Beijing Boyce

If a weird night of pub visits represented the perfect way to wrap up a month of indulgence that began just before The Olympics, then Friday fit the bill. I joined Chad Lager, recent Beijing returnee, former Rickshaw / Saddle manager, and newest smiling face at Tun, for a not-so-quick run around town.

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OT Lounge: See here.

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The Stone Boat: The rock rudder, the marble mast, and the, uh, slate sails had us headed on a trip around the wine world as Jebsen provided four free-flow options from Australia, Italy, France, and the United States. The rock-bottom price of RMB60, snacks from Tuk-Tuk, and a cool comfortable evening made for a good time.

Guantanamera: A bar and lounge downstairs, a second bar, more seating, and a band upstairs, and a  decent vibe, though my mojito went down rough: if it is representative of the drinks, they need work, especially given that RMB45 price tag.

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FC Barcelona: Remember Mojito, that spacious B1 place near Kuntai that had tasty burgers, the city’s first (as far as I know) draft Weihenstephaner, and a friendly staff? Now it is called FC Barcelona and decked out with the colors and paraphernalia of that soccer – sorry, football – team. The place seemed deserted, but we traversed several rooms and found, in a far corner of the farthest one, several people watching TV. They seemed slightly stunned by our appearance, but then jumped up, started to turn on lights and air conditioners, and repeatedly said “drink.”

Said Lager: “This drives me crazy, the idea that we have to wait until the customer shows up to make it look nice instead of making it look nice so the customer will stay.” And call me crazy, but I’m guessing a sprawling basement bar in a dreary downtown business district is unlikely to become the city’s hotspot for Spanish football fans. Then again, maybe that’s my Guatanamera mojito talking.

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Ritan Hotel (5F): This bar falls somewhere around Limburger in the cheese department. Deep sofas, a design that looks inspired by a cake (creams, chocolates, and lots of white piping), a liquor lineup where Beefeater is top shelf, and The Godfather playing on the automatic piano. To be honest, I liked it – for one drink (a Gin Tonic that Chad taught the staff to make to his liking). The décor centerpiece is above the bar: a massive light made of thousands of glass sticks that slowly change colors and run the gamut of the rainbow. The friendly staff made the visit worthwhile.

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Ritan International Trade Center: This is a new retail complex that starts at the north gate of Ritan Park. It is anchored at that end by The Elephant and its big Corona sign (as Chad notes, “Corona goes perfect with borscht”). Other outlets include Guoding Hotpot, Spicy Loft, Vindobona, Desert Rose Turkish Restaurant, Korea Dynasty, The Pyramids Restaurant Bar, Ramen Yakatori Sushi Restaurant, Full-moon Dream Lounge, Rain Tune Restaurant, another branch of that AOZ wine bar chain, Lalazar Restaurant and Bars, Beenie Bean Coffee (slogans include “Is eating happy?” and “Take a little break with Beenie Bean”), and 68 Coffee and Restaurant, which proclaims itself as open 24 hours. Most of them were empty, aside from Elephant (cue “white elephant” jokes).

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Drei Kronen 1308 / Stadium: This German brew pub-Western sports bar combo totals five floors, two decks, and one shuffleboard table (either the table or I, or both, sloped slightly from west to east on this night). The place held a mere 20 customers, but it took ages to procure our home brew, and even then I received lager instead of the ordered wheat beer. The beer is tasty, if pricey at RMB58, although the place now has two-for-one happy hours from 5-7 PM.

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Second Floor: The street facing Tongli Studio is bustling now that it is car-free. I slipped around to the Cinco de Drinko party at The Saddle, and found the courtyard and interior seething, so I beat a retreat to the calm of Second Floor, where 15 patrons chatted and enjoyed beverages. This is a nice enough place, with stool, bench, and table seating, but seems a bit too open and might do well with a few blinds. It also offers a two-for-one happy hour, with mixed drinks from RMB15.

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Luga’s Villa: The top floor is still under construction, but there were a few dozen people downstairs enjoying cheap beer and, uh, kind of enjoying patrons getting up and singing with the band. Frankly, the only duet I want to witness in that place is two beers for the price of one.

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Tun: After seeing a large crowd outside Nanjie, we did like the man said and kept walking – to Tun. The place needs some work, especially on the toilets and the austere loft, but I like the high ceilings, the layout, and that Great Wall of China DJ booth.

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The Den: Bangers and mash, bangers and mash, bangers and mash…