Beijing Boyce

This is the third in a series of posts on places that I have recently toured and that are projected to open over the next few months. Previously: The new China Doll; The Legation Quarter
The new Nali Studios, that glaringly white structure beside the 3.3 building on Sanlitun North’s main strip, features four sections that range in height from two to six stories. Over the next few months, expect to see a steady stream of openings of restaurants, bars, and retail outlets, with the latter including - hold your breath, cast iron cookware fans - the household goods outfit Pantry Magic.

In terms of the food and beverage scene, the three key projects appear to be Ciro’s Pomodoro, which opened last month (see this review), The Saddle Cantina (by the owners of The Rickshaw), and Project H20 (by the owners of Spencer Grey, which includes Alfa, Muse, Mission, and other Beijing establishments in its portfolio).

The Saddle Cantina, a two-story building on the west side, is slated to open on March 15, though it might finish ahead of schedule and thus defy the bar scene’s seemingly omnipotent Law of Late Launches. The facade, deck, and interior are quickly being finished, with the aim being to create a Hacienda look. “When you walk in, you will know it’s a Mexican restaurant,” says manager Chad Lager, who gave me a tour.

The place has double doors, though these will be sealed in winter in favor of a smaller entry. Lager says the management learned a thing or two at The Rickshaw these past few months about the effect of chilly breezes on patrons - in short, the only cold draft you should find is the one in your glass.

The first floor includes a bar, booths, a room reminiscent of The Rickshaw, and a glass-walled area to showcase the copper brewing tanks in which The Saddle will make its own beer.

The second floor includes a long bar, an area with high tables and chairs, a series of tables near the window, a retractable roof, and a narrow 200-square-meter deck.

Nick Ma, the man behind the menu, has been giving taste tastes of the planned Mexican dishes to patrons at Rickshaw to see what people like. The Saddle will have the biggest tequila selection in China and an extensive Margarita selection, says Lager. Unlike The Rickshaw, it will neither be festooned with TV screens nor will operate 24/7.

The owners have gained experience and a sizable following via previous projects The Rickshaw, COX, and The Saddle, and the new Saddle seems part of a natural progression for an outfit that delivers unpretentious venues with solid comfort food and a diverse group of patrons, including many from the food and beverage industry.

Project H20, comprising the sixth floor and a 500-square meter deck on the studio’s east side, will include a lounge with Asian tapas and a French-Chinese restaurant on the main floor, and a grill up top. Two bartenders and several chefs have been, or are being brought, on board to handle the drinks and food respectively. The deck offers what is arguably the best 360-degree rooftop view in the city.

The plan to soft launch in January is a distant memory. According to Blane Kieng of Spencer Grey, renovations of the entire building took longer than expected: “There really was no point in being the first to open if everyone else in the building is still jack-hammering away.”

There has been some turnover at Spencer Grey of late in areas such as management, the kitchen, and the PR department. Kieng states that some people didn’t fit Spencer Grey’s needs and that more are coming in. Let’s hope these changes don’t impact the planning or quality of the venues. For now, the situation is wait and see, and hopefully what appears is nothing more than excellent rooftop views.

They say first impressions are everything, but with Ciro’s Pomodoro, I can also provide second and third impressions. Ciro’s is a global chain of Italian restaurants that held the “soft opening” of its Beijing outlet in Sanlitun earlier this month - a hard launch is set for Sunday - and goes by the slogan, “Expect the Unexpected.”

First impressions
After lunch Monday with MH at Revelations (write-up coming tomorrow), I suggested we brave the cold, walk to Ciro’s and check the place out. We arrived around 2 o’clock and found it empty. We wandered around, looked at the walls festooned with photos of Ciro hobnobbing with famous (mostly Hollywood) people, and shouted “hello!” Finally, out of the kitchen, there appeared a sleepy foreign guy with whom I had the following conversation.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi, we just want to get a couple of coffees.”

“Sorry, we’re closed. We don’t open until six.” [The menu lists the hours as 11:30 AM to 3 AM - I guess the soft opening schedule is lighter.]

“But the door is open.”

“That’s for some delivery people.”

“Oh…”

“Hang on a minute - we’re a new place, you’re new customers, why don’t you look around while I make some fresh coffee?”

