Roof Café: Cheap Coffee and All the Signature Dishes of Parkview Green's Venues in One Place

Tucked away in the Parkview Green Museum on the 10th floor of Parkview Green Mall, Roof Café is a high-quality, but low-key addition to the luxurious leisure complex. And while it may seem more of a sideshow to the museum and mall than an independent attraction in itself, we're glad we stumbled upon this hidden gem.

The place is very airy, with the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the glass ceiling of the shopping mall. Unlike the blatant rip-you-off vibe of many of the cafés found in shopping malls or museums, Roof Café feels more genuine. The Americano, espresso, latte, and cappuccino are each RMB 15 (for a regular), and RMB 35 (for a fancier one). Cans of Coke, Sprite, or soda water are each RMB 5, while bottles of San Pellegrino sparkling water, coconut water, and juice are RMB 18. Excuse me? Am I at a 7-Eleven? We ordered the regular latte, with low expectations for RMB 15, but Roof Café proved us wrong – the latte was pleasantly bitter with a strong, roasted aroma, made with an Italian-made La Marzocco espresso machine.

Roof Café serves its patrons signature dishes from Parkview Green's most popular restaurants in disposable containers at discounted prices, such as curry rice (RMB 28-58), noodles (RMB 38) and sea salt ice cream (RMB 15) from Ito Japanese Cuisine, desserts (RMB 12-35) from Ichido, soup (RMB 15) from Ming Yuen, paninis (RMB 58) and pizza (RMB 68-78) from Pizza View, Cantonese pastries (RMB 8-28) from Tandao, and breads from Opera Bombana (RMB 18). The casual atmosphere and even more casual plating make it a great way to get your Champagne taste to work on a beer (maybe craft beer) budget.

We opted for the beef rice (RMB 48) and grilled eel rice (RMB 58), which normally run from RMB 80 to 100 at Ito Japanese Cuisine. Within 15 minutes, the food was delivered to us, each with miso soup. We enjoyed the beef rice, featuring slices of onions, carrots, broccoli, and half of a boiled egg, seasoned with soy bean sauce and covered with a splash of white sesame and shallots. The eel rice, however, was a bit sad in comparison, with eight slices of grilled eel, half an egg, and a small portion of broccoli. We suggest you stick with the beef rice next time.

To spoil ourselves, we also grabbed a Swiss roll (RMB 22) from Ichido (located on LG2 of the mall) and a scoop of sea salt ice cream (RMB 15) from Ito. The Swiss roll provided a soft layer of sponge cake filled generously with whipped cream to offer a fluffy texture. Taken straight from the fridge, and was a cool and refreshing treat. The sea salt ice cream is simply a must-try, with the sea salt flakes providing contrast and a refuge from the sticky sweetness of our dessert spread.

With its reasonably priced dishes and drinks, Roof Café is on its way to becoming a secret hub for us to take a rest, enjoy the indoor sunshine and have a quick lunch after a tour of the museum or shopping in the mall.

Roof Café
Daily 11am-9pm. 10/F, D Tower, Parkview Green, 9 Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District (5662 8530)
饮冰室：朝阳区东大桥路9号侨福芳草地D区10楼

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang