The Secret: What Tony Zhao’s Latest Venture Should Remain

Sure, hunting down what you hope will be a hip, hush-hush bar in Beijing seems fabulous, that is, until you’re wandering the labyrinth-like residential Yongli International Center at 10pm in the cold. Doormen who weren’t in on The Secret took me on a wild goose chase, leaving me to wonder if Ounce, hidden behind a café wall in Taipei, or The Hideout, hidden inside a bar in San Francisco’s Mission District aren’t entirely more favorable because you can at least drink while you look for them.

Pro tip: Make a reservation for The Secret in advance because the phone service on the 22nd floor of building one in Yongli is crap. After a stint of shameless shouting and banging on the door, an obliviously composed bartender – dress shirt on top, too-distressed jeans on bottom – welcomed me and my friend inside an apartment-turned-bar.

It looked like the landlord hadn’t allowed them to paint the white walls. I had expected The Secret would be cave-like.

Atmosphere wasn’t the only thing The Secret didn’t have. Owner Tony Zhao, after tapping into Sanlitun’s whiskey bar craze, has gone menu-less.

Where menu-less bars rely on the bartender’s ability to assess the customer’s taste, The Secret fell short. I asked for something refreshing and a tad on the sweet side, and was awarded with a RMB 100 glass of X-Rated Fusion vodka with blood orange, mango and passion fruit. “Ladies don’t like drinks that are too strong, and they like really sweet drinks,” the bartender declared. Clearly, he didn’t get I was no ordinary lady.

Meanwhile, for my friend who asked for a strong drink (“Like a Manhattan,” he said), the bartender delivered a syrupy blend of liqueurs before sneaking away to fiddle with his phone.

Admittedly, though, the drinks were pretty.

The Secret
Daily 5pm-late. 1-2022, Yongli International Center, 21 Gongti Bei Lu (8405 9525)
工体北路21号永利国际A座2022
500m east of Dongsishitiao subway station (Line 2)

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Email: j.rapp@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Uni