Actually, that last line went unsaid. Instead, twenty seconds later found me and MH on the street and walking to Nearby the Tree, where we relaxed on a sofa, chatted, and enjoyed a couple of drinks each.

Second impressions
With four hours at Nearby the Tree under out belts, my stomach grumbled, and we headed back to Ciro’s. The outer door and the inner door at Ciro’s are separated by a hallway of a few meters. We peered into the former and saw two employees look at us blankly from behind the latter. I thought perhaps we were slightly early, shrugged at MH, and peered in again. A woman approached, opened the door, and said with a smile, “Happy New Year and welcome to Ciro’s - please come in.”

Actually, that last part didn’t happen, either. Instead, the staff turned away, created a semi-circle, put their hands together the way a basketball team does before a game, and did a cheer.

Hmmm… I felt like something a bit more predictable on this night, so MH and I went to Le Petit Gourmand, ordered the kebab plate and the mozzarella and tomato salad, and relaxed near the wood-burning stove.

Third impressions
After spending yesterday afternoon doing heavy-duty editing*, I stopped at The Rickshaw where Chad, the manager, said, “Hey, you want to check out Pomodoro?”

Another chance to discover the appeal of a chain that diners in Athens, Los Angeles, Bucharest, and other cities frequent.

Ciro’s is sizable, high-ceilinged and airy, has a warm woody décor with touches of glass and those photos mentioned earlier, and includes bar, booth, table and lounge seating (the tables in the lounge area seem a bit high).

The food gets mixed reviews. The complimentary bread is homemade and accompanied by diced tomatoes, butter, and pesto sauce. “Ciro’s bread” (RMB20), a thin-crust pizza-sized dish with tangy tomato sauce, is good value, while the garlic mushrooms (RMB65) and smoked salmon with rocket lettuce, tomato and cucumber topping (RMB90) are OK but over-priced, especially when the service charge is added (see below).

Chad had to go, but I stuck around and tried the thin-crust Pomodoro pizza (RMB 75), which is topped with mozzarella, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, ham, and garlic. Again, this is pricey given that The Tree offers comparable, if not better taste, for less. The best came last: the lasagna with beef and tomatoes (RMB 50) - this is a good brick of pasta loaded with sauce.

In terms of drinks, cocktails start at RMB 45, domestic / imported beer at RMB 25 / RMB 30, and wine at RMB 40 per glass, with dozens of bottle choices at RMB200 and up - those with money to burn can drop RMB14,000+ on Lafite. A Coke is RMB 25. (The menu needs some proofreading, given the numerous typos, misplaced punctuation, and inconsistent capitalization.)

As for the service, the wait staff was attentive - in some ways, too much so.

Example 1: The staff changed our ashtray five times in the first 15 minutes. In one case, Chad lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, and put it into a clean ashtray - a waitress then picked up the cigarette and placed it in another clean ashtray.

Example 2: The waiter delivered my lasagna and asked if I wanted ground pepper on it. I like to first try food as the cook intended, so I asked him to leave the grinder on the table. Later, I added some pepper, put the grinder down, and the waiter walked over, picked it up, and asked, “Pepper?” Um, no. He took the grinder away.

Example 3: Staff approached the table every few minutes to ask if they could take this or that dish away - two of them in succession tried to grab our few remaining mushrooms.

The manager, to her credit, tried to keep things running smoothly - “The glasses are empty at that table”, “That dish goes to this table” - but had her hands full, even with a dozen or so patrons in attendance. The staff is too keen - which is a good problem, in a way - so it’s just a matter of toning things down a bit.

By the way, just before I left, a staff member emerged from the kitchen and walked through the restaurant on his way to the toilet - while carrying a dry plunger. Three minutes later, he returned carrying a wet plunger. Multi-tasking is alive and well at Ciro’s.

As the saying goes, “Expect the Unexpected.”

Here’s some more unexpected. The menu announces a 10 percent service charge. My bill listed the food and drink at RMB 355 and the service charge at RMB 71. It doesn’t take a Ph. D in mathematic to see that works out to 20 percent.

Overall, the place is cozy enough, but the food is pricey and the service needs work, which makes that hefty service charge that much to swallow.

* By heavy duty, I mean applying my scientific terminology-loathing brain to material such as this: “The downstream 17 bp of Nla III restriction site CATG from ORFs with 3’-UTR were extracted as virtual LongSAGE tags.”