2017 Year in Review: Best New Restaurant Openings
I’m sure most of us will be more than happy to see the back of 2017 but despite a trying year, small pleasures offered glimmers of hope here and there, notably, as far as this columnist is concerned anyway, in the form of some pretty good new restaurant openings.
A number of venues took a hit in the wake of the Great Brickening, which affected a wide area stretching from Sanlitun's Dirty Bar Street to the hutongs, but many have bounced back with new locations. In the wake of this threat to street-level restaurants a major trend has emerged: "mall dining." A new section of China World Mall opened in the first half of the year with an almost exclusive focus on F&B venues and a just-opened mall in Wangfujing, WF Central, looks set to continue this trend, attracting new branches of popular Beijing F&B brands like Tribe and Hatsune.
Read on for a summary of some of the most popular openings from the past year.
F Bistronome
This new concept restaurant from the team behind Maison Flo and Café Flo, abbreviated as FB, focuses on partager (sharing) and l’art de vie (the art of living). The menu includes plenty of rich, authentic French dishes such as slow-cooked veal short ribs and Grand Marnier soufflé, as well as small plates with a modern twist - think French dim sum. Gorgeous belle epoque interiors and great views of the CCTV tower complete the package.
Bun and Noodle
Not all of this year's newbies are located in malls. Located on Cheniandian Hutong, this humble little Lanzhou eatery’s authenticity comes courtesy of owner Claire Hao, a Lanzhou native who recruited one of her mother's dearest friends to ready her hometown's time-honored recipes here in Beijing. Highlights include the saozi mian (vegetable and pork noodles), the wuhua rou, layered and fatty sliced pork steamed in fermented tofu, and the hua juan steamed buns, which true to their name, feature layers that are twisted into petal-esque shapes, giving them the appearance of doughy, steamed flowers.
Migas Mercado
This long-anticipated second venue from the talented Migas team is one of the anchor venues in the new China World Mall. Migas Mercado is more wide-ranging than the original location, with a tapas menu, a casual "market" concept, a higher-end tasting menu, and an extensive selection of cocktails. The star attraction is the wrap-around terrace, where you can sip one of five varieties of sangria and laugh at the people stuck in traffic on the Third Ring Road. This venue will be the sole Migas carrier now that the team have announced that their original Nali Patio location will close.
Wulixiang
Located on the ground floor of Pacific Century Place, Wulixiang roughly means “home” in Shanghainese, which suits the concept that Shanghainese chef Zhu Haifeng wants to offer his customers: authentic Shanghainese homestyle cuisine. True to his Shanghai roots, Zhu has successfully managed to provide traditional and authentic Shanghainese dishes such as drunken chicken, red-braised pork belly, and scallion oil noodles.
Vin Vie Sanlitun
Popular hidden Liangmaqiao izakaya, Vin Vie, opened a second location just south of Sanlitun. The new location replicates the formula that made the original so popular, offering a menu of yakitori and Japanese-Western comfort food, alongside an extensive and reasonably priced wine list. Try the homemade foie gras pate, the horsemeat carpaccio, and the chicken meatball skewer with raw egg for dipping.
Cannon’s
This retro-styled diner's wares had until recently only been available at owner Will Cannon's outlying Gaobeidian restaurant, but after a strong showing at the Burger Cup festival that ended with them placing second in this year’s competition. Now, far more customers will have access to his classic American eats courtesy of his new venue on Xingfucun Zhonglu. The burgers are greasy diner-style but the menu items are of a much higher quality than what you’d find at a typical fast-food spot. Just about everything is made in-house, from the buns to the sauces and the soft-serve ice cream. By incorporating elements of both handmade gourmet and low-key fast food, Cannon’s hits an elusive target.
Q Mex Taqueria
Fresh off winning the Beijinger 2017 Burger Cup, the team behind Q Mex opened Q Mex Taqueria in Xinyuanli. The new spot differs from the original Courtyard 4 branch in that it focuses on perfecting the sacred pairing of tacos and tequila. Offerings, of course, do not end here, with starters like ceviche and guacamole, salads, nachos, habanero chicken, sirloin steak, salmon enchilas suizas, burritos, and fajitas to choose from, too. One thing you'll notice is that the drink menu is bigger than the food menu. It's a purist's dream, including only tequilas that are 100 percent agave tequila, which can be ordered in carafes and enjoyed as shots.
Bottega x 2
We lost one Bottega in 2017 but ended up with two, a huge new space in Xinyuanli (next to Q Mex Taqueria) and a smaller space in Nali Patio. The Napoli-style pizza is as outstanding as ever and the rest of the menu has expanded to include excellent pasta and salads, as well as a recently-launched brunch menu.
Mai Fresh
Beiluogu Xiang spot Mai Fresh comes to us courtesy of Jeff Ji of nearby Mai Bar. This is the bartender and owner's first food foray, but he's hired a former TRB chef to help him make elegant and light dishes. The menu features Instagrammable brunch options (there is literally a menu section titled “perfect for Instagram”) as well as heartier dishes such as steak, pasta, and risotto. With the “Great Brickening” wiping out so many other hutong restaurants, Mai Fresh is now one of the only reliable mid-range options in the area.
Lievito
A new gourmet pizza joint from the team behind Mercante and Fiume, located on the banks of the Liangma River next door to the latter. The pizzas feature rustic, semi-whole-grain dough made with imported Italian flour and creative toppings that are added post-oven – try the fish-topped pizza, which also features capers, Leccina black olives, yellow cherry tomatoes, and fior di latte mozzarella. There’s also a classic selection of more conventional Italian pizzas.
Photos: Wulixiang, Robynne Tindall, Q Mex, Jeff Ji, Uni You
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