Mai Is Yours

Owner Jeff wants you to treat Mai like home. That’s partly why the name sounds like “My.” That’s also why the beer fridge is out front, El Nido-style – so you can grab your own drink. The beer selection isn’t huge, but offers a variety that has become essential for any aspiring bar: Rogue, Chimay, BrewDog and more.

Mai is really about the cocktails, though. An Old Fashioned or Queen’s Park Swizzle (both RMB 40) here is a great way to start the year. The whiskey list is also good for Gulou. The selection is comparable to Amilal’s, and marginally cheaper – Highland Park is a bargain at RMB 45. As a bonus, they make a sweet mijiu (rice wine), served hot for RMB 40 per pot.

Bars like this wouldn’t exist without Apothecary (Jeff once worked there), and the debt is glaring. But if the “artisanal” cocktail bar risks quickly becoming a parody of itself, at least the bar for success has been raised high above the turgid Houhai blueprint of Tsingtao, moth-eaten sofas and Carpenters covers. As consumers, we’re winning.

Good for: Inexpensive cocktails
Also try: Mao Mao Chong, Jam

Mai Sun-Thu 6pm-1am, Fri-Sat 6pm-2am. 40 Beiluogu Xiang, Dongcheng District (138 1125 2641) 麦, 东城区北锣鼓巷40号

Click here to see the January issue of the Beijinger in full.