2020 Year in Review: 12 Eatery Openings That Tickled Taste Buds

Original Robynne Tindall theBeijinger

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#2020 in Review 9

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The 20th year of this millennium has been the longest yet, and boy are we ready to say goodbye. But hey, if we had to spend it anywhere, then Beijing ain't a half shabby place to do so. In 2020 Year in Review, we're taking a look back at all the happenings in this city that somehow managed to keep us sane while the world went crazy.

2020 has been particularly hard on the restaurant industry, with forced closures and stay-at-home orders taking a toll on formerly bustling venues in cities across the world. However, despite a shaky start to the year, Beijing's F&B scene has remained steadfast, and new venues have sprung up all over the city, to the extent that we have even struggled to keep up with them! Below are just a few of the new restaurants that caught our eye over the past year.

Forno

It should perhaps have come as no surprise that pizza experts Bottega would knock it out of the park with yet another new pizza concept. Unlike Bottega, which serves Neapolitan-style pies, Forno specializes in Roman-style pizza by the slice, with thin and crispy yet still sturdy bases. With toppings like fennel sausage, truffle paste, and porcini mushrooms or potato, speck, and smoked mozzarella, there is something for everyone. Find Forno in Sanyuanqiao and Taikoo Li Sanlitun South.

Read our full review here.

Las Musas

Not content with opening a new brewpub this year (more on that below), Slow Boat also sailed into the Gulf of Mexico with new taco-based venture Las Musas. Whereas Beijingers can pop over to Q Mex or Pebbles for any number of Mexican dishes – from fajitas to burritos and tortas to enchiladas – Las Musas has, at least for the time being, chosen to focus their entrée efforts entirely on tacos, which are accompanied by a range of sharable sides and an extensive menu of margaritas, agave spirits, homemade horchata and sodas, as well as a few Slow Boat drafts including the Las Musas Horchata Cream Ale.

Read our full review here.

Ming's Curry Store

Taking over the space formerly occupied by Burger Box, Ming’s Curry Store serves street food classics such as Cantonese style curry balls, egg waffles, and hot dogs, as well as a range of house-made beverages such as creamy yogurt shakes and Hong Kong-style milk tea. Choose from a range of snacks cooked in Ming's signature spicy and savory curry sauce, including homemade beef balls and cuttlefish balls, as well as more traditional options like fish tofu and honeycomb tripe.

Read our full review here.

Qianmen Kitchen by BSK

If you’ve always wanted to travel the Silk Road but can’t remember where you parked your camel, Qianmen Kitchen by BSK offers a caravan of dishes so your taste buds can make the journey without leaving Beijing. Located in Xi Xinglong Jie, this new venture by Black Sesame Kitchen (BSK) joins a collection of cool new venues leading the revitalization of one of the city’s old commercial districts. Sample a panoply of different dishes from China and beyond in a bright, modern space that makes use of the existing hutong architecture.

Read our full review here.

Leo by Flo

Ever the innovators, Groupe FLO surprised this year by launching a new concept centered around fresh, homemade pasta, Leo by Flo. Located in a space in China World Mall previously occupied by a branch of Café Flo, Leo offers something for every kind of pasta lover, with a menu divided into tomato, cream and cheese, and olive and basil sauces. Grab something to go from the counter in front or settle into the Parisian-chic space to dine in.

Read our full review here.

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Taco Bell

The arrival of any big international restaurant name in Beijing usually gets people talking and they don't get much bigger than Taco Bell. Offering a menu of old favorites like the Chicken Double Decker Taco and Double Cheese Beefy Burrito, with just enough twists here and there to suit local tastes, Taco Bell is sure to satisfy when the Tex Mex cravings hit (although not if they hit late night, because it closes at 10pm).

Read our full review here.

‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Kakikopi
In a year when foreig‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍n travel was off the cards, Southeast Asian kopitiam Kakikopi (which means "coffee buddy" in Malaysian slang) offered a taste of sunnier climes. The restaurant and menu are overseen by Jasmine Kho of Mulu fame. Just like Mulu WF Central (which has sadly shut its doors), the emphasis here is on affordable pan-Southeast Asian cuisine and the menu is brimming with the classics, from Filipino beef adobo with garlic vinegar rice to Malaysian Sarawak laksa and chicken curry (RMB 48), and Singaporean bakcho mee pok to the ubiquitous Hainan chicken rice.

Read our full review here.

New brewpub locations for Jing-A and Slow Boat

Beijing's appetite for craft beer continued apace with Jing-A and Slow Boat both opening new locations.

Jing-A took over the former Wagas space in the Kerry Center with a sprawling 260 seat spot divided into three areas: a main dining hall, a small café accessible from inside the Kerry Center, and plenty of outdoor tables that were nearly always full during the brief respite between Beijing’s crushing summer heat and the biting cold of winter. With a full selection of Jing-A brews on tap and a slightly more refined food menu, the new pub has already become a hit with the CBD after-work crowd.

Slow Boat opened a third Beijing venue in Maizidian earlier this summer. Lying just east of the Japanese food hub that is Ichiban Street and 200m west of Zaoying subway station, the new 450sqm, one-floor, 20-tap brewpub can seat 150 people and features a range of bar, table, and booth seating. The design retains their signature style of industrial, open concrete and white tile walls with heavyset woodgrain tables, a look that has remained ever since the launch of their first Dongsi-adjacent taproom nine years ago. Meanwhile, the street-facing windows let in ample light during the day.

New Hulu locations in Shunyi and Indigo

Hulu got off to a storming start this year, launching a delivery service from scratch seemingly days after the city started to shut down in late January. They continued that great progress with new openings in Shunyi, in a space near WAB previously occupied by Fella's, and in Indigo Mall. Unlike the other locations, the Indigo restaurant offers pizza, developed in partnership with La Pizza. As if that wasn't enough, they also opened Peach, a healthy grab 'n' go dining spot just downstairs from their Shunyi restaurant.

The Pizza Show

The Pizza Show is the brainchild of the man behind popular Mexican chain Avocado Tree, Nemanja Maric, with help in the kitchen from the head chef of the now-deceased Mediterranean tapas restaurant and bar Sorí in The Crib. Situated in the basement level of Parkview Green, the "show" for which the restaurant is named refers to the open-plan kitchen out of which they serve perfectly balanced sourdough pizzas with a range of creative toppings (try the pistachio, mortadella, and ricotta pizza, our favorite).

Read our full review here.

And the rest....

As we mentioned in the intro, there have almost been too many new openings to count this year, and we still have a fair few restaurants on our "to eat" list. The Caochang International Dining Plaza (home to Bistro 108 and Suzy's) became even more of a dining destination with the addition of new Mediterranean restaurant Meza and Spanish tapas restaurant Caliente. Popular Yizhuang restaurant The Roots moved into the space above Paddy O'Shea's, while World City got a bit more worldly with the opening of German bar-restaurant Lenbach. Finally, we're very excited to try fine dining restaurant Refer, a new solo project from chef Talib Hudda.