Beijing Boyce

I made my first visit - post-breakup era - to First Cafe and Midnight. For those who don’t know the story (and Buddha knows most people on this list are sick of it), First Cafe once offered an unbeatable combination of cozy ambience, superb cocktails and interesting clientele. Then two months ago, the owner Keiko and the only two bartenders, George and Echo, fell out. About a month later, George and Echo, believing droves of customers would remain loyal to them, opened a bar called Midnight less than a meter in front of First Cafe.

I’ve walked by these bars dozens of times during the past month on my way to and from The Bookworm. Based on window gazing, First Cafe has been doing fine, but patrons at Midnight are few and far between. However, such observations do not research make, so in the interests of accuracy, I embarked on a two-night project with a comrade, known only as Agent Red Wolf.

Night 1 (Friday): We slid into First Cafe around, of all ironic times, midnight. Red Wolf made a surreptitious visit next door to the bar of same name and learned that it was nearly empty. Meanwhile, First Cafe is bursting at the seams with over 30 guests. Spirits were high and spirits were flowing, the service was passable, and business seems to have gone unabated at First Cafe.

Night 2 (Saturday): We popped into Midnight around 1 AM. Again, Agent Red Wolf again went on the prowl and soon reported that First Cafe was quite busy, while there were but four patrons - including us - in Midnight. The martinis were excellent and we got to try George and Echo’s coffee vodka, but unfortunately the ambiance was wanting.

Just to ensure the accuracy of my observations even further, I made a few more trips back. First Cafe continues to do well, while Midnight has quickly been picking up steam, no doubt fuelled by ample coverage in the free English-language magazines. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens but given the dearth of decent bars in Beijing, both places may end up doing pretty well.

(From Beijing Boyce IV, first emailed on November 18, 2005)