Restaurant Y: There's No Place Like (a Rich Person's) Home

By Noelle Mateer

Is there anything more prestigious than a monosyllabic name? (We’re not counting the ‘Restaurant’ part of Restaurant Y’s name in this instance, although something trendy like ‘Gastrolounge’ or ‘Kitchen’ wouldn’t hurt.) The name ‘Y’ is chic because it’s simple, and high-end dining in 2017 is all about giving off the appearance of simplicity.  ‘Home style!’ crow restaurant PRs across the globe, when talking about their megawatt-high-budget eateries. ‘We want you to feel at home!’

And yeah – sometimes we do. At Restaurant Y, there are couches, not chairs. Dishes come on shiny cooking pans, not plates. The space feels like a Martha Stewart-approved kitchen and lounge – bronze fixtures, simple white tiling. Restaurant Y is the new brunch set for the jet set, and its gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows allow patrons to gaze approvingly over their kingdom (Taikoo Li) from high up in a building (in Taikoo Li) – all while sipping coffee and eating Mediterranean-leaning ‘home style’ sharing plates.

It is just like home. A rich person’s home. But this is Sanlitun North, what do you expect?    

China has long eschewed this minimalist dining approach. Moneyed diners here tend to go out with a “I’m rich so I want foie gras and caviar, damn it!” kinda attitude. But given the recent popularity of Restaurant Y, maybe this era is over. Maybe rich people want to drink wine and eat paella on a couch. Like at home, but with table service.

Dishes at Restaurant Y aren’t half bad. Salads are lackluster, but the chicken plate – with roasted vegetables and a lightly spiced, Sriracha-like gravy, is a winner, perfect for sharing. Our favorite is the Icelandic squid (RMB109), served in a pan because #homestyle. A bevy of wine options accompany – we’d recommend treating Restaurant Y like a lounge (Lounge Y?) – drinking wine with friends and picking a couple plates to share. Otherwise, a full-on dining experience will run you several pink bills – pink bills that, we like to think, are better spent elsewhere.

But with a view this good, and atmosphere so homelike, it just may be worth it. Simplicity never felt so... fancy. 

Daily, 10am-midnight, 2/F, N8 Taikoo Li North, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯太古里北区N8楼2/F (8405 9938)

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