Bars and Nightlife in Beijing

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Bars and Nightlife in Beijing

While it may be a relative newcomer to the international party scene, Beijing has no shortage of all-night karaoke lounges and western-style pubs and cocktail bars.

Sanlitun’s (三里屯) “bar street,” located in the embassy district, is a favorite for westerners due to its heavily American and European influenced bars. Another party point, Nurenjie (女人街), loosely translated as “women's street”, has similar offerings. The Houhai (后海) area is a tamer and more romantic alternative that trades in some of the chaos and excitement for a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere. Houhai's lakeside bars and outdoor tables create a more subdued drinking experience. In the last few years Wudaokou (五道口) has become a popular congregation point on the north side of Beijing. Here, the high concentration of universities and foreign exchange students has prompted the rise of a younger, and cheaper, nightlife hot spot.

Aria Jazz and Wine bar
China World Hotel 1 Jianguomenwai Lobby Level
Beijing
Telephone:
86 (0)10 6505 2266
Hours:
Mon-Sun 11am-12midnight Serves food

A split-level restaurant and bar set in the swanky lobby of the China World Hotel, you'll love the mix of old world elegance and modern sophistication. Dining is in the upstairs restaurant, a contemporary menu and setting that suits the general western style of the hotel, but it's the moody ambience of the downstairs jazz lounge that you come here for. With its spiral staircase, period murals on the walls and swish couches, it's a little like a 1950s New York cabaret venue spiced up for our times. The wine menu is long and has legs, but staff pour perfect champagne cocktails. You might want to order a Bellini for when the lights dim and the jazz singer starts up her sultry tunes.

Babyface
South of Worker's Stadium
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6551 9081
Hours:
Mon-Sun 10pm-4am

The glowing nightclub chain that brought DJ breaks and cocktail beats to the People's Republic has just opened a Beijing branch. What took you so long baby? Situated at south of Worker's Stadium, the interior is all bright tiles, glowing neon, reflecting wall mirrors and sparkling ceiling beads. With all the colour, music and flashing lights, it can make it seem at times that you're inside a pin-ball machine. Still, there's no doubting the energy and hot looks of this Baby. DJs spin techno and house, there are a number of cosy private rooms to lounge in, and an extensive cocktail list, your favourite Cosmos coming with neon plastic ice cubes in them. One popular concoction here is table service bottles of Chivas, mixed with green tea. A true Chinese original, just like Babyface!

Big Easy
Chaoyang Park Road
Beijing
Telephone:
86 (0)10 6508 6776
Hours:
Mon-Sun 5pm-2am

What's this - Cajun and crayfish in central Beijing? If proof were needed of the rapid expansion of the global village it can be found in this authentic Louisiana-style hot spot on Chaoyang Park. Ex-pats looking for a gumbo and jambalaya fix love it, but locals do too, taking seats in the old fashioned American bar area or in the second-floor dining space with its balcony. It's not quite a Bourbon Street view but it's close. Music is jazz and blues and a wild once-a-year Mardi Gras party that packs the place out too. And if spicy Cajun food is not your thing, they do fun flirty cocktails. Try the sweet and creamy Mississippi Dream, containing Baileys and Kahlua. Is there is a Yangtze equivalent?

Cabo Restaurant and Bar
24 Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue Sci-Tech Plaza Compound
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6515 6826
Hours:
Mon-Sun 11am-11pm

Two-floor restaurant bar with the best Latin music in town - you really think you've landed in Acapulco. It's a little more up-market than your average cantina, with the cool white and brown tones and cosy leather booths giving it a sexy sheen. While ostensibly a Mexican restaurant - try their spicy burritos and crispy tacos - they also serve light lunches, sandwiches and a bounteous seafood paella. The young and funky crowd come for the Latino sounds though, the salted margaritas, potent tequila shots and Latin dance parties that run until late on Friday and Saturday night. Viva Cabo!

