Chef Three? Chef Billy to open California Grill in Sanlitun Village North
“Chef Billy” – William Bolton – of Chef Too (map) is part of a team that plans to open a 400-square-meter outfit – tentatively called The California Grill – in the northern half of Sanlitun Village. No firm date has been set, but the goal is to open either just before or after Spring Festival. Bolton says the place will be divided into three sections: a bar (including a copper facing), a dining area, and private rooms. He adds that the cuisine will be “modern American“, what he calls an ode to California, and that the restaurant will have its own greenhouse just outside Beijing to ensure a supply of fresh vegetables.
The wine list will also be divided into three sections: what he calls the “haute couture” section, which will include Grand Crus; a main list of about 60 wines that will be changed two or three times per year; and a by-the-glass menu with about two dozen choices. He says California Grill will use three enomatic machines to keep the wines fresh. The list will tend to focus on American wines, including those from California, Washington, Oregon, and – it’s about time we got some of these – New York, and he will import some of them himself.
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Giving the Enomatic mahines and their own greenhouse, I am guessing the investment must be huge, meaning they can run for two years (at least) before they get to burn out the initial investment capital. Just hope they will not end up like piazza Italia.
Am looking forward to try the Oregon and New York wines though.
@ tomaz,
Given you run a wine bar, you must know the price of the enomatic machines. How much do they go for?
Cheers, boyce