Okay, this post took longer than expected because I’ve started on GRE and had summer classes. Without further ado, here are some recommendations for food in Beijing to get you all settled in. It’s Anna approved if that means anything.

I’ve listed the restaurants by district and the Dianping app would be a good place to check these restaurants out! Warning, this is a really long post.

Haidian

This is the district where you’re probably going to spend most of your time because all the universities are located here. the Wudaokou area is a hot spot for food nowadays so we get a pretty good selection of stuff. The food in this area is mostly chain and the prices are relatively lower to cater to the student population. There’s a lot of Korean food too since there are lots of Korean international students.

• Restaurants
  • Pyro Pizza (火鬼比萨): This place serves okay pizza in huge portions (I’m not a pizza fan so I can’t say how good it is haha) and is a great place to hang out with friends. They have karaoke on Thursday’s. 
    • Address: 成府路35号华清嘉园12号楼B1层 (its underground in the alley-ish road right before you reach the Wudaokou Subway Station from PKU)
  • 鳗鳗的爱: A chain Japanese bento restaurant. They have really good portions and ingredients are pretty good too. Unlimited miso soup and condiments. It’s my go-to place when I’m too lazy to go to other districts for better Japanese food. Their specialties are their unagi rice but I don’t really like unagi so I just get salmon. 
    • Address: 中关村大街19号新中关购物中心3楼 (closest subway station is Haidianhuangzhuang)
      

      Salmon Bowl

      

      Three Fish Bowl

      

      Set

      

      Logo
  • 千鹤居酒屋: Another chain Japanese restaurant. This is the branch located in WDK (五道口 or Wudaokou). My international student friends and I like to go to this place for our Japanese food fix because of their large menu.
    • Address: 成府路35号华清嘉园12号楼02户B1楼 (located near Pyro Pizza)
      

      I know it looks terrible because of the lighting…

      

      But I assure you that its good….

      

      For WDK terms
  • 돈 Cafe Pork Fusion Restaurant (香猪坊): Really good pork belly with loads of kimchi and really good pricing. A good place to eat with large parties. 
    • Address: 成府路35号华清嘉园12号楼6号2楼 (located near Pyro Pizza, but upstairs)
  • 798 Seoul: Depending on the menu item, the food here is pretty passable when we want some Korean food that is not BBQ and not 5000 miles away in another district. Our favorites are the tofu and pork dish and corn cheese. The tofu soup is no go though. 
    •  Address: 成府路35号东源大厦3楼 (there are two stores, one close to Pyro and another one in the redbuilding with Kimipira and a whole bunch of other Korean restaurants across the street)
      

      돈 Cafe Pork Fusion Restaurant

      

      돈 Cafe Pork Fusion Restaurant

      

      Seoul 798
  • 小吊梨汤: Clean and nicely decorated chain restaurant that serves some Beijing styled food. The pricing is pretty good and it’s a nice place to take people who are coming to visit you. I usually go for lunch and the location I go to is located in Basement 2 so it could be a little hard to find. Just enter from Starbucks and try to get to the glass elevators near the cloud lights on the other side of some doors. It’s a little confusing so ask the guards if you need help. 
    • Address: 科学院南路2号院1号楼融科资讯大厦B2
      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • Macau Street (澳门味道茶餐): Sometimes when I need my plain boiled water vegetables or some porridge because I don’t feel good, I go to Macau Street for a taste of home. It’s the closest one to school that has a reasonable price and pretty good food. It’s a pretty small place so there can be a wait.
    • Address: 中关村大街19号新中关购物中心四楼L405 (fourth floor of the mall)
  • Food Street (食宝街): In between the two malls in Zhongguancun, there’s a food street that can be entered through the alley (should have a Starbucks and Haagen Daz next to it). Inside, there’s lots of food options from teppanyaki to ramen, to burgers. There’s a chain Nanjing food restaurant, decorated in a traditional style that has pretty good food there too. You should definitely check that one out. There’s often a wait though. I also like Chatuchak, a Thai dessert stall, and 珠荟啡 which is a boba place. 
  • 串: There’s this really good “chuan” place right outside the PKU southwest gate across the street but I forgot the name of it. There’s only one there anyway. It’s located in the inside of the plaza with Yoshinoya and Dairy Queen on the first floor and has a sort of green wallpaper with all the chuan on display right when you enter. My friends and I really like their enoki mushrooms and we always ask for more herbs to go with our chuan.
  • Borderless (跃界): This restaurant has really nice interior decoration and serves Cantonese and Southeast Asian food.
    • Address: 中关村大街19号新中关大厦四层L411号
      

