The Best of Beijing Dining? The Beijinger vs City Weekend

Each spring brings a glut of awards for the Beijing’s F&B scene. Our own start off the season in March, followed by Time Out in April and finally City Weekend in May. While Time Out’s Restaurant Awards are chosen by a select panel of judges, The Beijinger and City Weekend take a more collective approach, asking readers to vote for their top picks.

So how do these match up? While there certainly are differences in opinion, out of the overlapping categories there was striking agreement for the winners. Out of 19 similar categories, readers of The Beijinger and City Weekend chose the same winners for nine, nearly half of them. Read on for a closer look into how the dining honors stacked up.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
TBJ: Fine Dining – Temple Restaurant Beijing (Best); Mosto, SALT (Outstanding)
Casual – Annie’s (Best); Home Plate Bar-B-Que, Biteapitta (Outstanding)
CW: Hatsune (Best); Maison Boulud (Honorable Mention); Mosto (Editor’s Pick)

CHINESE RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
TBJ: Da Dong Roast Duck (Best); Haidilao, Din Tai Fung (Outstanding)
CW: Non-Hotel – Din Tai Fung (Best); Lost Heaven (Honorable Mention); Transit (Editor’s Pick)
Hotel – Made in China at Grand Hyatt Beijing (Best); Horizon Chinese Restaurant at Kerry Hotel Beijing, Summer Palace at China World Hotel, JE Mansion (Honorable Mention);Yi Pin Huai Yang at Sofitel Wanda Beijing (Editor’s Pick)

BEST NEW RESTAURANT
TBJ: Non-Chinese – Wagas (Best); The Big Smoke, Q Mex (Outstanding)
Chinese – Lost Heaven (Best); Southern Barbarian, My Soup
CW: Mio (Best); Mesa (Honorable Mention); Lost Heaven (Editor’s Pick)

BEST BRUNCH/WESTERN BREAKFAST (NON-HOTEL)
TBJ: Element Fresh (Best); Grandma’s Kitchen, Vineyard Cafe (Outstanding)
CW: Element Fresh (Best); Flamme (Honorable Mention); Mosto (Editor’s Pick)

BEST CHEF/CHEF OF THE YEAR
TBJ: Fine Dining – Daniel Urdaneta, Mosto (Best); Brian Reimer, Maison Boulud, Paulo da Sousa, SALT (Outstanding)
Casual – Adam Murray, Home Plate Bar-B-Que (Best); Jun Trinh, 4corners, Jeff Powell, Back Alley Bistro (Outstanding)
CW: Daniel Urdaneta, Mosto (Best); Michael Zhao, Mesa, Andreas Block, The Cut, The Fairmont Beijing (Honorable Mention); Christian Hoffman, Yi House (Editor’s Pick)

BEST FRENCH CUISINE
TBJ:
Fine Dining – Maison Boulud (Best); Brasserie Flo, Temple Restaurant Beijing (Outstanding)
Casual – Café de la Poste (Best); Le Petit Gourmand, Crepanini (Outstanding)
CW: Brasserie Flo (Best); S.T.A.Y. (Honorable Mention); Maison Boulud (Editor’s Pick)

BEST HOTEL BRUNCH
TBJ: Bubbalicious at Seasonal Tastes, Westin Chaoyang (Best); Feast at EAST Beijing, Aroma at The Ritz-Carlton Beijing (Outstanding)
CW: Bubbalicious at Seasonal Tastes, Westin Chaoyang (Best); VIC at Sofitel, Feast at EAST Beijing (Honorable Mention); Yi House (Editor’s Pick)

BEST INDIAN
TBJ: Ganges (Best); Taj Pavillion, Indian Kitchen (Outstanding)
CW: Ganges (Best); Raj (Honorable Mention); Indian Kitchen (Editor’s Pick)

BEST ITALIAN
TBJ: Tavola (Best); Mercante, Barolo at The Ritz-Carlton Beijing (Outstanding)
CW: Barolo at The Ritz-Carlton Beijing (Best); Mio at The Four Seasons Beijing (Honorable Mention); Cepe at The Ritz-Carlton Financial Street (Editor’s Pick)

BEST JAPANESE
TBJ: Hatsune (Best); Matsuko, Nobu (Outstanding)
CW: Hatsune (Best); Hagaki (Honorable Mention); Sake Manzo (Editor’s Pick)

BEST KOREAN
TBJ: Saveurs de Coree (Best); Han Na Shan, Iki (Outstanding)
CW: Saveurs de Coree (Best); Ssam (Honorable Mention); Iki (Editor’s Pick)

BEST MEXICAN
TBJ: Luga’s Villa (Best); Q Mex, Taco Bar (Outstanding)
CW: Luga’s Villa (Best); Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill, Tim’s Texas BBQ (honorable mentio); Q Mex (Editor’s Pick)

BEST MIDDLE-EASTERN
TBJ: Biteapitta (Best); 1001 Nights, Rumi (Outstanding)
CW: Rumi (Best); Al Safir (Honorable Mention); Biteapitta (Editor’s Pick)

BEST PIZZA
TBJ: La Pizza (Best); Gung Ho! Pizza, Kro’s Nest (Outstanding)
CW: La Pizza (Best); Tube Station Pizza, Kro’s Nest (Honorable Mention); Pizza Plus (Editor’s Pick)

BEST SERVICE
TBJ: Non-Chinese Fine Dining – Temple Restaurant Beijing (Best); Maison Boulud, Capital M (Outstanding)
Non-Chinese Casual – Annie’s (Best); Gung Ho! Pizza, Element Fresh (Outstanding)
Chinese – Haidilao (Best); Din Tai Fung, Da Dong Roast Duck (Outstanding)
CW: Maison Boulud (Best); Sherpa’s, Din Tai Fung (Honorable Mention); Mio (Editor’s Pick)

BEST SPANISH
TBJ: Migas (Best); Carmen, Agua (Outstanding)
CW: Agua (Best); Niajo (Honorable Mention); Migas (Editor’s Pick)

BEST STEAK
TBJ: Fine Dining – Morton’s Steakhouse (Best); Mosto, SALT (Outstanding)
Casual – Flamme (Best); Union Bar & Grille, Café de la Poste (Outstanding)
CW: Grange Grill at The Westin Chaoyang (Best); Flamme, CRU Steakhouse at The JW Marriott (Honorable Mention); The Cut at The Fairmont Beijing (Editor’s Pick)

BEST THAI
TBJ: Purple Haze (Best); Banana Leaf, Lime Cafe (Outstanding)
CW: Purple Haze (Best); Serve the People (Honorable Mention); Very Siam (Editor’s Pick)

BEST WINE LIST/SELECTION
TBJ: Temple Restaurant Beijing (Best); Maison Boulud, Enoterra (Outstanding)
CW: Enoterra (Best); Aria at The China World Hotel (Honorable Mention); Bar Veloce (Editor’s Pick)

Curious about how the nightlife awards compared? Take a look here.

Photo: Susan Sheng