Five of Beijing's Best Peking Duck Restaurants

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The OG of Beijing dishes, Peking duck, is the one culinary event you definitely shouldn't skip, no matter how long you've been in Beijing and how long you're planning to stay.

Ducks are usually roasted over fruit wood until the skin is crisp and the flesh is juicy, before being sliced and served with pancakes, sweet bean paste sauce, cucumber, and scallions. Unsurprisingly, there are hundreds of restaurants around town serving duck from glitzy high-end temples of cuisine to down 'n' dirty local joints. These are our top five restaurants serving Peking duck.

One quick note: Most restaurants roast a limited number of birds per day and the roasting process takes at least 40 minutes, so it is best to call ahead and pre-order your bird. Duck de Chine and Jing Yaa Tang have English-speaking staff and you might come across an English speaker at Jing Zun, otherwise, get your friend/colleague/hotel receptionist to call for you. 

Jingzun

The duck here might not be the most refined (nor the restaurant itself) but Jingzun is our number one choice for big group dinners. They have an English menu and the staff are used to dealing with foreigners. Apart from duck, Jingzun serves faithful renditions of popular northern Chinese dishes like cold spinach with peanuts, kungpao chicken, and mapo tofu, and they even brew their own beer, which is available in a light or dark version. They will also allow you to bring your own wine for a minimal corkage fee. RMB 158 per duck 

Da Dong

Da Dong might be best known for serving Beijing's leanest roast duck (you'll barely find any fat between the moist meat and shatteringly crisp skin) but the rest of its innovative modern Chinese cuisine is equally as noteworthy. The menu is full of high-end ingredients like lobster, foie gras, and sea cucumber, so best to save this one for a special occasion or when someone else is picking up the bill. There are several locations of Da Dong around town; we favor the Wangfujing branch, one of the older locations, or the tuhao-chic branch at the east gate of the Workers' Stadium. RMB 298 per duck 

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Siji Minfu

For an altogether more "old Beijing" experience than some of the other options listed here, head to Siji Minfu. The duck is consistently good and much better value than some of Beijing's touristy "time-honored brands" (I'm looking at you, Quanjude). This is also a good place to order other traditional Beijing dishes such as zhajiang noodles. There are several branches around town, of which our favorites are the raucous Dengshikou branch and the Forbidden City branch, which has views over the moat surrounding the palace. Note that none of the branches accept bookings for small groups so you may have to queue. RMB 228 per duck 

Duck de Chine

With tasteful, Asian/French fusion decor, wide-spaced tables, and a subtle soundtrack, Duck de Chine is undoubtedly one of the classier places to enjoy Beijing's titular bird. The duck falls somewhere between lean and fatty but the real attraction here is the homemade hoisin sauce (made with more than 30 different ingredients), which arrives at the table swirled with sesame paste and topped with roasted garlic.  RMB 298 per duck 

Jing Yaa Tang's outstanding Peking duck

Jing Yaa Tang

Opposite House's sophisticated Chinese restaurant Jing Yaa Tang keeps it traditional for their birds, which are roasted over fruit wood and then brought to the table to be carved. Often overlooked, the accompanying condiments and pancakes really shine here, too (we especially like the sticks of cantaloupe melon served alongside the duck – don't knock it til you've tried it). The rest of the menu offers a panoply of pan-Chinese dishes – try the three cups codfish and the "mouthwatering spicy chicken" – making Jing Yaa Tang a good one-stop-shop if you don't have time to tour Beijing's restaurant scene. RMB 238 per duck (including pancakes, sauce, etc.), plus 15 percent service charge

Photos courtesy of Opposite House, Dazhong Dianping

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