Beijing Boyce

He’s had management positions at The Pavillion, Browns and TRIO (Frank’s Place) during the past two years and now Gleann Phealan will soon be heading up his own place — the Irish bar Paddy O’Shea’s. Glenn took time out of his busy schedule of personally testing the new beer taps and answered a few questions.

When is the bar opening and what kind of layout can patrons expect?

The new spot is on two floors with each one approximately 190 square meters. Ground level will have the bar, covering two walls, as the main focal point. We are trying to avoid that tacky Irish Pub look that you find in so many cities around the world and to keep with the traditions of back home, to make it homey and warm where the focus is on de-stressing and having a good time. There will be plenty of sports - we’ll have four plasma screens and a digital projector.

Good advice would be to leave the business cards at home since this is a place to go after work and relax, and there is a snug for a quiet chat.

The second floor is more upbeat and has a sixties yet modern feel going on. The rest is a surprise!

The soft opening is targetted for early October.

What’ll you have on tap?

Guinness, Kilkenny, Beamish, Carlsberg, Boddingtons (the supplier tells me all the kinks are fixed, we will see) and Stella Artois . So, six in total.

You’ve worked at Pavillion, Browns and TRIO – what have you learned about Beijing bars?

How to get the best out of the staff. I have to put my hand on heart and say the Chinese crew is the best I have worked with. If you show a little care for them, you get so much in return.

Ex pats! Fickle, impatient and fussy for sure, but looking after the basic needs of good service, value for money and a friendly smile seems to keep the wide range of expats happy. Not too many bars are doing it here!

What’s been the toughest challenge in opening the bar?

Three things – the government, the government, oh, and yeah the government!

You once almost lit me on fire with a flaming Lamborghini – does the guilt still gnaw at you?

Sorry Boycey, I was never guilty to begin with. Remember, it was almost. Next birthday I will get you for sure!

I owed myself a weekend of fun for ages and cashed in last Friday, Saturday and Sunday by attending five wine events. Here’s number five:

Sometimes you need to cut your losses. After four fun wine events, I pushed Lady Luck when Sir Campbell T called last Sunday afternoon about a wine auction being held at a new store – Dionysus – in Jianwai Soho. I made a hasty retreat from The Rickshaw, met Sir C, and headed for Soho where, with the help of Cafe Europa‘s Joseph, gained entrance to an open-air event being held in the middle of the complex.

The themes were eclectic - a company named after a Greek god, a backdrop that was a tribute to jazz, an entertainment lineup of classical music acts, a virtual ceiling of traditional Chinese lanterns, and a hint of trailer park America (the plastic lawn furniture). The free wine was… um… not a tribute to Dionysus, let’s just put it that way.

Anyway, I’m not sure if the auction ever happened, as I was more interested in the wine shop, which unfortunately wasn’t quite ready, though I was able to sneak in there with a wine lover named Vic, who bought the first bottle the night before as he watched the inventory being moved in (yes, that was a very long sentence). It was one of those, “I would like a bottle”, “Sorry, not for sale yet”, “[Grabbing one] Oops, I accidentally opened the screw top“, “Um, okay, I guess we have to sell it to you now” deals.

I’ll have more on Dionysus soon, especially since Sir Campbell T says they are bringing in some very nice wine.

Previous wine weekend stories:
A grape-stomping time
One year for wine bar
Cabs, quizzes and sauerkraut
Reds, whites and you