Dinner and a Show: Entertainment Is on the Menu at These Beijing Restaurants
Feeling a bit of cabin fever but nonetheless committed to hunkering down in the capital? If you’ve exhausted your Netflix playlist and are on a first-name basis with the waimai guys, maybe it’s time to get out of the house. Here are some places to grab a meal with a side of fun.
Special Delivery
Maybe you can’t take a trip around the world, but at Spacelab your food will journey through the dining room on a spiral roller coaster before stopping abruptly at your table. Two thumbs up from parents and teens on the burgers (RMB 58-99); For the younger set there’s a movie room upstairs.
Mask-changing actors, tableside noodle dance, origami folding, free manicures, help with homework, and robots delivering your food? Why would you stay home? Every location is different, but HaiDiLao Hot Pot promises a predictably good time (Avg. RMB 155).
Dining alone? Take a seat at He Lu Revolving Sushi where rolls and sashimi keep you company as they skate by. Just collect the plates and pay when you leave (Avg. RMB 100).
Tableside Treatment
At Rodeo Connection, the Flaming Cheese-covered Pork Ribs (RMB 388) have enough firepower to singe your eyebrows. A smaller fire warms the Mulled Wine (RMB 298) tableside, and a bit of magic creates an exotic smoke bubble on the Alice Wonderland cocktail (RMB 108). If the pyrotechnics aren’t enough, you can boost your adrenaline with a ride on the mechanical bull.
With a more subtle flambé, Bistro B’s Crêpe Suzette (RMB 90) prepared tableside with a glass of Prosecco makes date night perfect.
Shunpachi at the Hyatt Regency Wangjing features an exhibition-style kitchen with chefs preparing yakitori, teppanyaki, noodles, robatayaki, and sushi. Choose the all-you-can-eat dinner (RMB 368) and relax Izakaya-style with sake in hand.
Plans for Guilin canceled? Console yourself Yunnan style at Dian Dachi Stone Pot Fish where your fish will steam away under a hat at your table while live folk music lifts your spirits.
The Show Goes On
Gather friends and head to Chaoyang Park’s Mongolia Big Camp Restaurant. Pass the camels to your own private yurt, where a roast sheep and a bottle of Baijiu will ward off winter’s chill. Book the cultural show and musicians and dancers will come to your yurt, transporting you to the grasslands of the North (Avg. RMB 250).
For a more traditional serenade, enjoy a dinner concert on Fridays at O’Steak (Avg. RMB 250) or the weekend jazz brunch at The Peninsula (RMB 488).
Book the Wine n’ Dine experience at Black Sesame Kitchen (RMB 350) and enjoy a glass of wine (or two) while watching the chefs chop, flash-fry, and caramelize a ten-course meal onto your plate. Prefer to roll up your sleeves and join the action? Join a cooking class instead or sign up for The Hutong’s Chinese New Year Dumpling Party on Jan 23 (RMB 250/200).
Fancy dinner and a movie? At Cinker Pictures you won’t have to settle for a frozen pizza with your flick. Book movie tickets on their WeChat account (ID: cinker-cinema-space) and settle into a recliner with a Cosmopolitan, upscale nibbles, entrees, and desserts (RMB 38-188). You’ll never reach for a bag of microwave popcorn again.
In these rapidly changing times, it’s best to call ahead to make sure all programs are still on offer.
READ: EAT: Venetian Cuisine at Frasca, King Cake Continues, New Brunch Dishes at Jing-A Longfusi
Images: Kirsten Harrington