      Borderless

      

      Borderless

      

      Borderless

      

      Borderless

      

      I swear the chuan place is good

      

      even though the enoki looks questionable in this picture
  • 东来顺: You have to try traditional Beijing hot pot when in Beijing. This is a chain but it’s clean so I recommend going here.
    • Address: 中关村海淀大街34号海置创投大厦
      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
• Cafes
  • Bunny Drop: Located near the WDK bus stop, this cafe is not the cheapest place to study but it has a lot of tables and outlets…and pretty good wifi so I guess you’re paying for what you get HAHA. The fruit drinks are really good too and if you get tea, you can refill the hot water. 
    • Address: 成府路华清嘉园7号楼底商
  • Sloth Cafe: Located right next to Bunny Drop, this place is a lot quieter but has a limited and pricey drink menu. 
  • Twosome Place: Chain Korean cafe. Just another place to study.
    • Address: I couldn’t find the address but it’s located right next to the WDK mall right past the WDK subway station.
  • Bridge Cafe (桥咖啡): Located next to Pyro Pizza, this is a multi-story cafe that’s always packed with people studying. There’s a pretty good menu and the place sometimes hosts interesting talks and events.
    • Address: 华清嘉园12-8号
  • 雪冰1号店: Is this actually Sulbing or rip-off Sulbing…who knows. Anyway, if you want some shaved ice, you can come to this place. It’s located in the alley of the building across from the WDK mall.
    • Address: 五道口成府路华清嘉园6号楼
  • 陈立枣糕王： Not really a cafe but a cake shop that sells really good and fresh traditional cake. There’s one inside a mall and one in the alley right after the WDK subway station next to the Sulbing plaza.
    

    Bunny Drop

    

    Bunny Drop

    

    Bunny Drop

    

    Sulbing

Xicheng/Dongcheng

This is an older area of town (downtown) and it’s going through a revival right now with lots of boutique restaurants and cafes. That being said, there are also lots of more traditional establishments available here. I usually go here for studying since the cafes outside of the main 南锣鼓巷 (Nanluoguxiang) are pretty quiet and are really nice places to relax. You’ll find all sorts of cuisines here in the hutongs and imperial gardens.

Qianmen Street Food

Qianmen Street Food

Houhai Street Food

Houhai Street Food

• Restaurants
  • Guo (果): Restaurant located at the end of Nanluoguxiang with aesthetic interior design. Enjoy some beer and quick bites with your friends here.
    • Address: 鼓楼东大街98-2号
  • Tiago Select: There’s lots of Tiago owned restaurants around Beijing and this one is located in Xidan, perfect for dinner after a day of shopping. They’re known for their pizza but I went by myself so I didn’t get to try it.
    • Address: 西单北大街131号西单大悦城购物中心6层13-15号
  • Toast at The Orchid: The Orchid is a boutique hotel in Nanluoguxiang and Toast is their restaurant. I recommend going to brunch here but their dinner items are mediocre at best (funny how different the quality is haha). The restaurant is east to pass by since the alley into the building is very, very tiny and you’ll probably walk past it.
    • Address: 鼓楼东大街宝钞胡同65号 (the alley is right next to the kitchen of another restaurant)
      

      Tiago Select

      

      Tiago Select

      

      Toast

      

      Toast

      

      Toast
  • Quan Ju De (全聚德): I would say that of all the chain Peking Duck restaurants in Beijing, Quan Ju De’s pricing and quality is ranked in the middle. They have stores all over the city but why not visit the one in Houhai while you’re there?
    • Address: 地安门西大街57号什刹海体校内 (Houhai)
    • Address: 前门大街30号 (Qianmen)
      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • palms L.A. kitchen and bar (洛杉矶厨房酒吧): HA! Didn’t think you would find Korean-Mexican fusion in Beijing? Well think again because there’s palms L.A. It’s a little hard to find in the hutongs but do try it out.
    • Address: 张旺胡同14号
  • Capital M (前门M餐厅): Famed for it’s view of Qianmen, check out Capital M for brunch or dinner! They have restaurants in Shanghai with awesome views as well. Since i’m on Qianmen, there are lots of restaurants inside as well serving up some traditional Beijing fare.
    • Address: 前门步行街2号3楼
      

