To Try List: Spuds Irish Bar, New Spanish, Taiwanese & More
Our To Try List covers new restaurants, dining deals, drinks discounts, guest shifts, pop-ups, and more foodie happenings in Beijing.
A new Irish Bar in town Spuds has taken over Durty Nellies old home, a new Spanish restaurant has opened in Sanlitun, there's new Taiwanese eats in Beixinqiao and more on our To Try List this week.
Spanish Restaurant Chain BROWNSTONE Opens First Restaurant in Beijing
Just over a month ago, Spanish restaurant chain BROWNSTONE opened their first Beijing branch in Sanlitun Taikooli. Founded in Shanghai back in 2010, BROWNSTONE specializes in authentic Spanish food and now has multiple locations in a number of cities across China. On the menu at their new Beijing location they’ve got a range of classic tapas dishes like Iberian Ham Croquettes with Apple Sauce (RMB 28), Grilled Rioja Style Chorizo with Olives and Mushroom (RMB 48) and Mussels in Garlic and Parsley Sauce (RMB 68).
They’ve also got a range of other dishes such as three variation of paella, steak, cold cuts and more. As you’d expect from any Spanish restaurant worth their salt they’ve also got Red and White Sangria (RMB 58/glass, RMB 268/pitcher), plenty of Spanish wines, cocktails, beer, mocktails and other soft drinks on the menu too.
Onto the space itself, BROWNSTONE boasts a beautiful terrace area with colorful tiled tables and bright red chairs and is the perfect spot for enjoying the last of the warm weather before the dreaded winter sets in. Inside the tile and red theme continues, paired with elegant stained glass decorations inspired by Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia.
BROWNSTONE
S4-33, 4F, Taikooli South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯路19号太古里南区三层S4-33单元
Hours: 11am-midnight
Phone: 010 5211 8278
Spuds Irish Bar Takes Over Durty Nellies Old Digs
One of Beijing’s lesser known Irish bars, although by most accounts the city’s oldest, Durty Nellies has been going through a rebranding in recent months and has now become Spuds Irish Bar* – although the sign hasn't changed yet due to its nostalgia with regulars.
In true Irish bar fashion, they show sports on multiple TVs and two big screens – one inside and one outside in their large beer garden where they also provide blankets now the weather is getting chilly. They have a pool table and darts board, with friendly darts games on Tuesdays, plus a darts team that people are welcome to join. They're also the official home bar of the Beijing Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) so anyone interested in learning about Ireland's native sports can head over there, lastly, for quiz fans, they’ll soon be starting weekly quizzes.
On the food and drink front, they of course have Guinness on tap, plenty of other beers, plus cocktails and a growing food menu. Currently, on weekends they specialize in different Irish dishes such as a Full Irish Breakfast, Beef and Guinness Irish Stew, Shepherd’s Pie, soups and toasted sandwiches. They also have a Guinness deal where “if you split the G you get the next one free”, you can ask the barman for more details on that.
Spuds Irish Bar 爱尔兰酒吧
B1F, Block 3, Dangdai Wanguo City, 1 Xiangheyuan Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区香河园路1号当代万国城3座B1楼
Hours: 10am-2am
Phone: 131 2135 2835
*Please note that to currently find it on Didi you’ll need to put in “爱尔兰酒吧(香河路店)”
New Taiwanese Restaurant Opens in Beixinqiao
The Beixinqiao area has a new resident in the form of Taiwanese restaurant Grab a Chair, who had their official opening party back on Oct 1. It occupies a cozy little space with wooden minimalist décor and a prominent window that opens up to allow diners to sit on either side. Their menu is seasonal with a focus on using fresh, colorful vegetables to create healthy dishes where the ingredients are the star of the show.
On their current autumn menu, they got a couple of classic Taiwanese Gua Baos: Braised Pork (RMB 24) and Vegetarian “Chicken” (RMB 18), small snacks like Lotus Fries (RMB 28) and Not Simple Pickles (RMB 15) as well as other Taiwanese dishes plus a few Buddha Bowls (RMB 36-39) for those looking for a super healthy option.
Grab a Chair
F19-20, Bldg 9, Block F, Kelin Bldg, 107, Dongsi Beidajie, Dongcheng District
东城区东四北大街107号科林大厦F座9幢F19-20
Hours: Mon & Wed-Sun, 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-9pm (closed on Tue)
Phone: 131 4121 3578
Enjoy a Special Bengali Buffet at Dastaan this Weekend
In celebration of Pujo, a festival particularly celebrated in Bengal and also known as Durga Puja, Dastaan will be putting on a special Bengali buffet dinner and lunch this weekend. All buffets include an amazing assortment of Bengali delights and you can see the full dinner and lunch menus below. The dinner buffet will be taking place today (Oct 11) and tomorrow (Oct 12) from 6pm until 10pm and the lunch will be taking place on Sunday (Oct 13) from noon until 3pm. Adult tickets for the dinner buffet are RMB 178 and child tickets are RMB 78, adult tickets for the lunch are RMB 148 and child tickets are RMB 68 and can be booked by scanning the QR code in the poster above.
Dastaan 达斯坦印度餐厅
3F, Sanlitun SOHO Bldg 5, 8 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工人体育场北路8号三里屯SOHO5号上场3层
Event hours: Oct 11 & 12, 6pm-10pm; Oct 13, noon-3pm
Phone: 150 3015 2369; 137 1844 0102
Italian Dishes, Drinks and Music at Apollo This Sunday Afternoon
This Sunday (oct 13), Apollo is putting on a special Italian themed afternoon: DISCO SPRITZ! It will see Chef Jarrod serving up some delicious twists on classic Italian dishes like Anchovy Pinsa (RMB 58), Pumpkin Risotto (RMB 118) and the intriguing Tiramisu Tart (RMB 68). Mixologist Rodrigo is also shaking up irresistible Italian cocktails and to turn things up a notch, there will be tunes from Beijing’s busiest DJ, Mr. Leo Furioso! The event will start at noon, Oct 13 and you can see the full menu of dishes in the poster below.
Apollo
Southwest corner, 1/F Pacific Century Place, 2 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工人体育场北路甲2号三里屯盈科中心1层西南侧
Event hours: Sun, Oct 13, noon-late
Phone: 010 8599 9116
Taste Rioja Wines at a Secret Underground Location with WTF??
WTF?? Wine Tasting with Friends is back with another Rioja underground cellar wine tasting event. Taking place on Sunday (Oct 13) from 2.30pm until 5.30pm, attendees will get to taste nine Spanish wines from the Bodega Riojanas vineyard paired with nibbles and Spanish ham. However, perhaps even more intriguing than the wine is the location, once a secret wartime bomb shelter which has now been converted into a wine cellar, you can read more about this hidden underground city in this post. The event is RMB 399 and you can sign up by scanning the QR code in the poster above, once signing up you’ll be notified of the exact location of the event.
Mortons Honors Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a Special Pink Cocktail
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Morton's has teamed up with United Family Hospitals to champion women's health throughout October. They’ve crafted an exclusive Pink Ribbon Cocktail which will only be available during October. For every cocktail sold at any Morton's location nationwide, RMB 18 will be donated to the United Foundation Health, helping to fund women's health initiatives directly.
Morton's Steakhouse
2/F, Regent Hotel, 99 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District
东城区金宝街99号丽晶酒店2层
Hours: 11.20am-2pm, 5pm-9.30pm
Phone: 010 6523 7777
READ: To Try List: Steak in Dongdaqiao, Pebbles' New Look + More
Images: courtesy of the venues, Katie Coy, Vincent R. Vinci
