Sake and Sochu

This is C5sake Bar, attached to C5art space in north Sanlitun, specializes in Japans favorite drink: sake, offering flights or single glasses with knowledgable instruction of the various types from the bartenders.

This restaurant and bar founded by chef Max Levy features sushi, sake and cocktails in Sanlitun's 1949 -The Hidden City.

Looking for a spot for late night drinks and snacks? How about Japanese yakitori (char-grilled skewers), eel rice, beef tataki, and karage chicken? Wash them down with a range of cold beers and sake at this smart Gongti spot with English-speaking staff.

Tiny Japanese bar serving shochu and the coldest beer in Beijing, although there's an RMB 40 cover charge.

Jipangu’s owners have a simple motto: “Feel Nippon, Enjoy Sake.” Both are Japanese and self-proclaimed connoisseurs of their nation’s drinking culture, and they want to share their homeland’s hooch with you. The drinks list includes sake, shochu, plum wines and whiskey. A considered menu of southern Japanese cuisine is designed to compliment each tipple. When the brew has taken effect, hit the private KTV room.

Suzumei confirms that good things come in small packages. It may only hold a maximum of 40 people, but this corner nook Japanese restaurant and bar in Sanyuanli somehow finds a way to offer a bit of everything; there’s eel over rice (RMB 48), curry udon (RMB 23), yakitori, sashimi and more. The fish is meltingly fresh, purchased and prepared by owner and third-generation sushi chef Omori Toshiyuki, and reasonably priced at RMB 8-32 (for rolls, nigiri and sashimi).

Beijing’s beautiful people have a new place to enjoy being fabulous. Modeled after the exclusive backstreet lounges of metropolises like New York and Tokyo, d lounge contrasts appropriately with its setting on the dingy alleyway linking Nanjie and Tun. Brickwork arches and a Gaudi-style bar-as-apse suggest a stylishly renovated church; colorful seating and assorted lampshades instill living-room coziness. The excellent cocktails include a rum martini with orange, fresh fruit martinis and Campari mojito (all RMB 50-60), and shochu by the glass is RMB 30-50.

Close to the west gate of BLCU, this big, boisterous Korean place attracts a hip international student crowd dizzy on yummy pots of lemon soju.

A venerable "elder statesman" of Beijing's food and drink scene, this Sanlitun spot has been serving Japanese-style pub grub (everything from sushi and soba noodles to sizzling steak plates and pizza) and killer cocktails (long island ice teas, saketinis) for well over a decade. Expect the look and feel of a Japanese diner, with the clientele and music (J-Pop and jazz) to boot.