      

      The eggs benedict could be better

      

      A little try

      

      I guess you’re paying for the view..
  • TRB Temple & TRB Forbidden City: Do you want the dining experience of a lifetime? Check out one or both of these restaurants. It’s a really fun dining experience and you get to dine in *gasp* an old temple or right outside the east gate of the Forbidden City. I had so much fun eating at these places with my friends. We went for lunch since it’s cheaper (teehee).
    • TRB Hutong: 沙滩北街23号 (it’s really hard to get to since you have to go through a bunch of residential hutong streets. I recommend biking it)
    • TRB Forbidden City: 东华门大街95号
      

      The Forbidden Palace one

      

      Changed chefs

      

      So there will be different stuff now

      

      We got free madeleines at the Temple one

      

      cool stuatues

      

      TRB Temple

      

      TRB Temple

      

      TRB Temple

      

      TRB Temple

      

      TRB Temple Menu
  • Fiume (福弥意大利餐厅): Really small but nice Italian restaurant located next to a small river. There’s a bunch of nice restaurants next to it too. Delicious bread. My friend and I cried over it. Who knew we would miss Italian bread so much.
    • Address: 麦子店西街39号富驿时尚酒店一层北侧 (I THINK it’s in Xicheng…the lines are blurring)
      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
• Cafes
  • Dandelion Cafe (蒲公英甜点店): Really, really nice place to study with really good drinks and very nice interior design. Only con is that you can’t poop here HAHAHAHA. Okay, but yeah. I love studying here.
    • Address: 鼓楼大街40-6号
  • Cafe Zarah: Very famous cafe/restaurant here in Beijing. A good place to study during the off-times but can get crowded during meal times or if there is an event.
    • Address: 鼓楼东大街46号
      

      Dandelion

      

      Dandelion

      

      Dandelion

      

      Zarah

      

      Zarah

      

      Zarah
  • JingShui Coffee (净水): I couldn’t find this on Dianping but it’s across the street from Zarah. The cafe’s really big and perfect for studying as well. Their desserts are eh, but the environment is really nice with lots of traditional Chinese design.
    • Address: 鼓楼大街69号
  • GuanPin (观品): There are lots of places to eat where this tiny dessert shop is located so if the wait is too long, you can check out the surrounding shops too. This places serves some really delicate and traditional desserts such as Jasmine Tea mousse.
    • Address: 观品东城区五道营胡同15号
      

      JingShui

      

      JingShui

      

      JingShui

      

      Guanpin

      

      Guanpin

      

      Guanpin

Chaoyang

I hung out around Chaoyang a lot because of work. Things here are more high-end although there are plenty of chains and normally priced restaurants as well. It’s the new business district of Beijing and this is the place for fancy hotel food and panoramic views of the city (that does not consist of hiking up a mountain on a hot day). Lots of foreign cuisines can be found in Chaoyang, specifically around Sanlitun where all the embassies are, or Guomao, and most of them are opened by the actual people of that cuisine (there’s a better way to word this but I can’t think right now) so you can get really authentic food around here. 

• Restaurants
  • さぼてん Saboten (胜博殿): This is a chain tonkatsu place from Japan and my go-to restaurant for dinner while working in Guomao. The mall it’s located is complicated and I get lost every time but a really fun place to shop and eat in. Anyway, for really good tonkatsu, come here. You might catch me eating by myself (what a loner) there. They probably know me by now.
    • Address: 建国门外大街1号国贸商城北区B1层NB1025 (there’s a bunch of other branches around Beijing)
  • Bistro B: Craving some French bistro food or looking for some fancy brunch? Check out Bistro B at Rosewood Hotel. Really good service and interesting menu.
    • Address: 中国北京市朝阳区呼家楼京广中心
      

