2009 May 14 Mesh, Q Bar top the Beijinger's 6th Annual Reader Bar & Club Awards
The Opposite House's Mesh joined perennial winners Q Bar, Lush, Suzie Wong's and The Den at the top of the awards charts in the Beijinger's Sixth Annual Reader Bar & Club Awards, announced last night on the roof deck of Chaowai Soho in the heart of the CBD. Mesh took home six reader awards, including the coveted Bar/Club of the Year award, as well as honorable mentions in the Best New Bar/Club, Best Cocktails, Best Drink Selection, Best Hotel Bar and Most Beautiful People categories.
Over 500 denizens of Beijing’s nightlife scene gathered under balmy skies on the spectacular roof deck to enjoy a free flow of beer, wine, shots and mixed drinks, while being entertained by capoeira dancers, live bands and tunes from DJ Okay from Alfa 80s Night (which won the category for Best Regular Events).
Q Bar, celebrating its third anniversary next month, received seven nods from the readers, including Best Bartender (George Zhou), Best Cocktails and Best Drink Selection. They were also recognized by readers as outstanding in the categories of Best Lounge, Best Place to Bring a Date, BestOutdoor Drinking and Best Bar/Club of the Year. The popular Sanlitun area lounge is currently renovating its outdoor deck to create more space and increase sound insulation.
Meanwhile Wudaokou standout Lush was honored as Best Student Hangout and Most Worthy of a Long Cab Ride, and also earned honorable mentions for Best Survivor (a.k.a. a bar that has been in business for more than five years), Best Bar Food, and Best Bartender (Claire Dong, who Lush shares with its sister venue, Pyro Pizza).
Newcomer Chocolate won the Best New Bar/Club of the Year as well as recognition for its outstanding Décor.
Suzie Wong’s won five awards, including top nods in Most Beautiful People and Best Place to Find a Date, while White Rabbit took home three first-place awards (Best for Dancing, Best After-Hours Club and Best Nightclub), as did The Tree (Best Survivor, Best Draught Beer, Best Bar Food).
The annual awards start with a nomination panel of 200 people selected from all walks of Beijing life: writers and editors on the Beijing nightlife scene; wine and spirits industry professionals; customers from across the spectrum from heavy partiers to light drinkers; and a randomly selected batch of voters from last year’s survey.
These people were given blank ballots with 60 categories. After tabulating these opinions, the category list was trimmed to the most competitive 29 categories and the top nominees in each were included on the main ballot, which was then promoted via our magazine, this website and at the nominated bars and clubs themselves.
After three weeks of balloting over 2,000 votes were received; a little less than half were discarded due to incomplete or incorrect contact information or were disqualified after being determined to be attempts at ballot-stuffing.
The full list of Reader’s winners is as follows:
New Bar/Club
Best: Chocolate
Outstanding: Mesh, Opposite House; The Stumble Inn
Survivor
Best: The Tree
Outstanding: Lush; Suzie Wong's
Cocktails
Best: Q Bar
Outstanding: Centro, Kerry Centre; Mesh, Opposite House
Cheap Drinks
Best: Nanjie
Outstanding: Kai Club; Tun
Wine Bar
Best: La Baie des Anges
Outstanding: Aperitivo; Aria, China World; Centro, Kerry Centre
Drink Selection
Best: Q Bar
Outstanding: Mesh, Opposite House; The Tree
Live Music
Best: Yugong Yishan
Outstanding: D22; Mao Livehouse
Draught Beer
Best: The Tree
Outstanding: Paddy O'Sheas; The Den
Bartender
Best: George Zhou, Q Bar
Outstanding: Claire Dong, Lush/Pyro Pizza; Andy, The Rickshaw
Dancing
Best: White Rabbit
Outstanding: Salsa Caribe; Vics
Bar Food
Best: The Tree
Outstanding: Lush; The Rickshaw
Lounge
Best: Bed
Outstanding: Face; Q Bar
Sports Bar
Best: Paddy O'Shea's
Outstanding: All-Star Sports Bar & Grill; The Den
Student Hangout
Best: Lush
Outstanding: Nanjie; Propaganda
After-Hours Club
Best: White Rabbit
Outstanding: Suzie Wong's; The Den
Hotel Bar
Best: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding: Mesh, Opposite House; Punk, Opposite House
Place to Bring a Date
Best: Bed
Outstanding: Face; Q Bar
Place to Find a Date
Best: Suzie Wong's
Outstanding: Propaganda; Tun
Happy Hour
Best: The Saddle Cantina
Outstanding: The Den; The Rickshaw
Nightclub
Best: White Rabbit
Outstanding: Suzie Wong's; Vics
Business Networking
Best: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding: Aria, China World; The Bookworm
Beautiful People
Best: Suzie Wong's
Outstanding: Bling; Block 8; Mesh, Opposite House
Regular Events
Best: 80s Night @ Alfa
Outstanding: Cinco de Drinko @ The Saddle Cantina; Ladies Night @ Tun; Syndicate vs Bai Cai @ White Rabbit
Décor
Best: Lan
Outstanding: Chocolate; Face
Outdoor Drinking
Best: Kokomo
Outstanding: Q Bar; The Saddle Cantina; The Stone Boat
Bathrooms
Best: Lan
Outstanding: Block 8; Zeta Bar, Hilton
Most Worthy of a Long Cab Ride
Best: Lush
Outstanding: Bed; Propaganda
Value
Best: Tun
Outstanding: Nanjie; The Den
Bar/Club of the Year
Best: Mesh, Opposite House
Outstanding: Block 8; Paddy O'Shea's; Q Bar
Look for further extended details – including Editors’ Picks and a statistical breakdown of winning bars and clubs in the June 2009 issue of the beijinger, out around town May beginning Wednesday, May 27.
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admin
Re: Mesh, Q Bar top the Beijinger's 6th Annual Reader Bar & ...
Gallery of photos from last night's party here:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/gallery/2009-theBeijinger-Reader-Bar-and-Clu...
wo kao, I've been on this board 5 years now
admin
Re: Mesh, Q Bar top the Beijinger's 6th Annual Reader Bar & ...
Facebook photos here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121590
wo kao, I've been on this board 5 years now
admin
Re: Mesh, Q Bar top the Beijinger's 6th Annual Reader Bar & ...
Digging deeper into the voting for Bar/Club of the Year
http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2009/05/18/Digging-deeper-into-the-voti...
wo kao, I've been on this board 5 years now