The napkins at Blue Marlin are proudly emblazoned with the phrase “Home Away From Home” and a quick browse through the menu suggests they are certainly doing their best to make as many nations as possible feel at home, with German pork knuckle (RMB 178) sitting happily next to American barbecue ribs (RMB 178), Spanish seafood rice (RMB 138) and Vietnamese pho. Prices are high, but portions are prodigious (see also the 1.5kg Australian tomahawk steak) and while nothing is groundbreaking we did enjoy our crisp pork knuckle, prehacked into manageable chucks and served with a deep and savory beer sauce. Skip the tired dessert selection and instead indulge in a moreish coconut, sea salt and matcha smoothie (RMB 56), which with its piña colada and ice cream base probably has more calories than the average dessert anyway.
The formidable portions are complemented by an equally formidable drinks selection, spanning several Technicolor pages at the back of the menu. At RMB 50-70 cocktails are about market standard, but it is still worth visiting during their daily happy hour (4-7pm) when selected drinks are half price. Stay on later and enjoy their in-house band, playing on a stage that takes up one side of the sizeable two storey space.
With its crowd-pleasing formula and savvy embassy area location, Blue Marlin is sure to be a hit. After all, with 13 locations around China (Beijing is the 13th), they must be doing something right.
More stories by this author here.
Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
Instagram: @gongbaobeijing
Twitter: @gongbaobeijing
Weibo: @宫保北京
Photos: Uni
Weird, as I wrote in my review it was expensive, and the food was really little, and was just fine, totally not worth the price, with a terribly slow service (I mean, where on earth do you wait 40 min for a drink, even more for food, with not even water while waiting, all of 18 people in our groupe thought so, plus also someone who contacted me after reading my review).
Maybe I was unlucky, might be better if less crowded.
