It's the Business: Beijing's Best Business Lunches

Lunch meeting? Important business to discuss with a client visiting from out of town? Time for a quick catch up with friends? Whatever your lunch requirements, we have rounded up some of Beijing’s very best lunch options, whether they be set menus or just really good deals. Our readers selected Hatsune, Feast and Flo as their favorites in our 2015 Reader Restaurant Awards, here are some additional favorites of ours:

Migas
Three courses, RMB 95
Migas’ creative lunch menu changes on a weekly basis, making the most of seasonal ingredients. Pol Anter’s desserts are a particular delight, sweet enough to satisfy but not so heavy as to leave you in a food coma. Those with no afternoon meetings will definitely want to add a glass of Spanish wine for just RMB 20 extra.

Mosto
Two courses, RMB 95
It’s easy to see why Mosto has topped the “Best Business Lunch” category in our restaurant awards every year since 2011. Modern Mediterranean and South American dishes like sea bass ceviche and grilled beef tenderloin appear promptly from the kitchen and the relaxed space is the perfect location for a business meeting or a casual tete-a-tete with friends.

Tavola*
Four courses, RMB 118 or RMB 158
Stalwart of Beijing’s Italian dining scene Tavola is a solid choice for Liangmaqiao office and embassy workers. The food is classic Italian – tomato bruschetta, spaghetti carbonara, pizza quattro formaggi – but the menu is broad enough that you could go back again and again and never get bored.

Aria*
Three courses, RMB 188
Aria’s stately dining room is the perfect venue to entertain business guests from out of town. The thick-carpeted room may be quiet but the food is anything but; the flavors of young chef Philip Taylor’s cooking practically cry out from modern dishes like seared foie gras with cherries, dark chocolate and brioche or truffled roast chicken.

Gung Ho! Pizza
Pizza and salad buffet, RMB 59
Yes, that’s just RMB 59 for as much pizza and salad as you can eat, making this one of the best value – if not the best value – deals in town. They’ve got Pepperoni and Margherita pizzas, and Caesar salads on every day, plus a rotating selection of carnivorous and veggie options. Kids under 10 eat for half price.

Grill 79*
Two courses, RMB 180
Wait with bated breath for one of Beijing’s increasingly rare blue sky days, then hustle over to Beijing’s tallest building and grab a table by the window at Grill 79. Spanish Chef Daniel Quintero’s food is exemplary, combining modern technique with unexpected flavors like Kashmir curry ice cream. This is fine dining but you won’t be there for hours: they call their lunch menu the “45 minute lunch.”

Pekotan
Bento boxes from RMB 38
Japanese-run deli and bakery Pekotan is an ideal option for a quick and healthy lunch in the CBD. In addition to a range of freshly baked sandwiches and pastries, they have a deli counter where you can fill up a bento box with a mix of western and Japanese-inspired salads. Be sure to order the peppered beef when it’s available.

Suzuki Kitchen
From RMB 35
Set lunch options are naturally more limited in the hutongs than in the office-heavy CBD, but the ever-reliable Suzuki Kitchen swoops in and saves the day with a good value menu of hearty Japanese comfort food. The katsu curry is among the best in town and the fish bowl-sized salads are nothing to sneer at either. Suzuki Kitchen has locations in Beixinqiao, Mao’er Hutong and Dashilan.

Ganges
Lunch buffet, RMB 48
It may not be the most highbrow Indian food, but it’s certainly one of the best lunch deals in town for hungry diners. Go earlier rather than later to enjoy free rein on the buffet choices (we always hold out for the pudina chicken, marinated in mint and spices) and a quieter environment for those sensitive business chats. The lunch buffet is available at their Sanlitun and CBD stores.

*Restaurants with an asterisk are subject to service charge

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Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of China World Summit Wing and China World Hotel