a beguiling mix of citrus and bourbon, the plumb-infused whisky sour (RMB80) is standout, and the red jujube old fashioned (RMB85) is the same smoky, syrupy dream we remember from Parlor. Read our full review here.
2-1612, Yongli International Center, 21 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区永利国际2单元1612（6461 7962）
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