2015 Year in Review: The Restaurants we Bid Goodbye to This Year

2015 Year in Review: Restaurants We Bid Goodbye to this Year

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Dec 23, 2015 1:00 pm | 1 comment | 2555 reads

Restaurants come and go, but Beijing remains the same. Nevertheless, below are a few of the big name restaurants we bid goodbye to in 2015.

Flamme
Long-time favorite Sanlitun steak house Flamme closed suddenly back in September, with their Indigo Mall location following days after. When Flamme opened in Sanlitun's Taikoo Li in August 2010, it was an immediate hit with foodies thanks to its Australian tenderloin steaks, along with sides like matchstick fries and gingered carrots. Drinkers also loved the restaurant's cocktails (pictured above), particularly during their daily 50 percent off happy hour.

Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q
Technically this one hasn't closed yet, but at the beginning of December 2015 Tim's announced that due to laws restricting the use of military land for commercial purposes that their lease would not be renewed at the end of the month. Known for their down-home versions of classic American dishes, Tim's have been in their Xiushui location since August 2007.

Brian McKenna @ The Courtyard
We were pretty surprised when Beijing celebrity chef Brian McKenna left the iconic Courtyard space in June, citing "very demanding consulting projects, a new gastropub opening in August and an expanding catering company." McKenna took over The Courtyard in 2013 after stints at Shangri-La Hotel's Blu Lobster and his own ROOM, turning it into one of Beijing's hottest fine dining destinations. McKenna went on to open Molly Malone's Gastropub & Grill on Jinbao Jie, only to abandon his stake in the restaurant two weeks after opening to work on other projects. The Courtyard space was taken over by TRB offshoot TRB Bites, one of our best casual dining openings of 2015.

The Corner Melt
Melted cheese and bread are two of our favorite things, so we were pretty sad when Beijing's only grilled cheese specialist, The Corner Melt, closed its doors in June. The Corner Melt had relocated to its final resting spot on Xingfuxun Zhonglu, in the same alley as BBC and The Big Smoke, after a short-lived run on Fangjia Hutong. We will especially miss their Midwest Melt, a heart attack-worthy melding of macaroni cheese and grilled cheese sandwich.

Chef Too
Long-time stalwart of the Chaoyang Park dining scene Chef Too served its last meal in June this year after eight years. In April, we received word (and subsequently blogged) from owner William Bolton that the space was up for sale for RMB 500,000, including all the restaurant equipment. So far, no-one is doing anything with the space, as far as we know. At the time of the closing, Beijing Boyce recalled eating blue-cheese topped burgers at the restaurant.