Pub picks: The Beijinger bars and clubs awards
that’s Beijng’s The Beijinger’s bar and club awards party is tonight and I traditionally make some picks beforehand (see the 2006 post here and the two-part 2007 post here and here). Another tradition: I usually forget to do this until a few hours before the party. As always, I don’t necessarily think my picks will win awards, they aren’t necessarily my favorite spots, I haven’t been to every place nominated, I’m not a bar or club expert nor do I play one on TV, and I’m doing this in a hurry so I’ve probably missed a few honorable establishments.
Best Value
The newest incarnation of this bar is more upscale than the old, offers dancing downstairs, seating upstairs and a wraparound balcony, has alcohol absorbers in the form of pizza and kebabs, and provides surprisingly good service given the drink prices.
Nanjie
Best Place to Bring a Date
To entertain the person or abandon her / him? I’ll assume the former and make it a three-way tie among 1) a place with dim lighting, elegant decor, and relative privacy, 2) a place with a Hutong feel and a suggestive name, and 3) a place where you can hang out with the person for hours whether the date turns romantic or is destined to be permanently platonic.
Face, Bed, Q Bar
Best Place to Find a Date
This is highly dependent on whether you are young (Vics), wearing an illegal amount of cologne (Suzie Wong), getting down and dirty (Kai Club), and so on. I’ll go with a spot where pretty much anyone from age 20 has the potential to find that special someone.
The Bookworm (hey, it has beer, wine and a lots of single malt)
Best Happy Hour
I’m going to split this award between a place that offers half-price pizzas and beverages and a place that lets you enjoy five-star hotel cocktails, ambiance, and snacks at cut-rate prices.
The Den, Aria
Best Food
For solid filler, my picks are a place that offers massive pizzas and a good selection of draft beer and a place that serves up decent chicken burgers, wings, nachos, and burritos (by the way, if it’s only nachos and burritos, I would go for Luga’s due to the better service).
Kro’s Nest, The Rickshaw
Best Decor
It’s Jetsons meets Flinstones, it’s a futuristic cafeteria, it’s the bat cave if Bruce Wayne had been into carpentry, it’s architecture symbolic of rice paddies, it’s slightly funky, slightly cheesy and somewhat refreshing, it’s…
Song
Most Innovative
Call me crazy, but I’m giving a nod to the people who utilized water in one of the world’s driest cities.
The Boat
Best Cocktails
I’ll go with two places: a bar that combines quality and consistency and a bar that makes delicious drinks that numb your tongue by the third glass.
Q Bar, The Junction
Best Place for Wine
I am a fan of stand-alone places such as Cafe Europa and La Baie des Anges, though I realize many hotels offer more extensive wine lists. But overall, my pick is a spot that both imports wine and sells that of competing distributors, prices it reasonably, and offers a comfortable environment in which you can uncork a few bottles and enjoy them with food.
Palette Vino
Hidden Gem
I’m not so sure it’s hidden any more, but this gets high marks for its cozy space, spirits collection (more than 100 Whiskies), and service - where else would the staff escort you outside on a stormy night and hold umbrellas above your head while you wait 15 minutes for a cab?
Ichikura
New Bar of the Year
While many bars, clubs and restaurants have been struggling to open, the owners here put their heads down, got the construction and menu done, launched the place, and became an instant success. It offers ice-cold beer, good food, fun events (including a monthly all-day half-price special), a deck, and spotty service (well, four out of five ain’t bad).
The Saddle Cantina
Bar of the year
It’s the place I automatically recommend when people ask, “Where should I go tonight?” It’s the place I feel comfortable taking almost anyone from any age group. It’s good whether you want to sit at a bar or sit outside, hang by yourself or chill with friends. The place has a loyal following from years of hard work, trains and retains key staff, combines quality and consistency, and is cited by many other owners and managers when they talk about bars in Beijing. My pick for bar of the year is…
Q Bar
See also:
My two kuai: Pre-TBJ awards bar picks (2006)
It’s a bar, it’s a club, it’s a blub, part 1 (2007)
It’s a bar, it’s a club, it’s a blub, part 2 (2007)
