Let Restaurant Y Transport Your Tastebuds to a Rustic Mediterranean Haven

After leaving a lasting impact on Wudaoying’s restaurant scene with He Kitchen and Chi, the Saffron team is now breaking into the even more competitive Sanlitun area with their new Restaurant Y. It seems that their prior experience in that popular alley has served them well, however, because this latest endeavor is even better than those Wudaoying favorites.

That’s because Y chef Yao Yang serves up elegant yet straightforward, flavorful and fresh Mediterranean dishes like roasted chicken (RMB 159 for a small or RMB 269 for a large serving; pictured in the lead photo above), its diced chunks of juicy white meat coated in a nutty, red pepper-based Romesco sauce. For something more light and summery, try the plateful of Chilean mussels cooked in white wine (RMB 129), with each of its shells containing juicy, taste bud-enticing morsels that you won’t be able to help but gobble up with vigor. Better still: the paella (RMB 189 for a small plateful or RMB  369 for a large). It’s a seafood lover’s delight, thanks to its juicy and firm Argentinean prawns, Liaoning surf clams, both imbuing the rice beneath with an irresistibly salty freshness. Same goes for another seafood stand out: the RMB 109 pan-fried Icelandic baby squids. They boast a firmly juicy texture, and their basil sauce and herb salt make them lightly fresh, tart and savory.
Those mains have a rustic, time-honored quality that contrasts sharply with the desserts, which are among the fanciest we’ve tried in some time. The fragrant and decadent jasmine chocolate mousse (RMB 69) is so richly creamy you’ll feel almost scandalously indulgent, and its caramelized outer layer raises its sugariness even further, as impossible as that seemed at first. Those of us with a little more inhibition might instead try the more reasonably sweet passion fruit coconut yogurt mousse (also RMB 69), which has a gentler, more wholesome flavor. 
The restaurant has a spacious, relaxed vibe with modern décor and a picturesque view of Sanlitun. Its place on the second floor of a new-ish building with two other red hot venues – Bad Farmer on the ground floor below, and the much-hyped new Rouge above – all bode well for Sanlitun North, a portion of the neighborhood that was always much sleepier than its Taikooli and Courtyard 4 neighbors further south. That increasingly buzzed location is a huge bonus, but Y would be a hit no matter where it opened, thanks to its deliciously rustic fare and breezy ambiance.

Restaurant Y
Daily, 10am-midnight, 2/F, N8 Taikoo Li North, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang (8405 9938)
朝阳区三里屯太古里北区N8楼2/F

Photos: Restaurant Y