A cool place to chill, talk and drink

This is a great little bar much along the lines of the Sandglass on Nanluogu Xiang. In fact the owner used to run Sandglass, but somebody told me he was forced out of that business - not sure if that's true.

In any case, he's pretty much replicated the Sandglass formula here - a cosy courtyard home converted into a bar comfortably cluttered with wooden furniture, couches, books, cool black and white photos and general bric-a-brac, topped off by a relaxed atmosphere and a chilled soundtrack that wanders from Dylan to French ballads to Mongolian folk.

Even better than Sandglass is the ultra-secluded location. Although set just off the busy Guloudong Dajie, once you slip up the narrow alley and pass beyond the red door you feel like the bustle of Beijing is a million miles away.

My one complaint is that Amilal lacks the range of drinks of Sandglass - in particular there's no coffee here, which makes it a less attractive daytime option.

The drinks they have are reasonably priced however, and they have some imported beers like Hoegaarden.

A cool place to chill, talk and drink.