Beijing
Aspiring to the Chinese notion that good health starts in the stomach, this graceful vegetarian restaurant serves fine-dining renditions of the meat-free…
Must-see restaurants in Beijing
Beijing
The speciality at this hip canteen is règānmiàn (热干面; literally 'hot dry noodles'), a Wuhan breakfast gutbuster of chewy wheat noodles topped with sesame…
Beijing
A beacon of foodie fun in a dismal shopping mall, this is Nanjing's best-loved restaurant chain, recreating with theatrical aplomb the dàpáidàng ('cooked…
Beijing
Opened by a cultured crew of local Japanophiles, this enormously popular restaurant brings together refined, minimalist design, a beguiling hutong locale…
Beijing
The Mosto lunch menu (two courses of modern fine dining for ¥95) is a Sanlitun rite of passage, best savoured on the terrace with a glass of vino…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Dine on Vietnamese fare such as fresh spring rolls and phở (beef noodle soup) at this well-loved hutong eatery with a tree-shaded courtyard. The…
Beijing
Fun for the kids – but also tasty enough for parents – this excellent dumpling restaurant dazzles diners with a huge selection of multicoloured jiǎozi (饺子…
Beijing
A great-value choice for Beijing’s trinity of trad meats: Peking duck, roast mutton and donkey. The ducks (¥168) are cooked in hung ovens and carved…
Beijing
Beijing's most authentic Brauhaus-style restaurant is an intimate affair, delivering calorific comfort to homesick Germans with perfectly crisp pork…
Beijing
Run by the same Israeli couple since 2004, this veteran Sanlitun eatery whips up loaded pita-bread sandwiches, thick-set hummus, crisp falafel, grilled…
Beijing
Come to this brightly lit Sanlitun eatery – from the team behind TRB – for wallet-friendly modern European dining that doesn't compromise on food quality…
Beijing
Dali Courtyard has been serving the same set menu since 2006, and it still packs out nightly with (almost exclusively) foreign tourists. The secret, aside…
Beijing
A temple to the pleasures of eating sheep, this restaurant celebrates the food of Gansu province, 1500km west. That means skewers of mutton dusted in…
Beijing
Staff dressed as Qing dynasty nobles preside over this charming garden restaurant, serving 'official cuisine' – in other words, the emperor's leftovers…
Beijing
What appears at ground level to be a petite bakery selling Parisian-grade baguettes and perfect pâtisserie is in fact a sophisticated, spacious rooftop…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
The good: delicious Hangzhou-style dishes are astonishing value at this popular chain restaurant. The bad: it's in Beijing's busiest shopping mall and the…
Beijing
This hole-in-the-wall bakes 'royal crispy beef pies', a Tang dynasty treat seldom found on Beijing's streets anymore. Filled with beef, leeks and the…
Beijing
This expat favourite still packs them in for some of Beijing‘s freshest and tastiest Korean dishes, such as bulgogi (marinated grilled beef slices),…
Beijing
Enjoy good-value Sichuan classics alive with the tongue tingle of huājiāo (Sichuan peppercorns) at this reliable chain restaurant, recognisable by its…
Beijing
Reworking old Beijing grub for modern palates, this stylish upstairs space knocks out classics such as zhájiàng noodles, sweet-and-sour fish, and a half…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Inside Beijing apm is one of several Beijing branches of this world-famous dumpling chain born in Taiwan. Line up for lovingly wrapped xiǎolóngbāo …
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
This upscale chain turns out delicious versions of Shanghai's famous soup dumplings, sweet-and-sour pork ribs and spring-onion-oil noodles (葱油拌面; cōngyóu…
Beijing
China's best-loved chain of hotpot restaurants sells itself not just on the quality of the food but also on its remarkable service culture. Free drinks,…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
A busy branch of Peking duck maestro Dong Zhenxiang's casual concept eatery where a portion of his famous fowl (¥119) comes with Instagrammable additions…
Beijing
A shoebox of a trattoria teleported to a Beijing hutong, Mercante is a delightfully incongruous outpost of Italian cooking. The boss hails from Bologna,…
Beijing
A party restaurant with hipster decor and a menu of wood-fired pizza (a bit doughy), pasta, salads, meaty mains and cocktails. Bandana-toting chefs work…
Beijing
Indian staff in elegant robes welcome you to Beijing's most stylish and gracious Indian restaurant, the haunt of diplomats, business people and tour…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Deconstructed dishes are based around a single ingredient at this clever European bistro inside the sumptuous PuXuan Hotel. The eight-hour cooked beef…
Beijing
With Neapolitan chefs at the helm and truffle spaghetti on the menu, this is Beijing's most upscale Italian restaurant. The interior, a dazzling…
Beijing
For proper lǎo Běijīng (old Beijing) and Hui Muslim eats, sniff out this grungy venue in a hutong north of Houhai Lake. Known simply as Lǐjì, it…
Beijing
It doesn't get more primal than at this local hotpot dive, where the mutton, instead of being thinly sliced, comes in caveman-style hunks of sheep spine …
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Thick with the funk of charred mutton, this food alley is a scrum of bodies and bins overflowing with discarded skewers, where tourists gorge on fried…
Beijing
Gulou's punk scene has stagedived since the closure of legendary venue Mao Livehouse, but this hutong joint is keeping the punk fires – well, the hobs –…
Beijing
One of the few places left where you can try chǎogān (¥11), Beijing's whiffy breakfast stew of pig's liver and intestines in a vinegary brown gloop…
Beijing
In the early days of the PRC, a slap-up meal at 'Old Mo' was considered an exotic treat. Moscow Restaurant has been dishing up borscht to its Beijing…
Beijing
Fuel up between temple-hopping with a bowl of marvelously chewy Shaanxi noodles. 'Oil splash' noodles (油泼扯面; yóupō chěmiàn), so-called for the dollop of…
Beijing
Sample authentic Inner Mongolia–style shāomài – papery dumplings filled with mutton, beef or veggies and steamed to tasty perfection – at this simple…
Beijing
Longstanding shuàn ròu ('scald-the-meat') joint on Ghost Street serving traditional Beijing hotpot (the simple, non-spicy variety) in battered, coal-fired…
Old Beijing Zhajiang Noodle King
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
Beijing's own zhájiàng miàn (fried sauce noodles) is essentially spag bol with Chinese characteristics: wheat noodles, a dollop of sauce made from pork…
Beijing
A lively spot pulling in well-heeled locals, embassy types and suits, Carmen serves a typical range of tapas in its corridor-like dining room, with live…