Chivas Flair Bar
Gongti
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6500 5888

We wouldn't usually write up a bar that's as nakedly promotional as this one, but then there's something to be said for a team of flair bar tenders juggling bottles of Chivas Regal to retro pop tunes as they pour your cocktails. Set in the happening Gongti district, next to the Mix bar, we like it for its raucous, unpretentious atmosphere. A live band cranks out covers of Chinese hits on one level, young regulars take turns shaking their tails on another, and those 'bartists' pour a fine range of Chivas-based cocktails that keep the joint swinging. In summer, try a Strawberry Chivas mixer.

Club Vogue88
Gong Ren Ti Yu Chang (Worker's Stadium East Road)
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6416 5316
Hours:
Mon-Sun 6pm-3am

We're not sure whether Anna Wintour's ever graced this mega club on Workers Stadium Road (somehow we suspect having an address with those words in it precludes the possibility), but there's still no shortage of high style and sensuous fashion at Club Vogue. Name DJs line up to spin the latest in dance sounds and designer-clad locals and moneyed ex-pats fill the space to bursting on weekends. Pricey cocktails and imported beers keep them well-oiled and while the tourists among the crowd might not recognize them, it's a popular hangout for the local film, fashion and television elite.

DDs Club
2A Dong Dan Da Hua Lu Dong Cheng District
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6528 5989
Hours:
Mon-Sun 9pm-3am

Low down, underground, a little bit camp, this after-hours haunt is a little hard to find but well worth the effort. Located way out in Dong Dan - hence the name - it attracts a hard-drinking crowd of regulars who like the dark subterranean setting reached via a deep red corridor. Inside it's usually packed with an alternative crowd of students, artists and proto punks, here for cheap drinks, fun and flirting. It also still draws regulars from the days (or nights) that it used to host drag shows. For a slice of insider Beijing, DD is a good start.

Havana Café
Gong Ti Bei Men North Road
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6586 6166
Hours:
Mon-Sun 11am-2am

Near the north gate of Workers' Stadium this fun, funky, Latin-themed hangout is popular for long lunches and late nights in its magical beer garden. The tang of grilling barbecue meat fills the air, funky salsa and samba sounds get the bodies grooving and if there was a beach nearby you might even imagine you were in Havana. The interior is less sexy, with a tiny dance floor, but the rum-infused cocktails keep the mood as festive as Carnival. Regulars are attractive, laid-back 20somethings, and should you spot a hot young thing in a Brazil football T-shirt by the bar, ask her to show you her footwork.

Merchant Prince Club
Hong Ding Shang Ren
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6593 1082
Hours:
Mon-Sun 6.30pm-2am

As luxurious as the most exclusive private clubs in London, New York or Tokyo, Merchant Prince, close to Chaoyang Park West Gate, is an oasis for the Beijing elite. A plush, carpeted piano bar and cigar lounge, you enter a dimly-lit upstairs space and find a lounge of small white coffee tables rimmed by brightly-coloured chairs and sofas. A pianist plays jazz or classical on a baby grand in the corner, while immaculately-attired waiters bring menus offering the finest champagne, wine, whiskey, brandy or cigars. It's the perfect post-dinner drinks spot but there's a dining room too, and for the true romantics among you we suggest you ask for the cosy table-for-two on the balcony overlooking the street. Members and the biggest of big spenders get access to an even more exclusive VIP lounge upstairs. We never got near it, so we cannot comment.

The Den
4 Gongtidong Road Chao Yang District
Beijing
Telephone:
+86 (0)10 6592 6290
Hours:
Sun-Thu 10.30am-3am; Fri-Sat 10:30am-6am

Decked out in the siren red of an opium den, the similarity pretty much ends there. How many opium dens do you know that serve pizza? Still, this two-storey space is a decadent enough hang-out, the upstairs club packed with hot young things dancing to funky disco beats most nights, and flirting up a storm on weekends. Downstairs is quieter, with a cosy bar and a restaurant serving those pizzas as well as other European and Asian fare. It's that siren-red glow from the street that pulls the crowd though, and when the drinks flow the party gets on down and stays open until late. If you find yourself closing the joint at 6am, why not hang around? They open for a 10.30 brunch seven days a week.

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