Ooh la la: check out the best French restaurants in Beijing

Liberté, égalité, fraternité and plenty of great food, too

Sourcing decent French food in Beijing used to be something of a marche en merde, with most options being over-priced, over-seasoned and underwhelming. Recent years, however, have seen the French fightback hit the city's dining scene, and there are now plenty of classy establishments serving up some fine French grub. Vive la révolution and knock back a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon while you're at it.

F Bistronome

China World Mall, the mall-to-end-all-malls is the home of F Bistronome, the latest offering from the team behind the très chic and très reliable Maison Flo and its patisserie-perfect sister, Café Flo. Situated on the seventh floor, F Bistronome offers hardcore urban views of the surrounding CBD – in particular the CCTV tower, which looms so closely over the restaurant, reflecting off every available polished surface within (and there are many), that it feels a bit like you’re floating in some kind of futuristic surveillance spacecraft that just happens to be paying homage to the romantic glory days of Paris in the art-deco 1920s.

The steak is a definite menu highlight. Served on a rustic board with gravy, mustard sauce and braised vegetables, this is meat cooked by and for people who love meat. Red, juicy and chewy enough to make you feel as though you’re up against a beast over which victory shall truly – and deliciously – be earned, this is the kind of dish you eat when you’ve come to a Beijing bistronome and are looking to feel French AF (as France).

Bistrot B

‘Bistrot B: a theatrical food experience’ is the tagline on the menu at the Rosewood Hotel's French eatery – and they nailed it. The kitchen’s front and centre, an open and welcoming sprawl in the middle of the room. Chefs stand over stovetops deglazing pans with red wine and studiously plating dishes moments before they are whisked off onto the floor. It’s chic and modern with floor-to-ceiling windows giving the space an open airy feel. Service is warm, engaged and sporting inordinately fashionable uniforms.

Maison FLO (Formerly Brasserie FLO)

Beijing’s Brasserie FLO continues the spirit of grandeur of the shuttered Brasserie FLO, with the vast patio that spans the length of the restaurant’s facade making a staggering first impression. Enter and you are welcomed with bonjours or bonsoirs from a gorgeous bar with a marble slab surface. The beautifully tiled mosaic floor sweeps you into a palatial dining room, divvied up by brass railed booths, that sings with the sounds of a bona-fide brasserie: forks and glasses clink, dining carts wheel by, and conversations float throughout the high-ceilinged hall.

Bistro 108

For cosy French food that’s admittedly set in a car park (but one that’s near the French Embassy) head to Bistro 108 for food of a high quality and a more than reasonable price. Rather than the glitziness of other French offerings in Beijing, Bistro 108 is a homely, friendly spot to while away an evening with plenty of good French wine.

TRB Hutong

Fine dining is all about occasion, and no restaurant respects the pageantry of the formal meal more than TRB Hutong (formerly Temple Restaurant Beijing). Proprietor Ignace Lecleir commands an army of highly trained, attentive staff that wow you with kindness, complimentary champagne and a seemingly endless supply of canapés – all in a beautiful modern dining room inside a 600-year-old temple. Sip on grand a premier cru from one of the best cellars in China as the kitchen whiles the hours away with course after course of modern takes on classic European haute cuisine. Fancy a butter-poached lobster with crab foam, or maybe sweet pea soup with crème fresh and Beluga caviar? TRB Hutong is unabashedly luxurious, and we apologise for none of it.

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