Beijing Boyce

The Beijing branch of Face opened a month ago and complements its brethren in Shanghai , Jakarta and Bangkok . Just south of Workers’ Stadium in a refurbished school, this is a pleasant if pricey place to while away a few hours. Decorated with art and antiquities from Asia, it will take time for Face to acquire the necessary scuffs for the worn-in look, and friends who frequent the Shanghai branch find this one far less architecturally impressive. Seating options include a long narrow dimly lit deck outside and plenty of nooks and crannies inside. A pool table and bar break up what might otherwise come off as an overly stuffy environment. On a Saturday night, tolerably loud house music played as the wait staff efficiently made drinks for a fairly well dressed and generally older crowd. An ice-filled stainless steel beer held the beer and Mojito ingredients were ready to go should an order come in. M-Dawg gave a thumbs-up to the cocktails, though my dry martini came without the twist I requested, and a martini on an earlier visit was sub-par. They are expensive at 60-70 kuai, not including an annoying 10 percent service charge, and a pint of Carlsberg comes in at 49 kuai. Overall, Face offers decent drinks, ambience and service (though teetering toward overly keen at times), but at these prices, this place is likely to be an irregular stop.

(From Beijing Boyce XXIV, first emailed on September 21, 2006)