      Saboten

      

      Bistrot B

      

      Bistrot B

      

      Bistrot B

      

      Bistrot B
  • PakPak (喜悦泰): A pretty good Thai restaurant located in a quiet residential area behind all the skyscrapers in Guomao. The park next to it is a really nice place to relax too.
    • Address: 金桐西路10号远洋光华国际AB座一层东北侧
  • Hatsune: Located in TaiKooLi South, Hatsune is a more “high-end” Japanese restaurant. It wasn’t really like AMAZING “I’m crying tears” kind of feel but it was good. It has lots of stores around the city too.
    • Address: 三里屯北路19号三里屯太古里南区3层S
      

      PakPak

      

      PakPak

      

      Hatsune

      

      Hatsune
  • The Rug: This is my go-to brunch place because it’s all day brunch and they have a huge menu. Definitely recommend checking this place out.
    • Address: 工体北路4号机电研究院内
      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • Dadong (大董)： If you’re trying to impress someone, take them to this uber fancy Peking Duck restaurant. It’s also a chain but I got invited to the one near Guomao. You can taste the difference in quality so if you have $$$ to spend, definitely check it out.
    • Address: 东三环长虹桥东南 (北京团结湖店)
      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • 79th Floor of Shangri-la: There’s a bunch of restaurants on this floor and they’re really expensive. I only tried the afternoon tea here which was a buffet (not really my style) because it was cheaper, but apparently the other places are really good? I worked in the other hotel with the same address but not perks *sob.* Come up here for the view on a clear day.
    • Address: 中国北京建国门外大街1号
      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • Beersmith Gastropub: I’m going to put this here because they fed me. They have really good ribs, the juiciest mini burgers, and beer here. 10/10 recommend. GO!
    • Address: 中国北京建国门外大街1号 (but on the side of Hotel Jen instead of Shangri-la, so facing Kerry Center)
  • The Taco Bar: I’ve never been here but my friends tried it and they said it’s pretty good and since they’ve had more tacos in their lifetime than I have, I’ll take their word for it. It’s obviously more expensive than our $0.50-1.00 tacos here in California but when you need tacos, you gotta get tacos right? There’s another Mexican food place in Sanlitun called Q Mex but man…that tortilla tastes like jianbing.
    • Address: 工体北路4号院北京机电院
  • Jing A Taproom (京A): Really cool brunch place where you can grab a breakfast beer (I got peach iced tea). They sell really funny Beijing souvenirs here too.
    • Address: 工体北路4号院1949会所内
  • Migas: Good Spanish food but a little on the pricier side. Later in the night, it turns into a club.
    • Address: 三里屯北街81号那里花园6层
      

      Jing A

      

      Jing A

      

      Jing A

      

      Migas

      

      Migas

      

      Migas
• Cafes
  • TIENSTIENS将将: My favorite cafe in Beijing because it’s literally a tree house. This French-styled cafe offers a wide variety of drinks and desserts, as well as a brief lunch period. It’s a really nice place to study because of the outlets, wifi, and sunlit rooms. I really like their crepe and pamplemousse drink. I had to order in French because what is Chinese…Anna is illiterate.
    • Address: 工人体育场北路4号北京机电院10号楼
      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • 宇甜品: This place is out of the way but still has some interesting desserts and drinks. I like the exterior and interior design.
    • Address: 工体北路1号院
  • 客从何处来 DOKO BAR: Located near Tuanjie Lake, this cafe is in a kind of random place. The taxi driver kept on going in circles, not believing me that it was in the building I was pointing at. They have really unique tradtional Chinese inspired desserts which contrasts the interior design which looks like some industrial park. It’s a nice place to talk with friends or plan stuff with coworkers.
    • Address: 三里屯机电学院10号楼南一号
      

      宇甜品

      

      宇甜品

      

      宇甜品

      

      Doko

      

      Doko
  • Cafe Flatwhite: A chain Australian (I think) owned coffee shop that has some good brunch and breakfast options. I’ve been to the 798 and Chaoyang locations and both are good. They have other locations as well. 
    • Chaoyang Address: 秀水街1号建国门外外交公寓7-1-11号
      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

      

      SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

      

      OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA