Běijīng Restaurants

  1. 1001 Nights

    This place has a cavernous dining area, friendly waitstaff and nightly belly dancing to go along with its extensive menu of middle eastern specialities like spicy merguez (spicy sausage) platters. English menu available.

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  2. Alameda

    Alameda's Brazilian chef incorporates ingredients from South America, Asia and Europe in her ever-changing set menus. The conservatory-style dining room is flooded with natural light. English menu available.

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  3. April Gourmet

    A rival with Jenny Lou's for the affections of home food-starved Westerners, April Gourmet operates three stores in Běijīng. The selection isn't as extensive as Jenny Lou's, but the prices are similar. Cheese, fresh bread, butter, wine, sauces, Western soups, coffee, milk, meats and frozen food are all available. Another branch (1f Jiezuo Mansion, Xingfucun Zhonglu), stays open till .

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  4. At Café

    As befits a café in the 798 Art District, this is a cleverly designed place - check out the holes in the interior walls - that serves the local artists and poseurs good coffee and juices, pasta dishes, salads and sandwiches. There's a small outside terrace.

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  5. Bā Guó Bù Yī

    This celebrated and award-winning Chéngdū restaurant chain delivers fine Sìchuān dishes in a marvellous Chinese inn-style setting. There's music, occasional operatic events and a range of good value dishes including Chóngqìng làzi jī (重庆辣子鸡; Chongqing hot pepper chicken) and xiānjiāo yúpiàn (鲜椒鱼片; chilli fish slices). The food is first rate and the ambience bursts with both character and theatre.

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  7. Beijing Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant

    Many consider this to be the best duck restaurant in Beijing. It has a staggering array of fowl to choose from including the foreigner-friendly 'super-lean'. Dining rooms range from standard Chinese pomp to elaborate champagne-coloured tablecloths and settings. Staff can be brisk, but with lines snaking out the door, who can blame them? English menu available.

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  8. Bellagio

    The nightclub vibe and spiky-haired waitstaff (yep, the hairstyle is part of the job) set this hip eatery apart. Come between midnight and dawn and it will be packed with clubbers tucking into Bellagio's famous baobing desserts made from shaved ice, fruit, nuts and condensed milk.

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  9. Bianyifang

    Dating back to the reign of the Qing emperor Xianfeng, Bianyifang offers midrange comfort reminiscent of a faded Chinese three-star hotel with sparse decoration. The cheaper ducks are roasted in the menlu style, while ducks prepared Huaxiangsu style are more expensive. Other dishes include boiled duck blood in hot soup and duck hearts in chilli. Be warned that waiting staff will steer you towards the special (read: pricier) duck, so be vigilant.

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  10. Bocata

    Great spot for lunch, especially in summer, located slap bang in the middle of Sanlitun's bar street. There's a vague Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern theme to the food, as the name suggests, with decent hummus, but the sandwiches on ciabatta and top-class chips are decidedly Western in flavour. The juices and smoothies go down a treat too. The large outside terrace gets busy if the weather's nice.

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  11. Café De La Poste

    This is the closest Běijīng gets to an authentic French bistro. With its relaxed vibe and friendly service, it's popular with both French expats and locals. The dining area is intimate and nicely lit, and the food is unpretentious and hearty. Try the chef's steak (around Y78 ) and the chicken livers flambéed with cognac (around Y65 ). There are salads and a decent dessert menu too.

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  13. Café Pause

    Artfully designed, hip café in the heart of the 798 Art District which attracts a mixed bag of trendy locals and passing tourists. The central European-inspired menu features Vienna schnitzel and Hungarian goulash, as well as an all-day breakfast. In the evening, it's a pleasant spot for a glass of wine. They mix decent cocktails here too.

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  14. Café Sambal

    Sparse, eccentric decoration means you could be sitting on anything from a bright orange couch, a high table or a squat stool. Malaysian curries are the standouts here especially the chicken varieties. English menu available.

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  15. China Lounge

    Chinese cuisine from all over the country gets served up at this elegant restaurant next to the Blue Zoo inside the Workers Stadium. The thoughtful design means you're not elbow-to-elbow with other diners, even if that makes the place seem a little cold when it's not busy.

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  16. Chuān Bàn

    Every Chinese province has its own official building in Běijīng, complete with a restaurant. This restaurant in the Sìchuān Government Offices is always crowded and serves up just about every variety of Sìchuān food you could want. As you'd expect, most of the dishes are spicy. The Sìchuān cool noodles won't singe your tongue, but the Bashu Boiled Fish, a Sìchuān classic of fish afloat in a sea of oil and chilis, will.

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  17. Courtyard

    As if the dining room overlooking the Forbidden City's moat wasn't enough, this restaurant boasts one of the best wine lists in Beijing and an ever-changing fusion menu that combines Asian and European flavours. English menu available.

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  19. Crescent Moon Muslim Restaurant

    There's a Chinese Muslim restaurant on almost every street in Běijīng, but the Crescent Moon, tucked away down a hútòng , is the real deal, owned and staffed by Uighurs, and possibly the best Xīnjīang joint in town. The yáng'ròu chuàn (lamb skewers) are meaty and succulent, or try the dàpānjī , a dish of chicken, potato, peppers and vegetables served over thick, pasta-like noodles. Towards the end of the night, the staff often dance Xīnjīang style.

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  20. Dali Courtyard

    Specialising in the subtle flavours of the cuisine of southwestern Yúnnán province, the beautiful setting makes it one of Běijīng's more romantic places to eat. Book in advance and pay around Y100 a head (drinks are extra) - the chef prepares what inspires him and what ingredients are fresh. Usually that means an emphasis on fish and pork flavoured with Yúnnán herbs. Specify your dietary requirements when booking.

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  21. Danieli's

    Ensconced in the St Regis hotel, this gorgeous and classy restaurant is Běijīng's finest Italian dining choice, boasting a generous menu and wine list. Glide up the sumptuous marble staircase, past the crackled glass doors to a splendid alcove interior and sit down to a meal served upon marvellously decorated plates.

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  22. Dǐng Dǐng Xiāng

    Hotpot restaurants are a favourite with Běijīngers. You sit around a bowl of boiling water (the hotpot) flavoured to your specifications and cook the raw ingredients yourself. Dǐng Dǐng Xiāng is at the posh end of hotpot dining and it's notorious for its offhand service and for charging for everything, including napkins. But the food makes up for it.

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  23. Donghuamen Night Market

    Dozens of stalls are thrown up here each evening selling a kaleidoscopic choice of skewered grasshoppers and scorpions alongside more familiar fare like noodles and fruit kebabs. It's a sight in and of itself.

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  25. Fangshan Restaurant

    Běijīng's most elaborate imperial cuisine is served in a pavilion overlooking the lake in Beihai Park. All dishes are elaborately prepared, and range from delicately filled pastries to sea cucumber with deer tendon, peppery inkfish-egg soup and camel paw with scallion (no, it's not a real camel paw). Reservations are a must. Another less expensive branch (12 Dongzongbu Hutong) can be found to the east of Chaoyangmen Nanxiaojie.

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  26. Fengzeyuan

    This Běijīng institution attracts crowds of locals who toast each other with rounds of snake wine and devour Fengzeyuan's Shāndōng specialities (鲁菜; lǔcài ), such as sea cucumber with scallion or sautéed fish slices.

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  27. Fish Nation

    A home from home for those who miss eating fish and chips, whether standing on a street corner in the rain in England, or sitting on the beach at Bondi. There's no sand at Fish Nation, nor does it rain very often in Běijīng, but there is a pleasant roof terrace that offers a view over the surrounding hútòng . It's very kid friendly too.

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  28. Haitanghua Pyongyang Cold Noodle Restaurant

    As if opening a 'North Korean' restaurant wasn't enough of a lure, they get their severe, black-clad waitresses to break out into Korean folk-songs between servings. The picture menu is heavy on Korean hotpot and, of course, noodles. The restaurant's on the corner of Xin Donglu.

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  29. Hàn Cāng

    In the summer this is one of Běijīng's hot restaurant destinations. It's good in winter too, especially in an upstairs room with a great view over the frozen lake. Hakka (客家; kèjiā ) cuisine uses a lot of fresh fish. Go for the baked crab with ginger and onion and the whole fried fish with pine nut. It gets loud here and it's always crowded, so book, or be prepared for a wait. English and picture menu.

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