BJ's Best Remaining Barbecue Restaurants With Outdoor Seating
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One of our favorite pastimes, and one for which our love will never wane, is munching on chuan'r (串儿, literally "skewer" but a catch-all for barbecue) and sipping on a cold bottle of Yanjing, preferably while sitting outdoors. Unfortunately, the powers that be have had outdoor barbecues in their crosshairs for a few years now, causing an existential threat for one of Beijing, and China's, finest culinary hobbies.
Unfortunately, finding places that do outdoor chuan'r is becoming more and more difficult
While the number of barbecue restaurants with outdoor seating has drastically decreased, luckily there is a handful of survivors who are hanging on and doing this tradition proud.
炭花烤场 (Charcoal Grill)
The most centrally located option on our list, 炭花烤场 (tàn huā kǎo chǎng) is situated on Gulou Dongdajie, right next to Little Saigon. It may not look like much when you first enter but head upstairs and the restaurant opens to a large terrace where you can much off chuan'r while enjoying views of the gorgeous Gulou neighborhood. As well as their large range of barbecue options, they also do lamb spine (羊蝎子 yáng xiē zi) hot pot. A word of warning, Tan Hua Kao Chang can get extremely busy between 7-9pm (and don't do bookings), so do yourself a favor and get there early to bag the best outdoor seat.
Daily 11am-1.30am
141 Jiu Gulou Dajie, Xicheng District
西城区旧鼓楼大街141号
(010) 8408 3182
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苏小牛精酿主题串吧 (Suxiaoniu Chuan'r & Craft Drinks Bar)
Located in Shuangjing, 苏小牛精酿主题串吧 (sūxiǎoniú jīngniàng zhǔtí chuàn ba) has a spacious terrace with enough room for ten tables. Compared to other barbecue places, the restaurant earns extra points for its in-house brewed lagers, red ales, and stouts to be enjoyed alongside their grilled meat and veg. They also have regular live music acts on the second floor (though we can't promise that they'll live up to the grub!).
Daily 5pm-2am
37 Baiziwan Jie, Chaoyang District
朝阳区百子湾街37号
(010) 6772 0677
Joy BBQ - 玩串
Joy BBQ - 玩串 (wán chuàn) is the perfect place if you're looking to quell your munchies after a night of Sanlitun boozing, and has a great arrangement with the neighboring restaurant 老满太太 (lǎo mǎn tàitài, Old Mrs. Man), whereby you can order takeout snacks from them to eat along with your Joy BBQ meal. If you want to take advantage of this fun, unconventional setup, we recommend booking ahead for outside seating because space is limited and it tends to get quite busy.
Daily 6pm-1am
68 Xinzhongjie, Gongti Xilu, Dongcheng District
东城区工体西路新中街68号
186 1163 5651
木屋烧烤（欢乐谷店） (Muwu BBQ, Happy Valley Branch)
As a long-time barbeque chain restaurant with 36 branches around the city, 木屋烧烤 (mùwū shāokǎo) is a safe bet when it comes to barbecue dining in Beijing. As far as we know, only the branch near Happy Valley has an outdoor dining area, and even though it's a little bit outside of the city center, the good service, decent food, and laid-back vibe make the trek out there worthwhile. Muwu's seafood is particularly good and no order would be complete without a plate of barbecued oysters (烤生蚝 kǎo shēngháo) along with a big mug of draft beer.
Daily 11am-1am
B2-5, Bldg 1, Kuchenxiaozhen, Jinchan Xilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区金蝉西路酷车小镇甲1号B2-5号
(010) 6749 7577
新疆美食村 (Xinjiang Meishicun)
Finally, a list of slap-up Beijing barbecue joints would be incomplete without at least one Xinjiang recommendation. Besides their selection of various lamb skewers, the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE)-adjacent 新疆美食村 (xīnjiāng měishícūn) also features non-barbecue Xinjiang classics like hearty "big plate chicken" (大盘鸡 dà pán jī), making it a great spot for group dinners. Typically chock-a-block despite its many seats, Meishicun strikes the right balance between comfortable and lively.
Daily 4.30pm-1am
B2-201, Ziguang Building, 11 Huixindongjie, Chaoyang District
朝阳区惠新东街11号紫光发展大厦B2-201号
(010) 6482 3228
Did we miss any? Leave us a comment if you know something we don't!
READ: Beijing's Best Restaurants for Visitors and Tourists, 2019 Edition
Photos: asiasociety.org, Pixabay
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