A Closer Look at the Bar and Club Awards: Best Place to Find a Date

With the "A Closer Look" series, we raise our glasses in recognition of the Beijinger 2016 Bar & Club Award winners, before giving a toast (in text form, of course) about why they were selected by our readers.

Picture the scene: it's Saturday night, you've got your best outfit on, you're feeling frisky, and you're ready to share the love with an unsuspecting member of the Beijing populace. But where do you go? Below we review the winners of the "Best Place to Find a Date" category.

The Bar at Migas
Taking the top spot in this category, The Bar at Migas is the sort of place you can trawl for a date and still feel classy about it. With one of the city's best rooftops in summer and a cozy indoor bar space in winter, plus frequently changing resident DJs and special guests, Migas draws in a well-heeled yet eclectic crowd. Find the object of your affections on the dance floor and then settle into one of the dark, corner booths and chat the night away.

Kokomo
I'm not entirely sure what it says about the average Beijinger's dating scene that Kokomo is considered one of the best places to find a date, but it's probably not a good thing. Taking up space on the 4th and 5th floors of Sanlitun's Tongli Studio, with its vaguely Caribbean theme and expansive rooftop, Kokomo was considered among the city's best alfresco nightlife venues back when it opened around 2006. With cheap drinks and Top 40 hits blasting on the stereo, 10 years on Kokomo still makes for a pretty wild night out and is not a bad place to find a guy or gal to continue the party with. 

(Ed's note: Yours truly is admittedly a little bitter about Kokomo, since I've had my iPhone stolen out of my handbag there on two separate occasions, but don't let that stop you in your quest for true love)

4corners
The only Dongcheng option to take home a prize in this category, 4corners won "Outstanding Place to Find a Date." This may be the Bar and Club Awards, but 4corners is actually more than just a bar; it is also a restaurant serving excellent Vietnamese food and indulgent weekend brunches courtesy of chef-proprietor Jun Trinh, and also a frequent event space. If you prefer to meet your dates in a less "shout over the music" environment, then you might want to check out 4corners' regular Storytelling Wednesdays or Tuesday pub quiz – you're sure to find someone on your intellectual level.

More stories by this author here.

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Photos: The Bar at Migas, the Beijinger/Cheers,