Beijing Boyce

I posted earlier about Mosto opening upstairs at new Nali Studio, but there is also action at “ground” level: Let’s Burger looks near ready to go. The place appeared to be doing staff training tonight and an acquaintance said he recently participated in a delicious taste test of the burgers.

Luga’s Villa opened in the former two-floor Marguerite space, just northwest of Tongli Studio, and is priced about the same as Luga’s, across from Aperitivo, though about two magnitudes fancier. A recent visit revealed a live salsa band, tasty RMB35 burgers, RMB15 Coronas, RMB10 Tsing Tao, and friendly staff.

Downstairs, Boutique Wine Cellar has replaced the bar / mini club formerly known as Mingle. Wine starts at RMB20 per glass for drinkable Californian Roundtree wine and the menu offers dozens of other choices. The deck is a pleasant place to enjoy a glass or two. I’ll psot a longer write-up on this place.

Following a sparkling wine tasting at Sequoia Café last Friday, p3wong and I went to nearby Marguerite for a bite to eat. To be honest, the building’s façade attracted us like moths to a flame, and we did indeed feel a bit burned by the time we left.

First, music throbbed from the downstairs club, Mingle (same owner). It might be fun to butter your bread to a good beat, but constant bass accompaniment in a restaurant that aims for a fine dining atmosphere is annoying.

Second, I’ve never been in a place with such hard bread. You could substitute this stuff for a judge’s gavel; hammer in nails with it; launch it as skeet. p3wong could barely snap a piece in two.

Third, some of our dishware had fingerprint smudges and those smudges were not our own. That’s a no-no.

I will give the staff at Marguerite points for friendliness and flexibility. We wanted Bloody Marys and some quick negotiation brought permission to zip downstairs and get them at Mingle (they make an okay version, though it would be better without ice). The GM recently quit the place and I couldn’t spot the regular bartenders. I futiley tried to explain to the new bartenders my desire for a Bloody Mary but realizing that their mixology skills might be on par with their ability to recognize the name of one of the world’s most popular drinks, I returned upstairs.*

We ordered Diet Coke.

As for the food, the shrimp rolls and the spring rolls (40-50 kuai range for four of each) were so-so; the soup lacked zing. Among our dishes, the chicken in pesto sauce tasted best. And as mentioned, the wait staff was friendly, if a bit disorganized.

* The door to Mingle has shifted to the building’s northeast corner. The crowd appears to have shifted from the “see and be seen” crowd to a much earthier one. The place was fairly full on Friday night.