Best New Restaurants of 2013: Casual Dining

Earlier I gave you my take on the year's best new fine dining restaurants. Narrowing the list for casual venues was equally as difficult, but here it came down largely to the experience as a whole. While the caliber of food continues to increase, what 2013 really saw the rise of (and thankfully so) was spectacular spaces – at least in comparison to what was before.

Moka Bros
The team behind Moka Bros seems unstoppable. always with something new up their sleeves. Fresh off the whirlwind of reinventing Modo into Modo Urban Deli this summer, Alex Molina and Daniel Urdaneta opened Moka Bros – the casual cousin to Mosto and Modo Urban Deli. While Mosto – and to an extent, Modo – is beloved by many, Moka is the one that will have the most distinct and marked impact on the city food scene.

I would argue that Moka marks a new step for Beijing's casual dining. Remarkably, in its short life, Moka has become a Sanlitun destination and there are already whispers of new locations to open. Interior architect/designer Coro Urdaneta did wonders for the space, which is chic and airy, and the menu encompasses a broad and successful range of options which suit daytime as well as evening dining (and soon, breakfast hours, too).

Great Leap Brewpub
Though fermenters first and grill-masters second, Great Leap's new flagship brewpub is breaking ground in several regards. Their opening in June marked the first in a recent succession of small homegrown restaurants (Home Plate Bar-B-Que, The Rug) expanding into Sanlitun with comparatively massive and stunning spaces. While places like Mosto, Apothecary, and The Opposite House's venues boasted excellent interior design, casual dining in the area largely lacked the sleek look, tight design and character which Great Leap's new location brought with it.

Formerly focused solely on brews, the Brewpub enlisted Kin Hong of Taco Bar fame to develop the initial menu of the crowd-pleasing, classic American bar food standards of burgers, wings and salads. They continue to push forward the food, most recently into brunch territory as well as a series of beer-paired collaborations with Chef Andreas Block of The Cut at the Fairmont Beijing.

Chi Restaurant
From the couple, Yao and Li Yang, behind Spanish restaurant Saffron and Nathan Zhang of Brand Nv, came Chi Restaurant. The greater Gulou area – and Beijing as a whole – has its set-menu-only restaurants, but these primarily are Chinese cuisine (Yunnan, Hunan). Chi operates off this model but with a different slant on cuisine. The meandering menu (primarily in the vein of nouveau Western cuisine) advances Beijing's growing movement for local and organic. Chi's team has done a careful job of sourcing products and produce – coffee from Uncle Bean, beer from 京A, sausages from Andy's Craft Sausages, and bagels from Tavalin.

It's the kind of place that you could spend all day (and I have before). Sunlight streams into the intimate space through windows made of reclaimed doors and window frames. The restaurant has a character and uniqueness to it which is singular in Beijing at the moment but I'm hoping that this marks the start of a growing trend.

Honorable Mentions

Home Plate Bar-B-Que (Courtyard 4)
The second, massive branch of the beloved barbecue joint, this location just opened before the year's end. If the initial weeks are a solid indication of what's to come we have very much to look forward to in their expanded menu, full bar and space for live music.

The Rug (Courtyard 4)
The most recent in the spate of second-branch, Sanlitun openings, the new location of The Rug is ridiculously and indescribably good-looking. The menu matches that of the original Chaoyang Park spot, which is to say solid and quite satisfactory.

Sweet Tooth Cafe
Delivery-only turned storefront, Meilan Tan turns out a superior product and in terms of the town's sugar options, Sweet Tooth has certainly done great things to advance the cause this year.

Xalapa Mexican Restaurant
The Beijing bar is not too high for Mexican given the competition, but Xalapa has really brought it with their enchiladas. There's some room for growth, but it's certainly a place to watch and return to. Plus they've chosen to open on the west side of town, which is a bold and admirable move.

Photos: Cat Nelson, Liz Phung

Email: catnelson@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @haimei_baole
Instagram: @haimei_baole
Weibo: @cat_nelson

More stories by this author here