Have been there with friends and were all very very happy to escape from Beijing for a while...
Go there without any hesitations.
A bit expensive but its normal if we want quality ...
Price per person around 400 yuan for a meal + dessert per person (without wine).

It is hard to comment this venue, especially if you are not used to this kind of restaurant, and I'm not, despite the fact I'm a Frenchman (A poor one I guess).

Anyway, the location is really impressive and it is usually enough to impress anyone who knows the modern architecture of today's beijing. You feel like going back 200 years ago. The place looks like a Manoir (former US embassy during the Qing dynasty ?), and there is even a lake with some weird smoke on it. The clients mostly arrive in their fancy ferrari and other Benz car.

The wine list is huge and impressive. If you want to read all of it you may need an hour, perhaps more, and most certainly you will still not be sure about which one to choose.

The food is very minimalist, but very tasy. I know that is a common character for elite french restaurant. I'm not used to it so I do not really appreciate this kind of food.

Finally the prices are very, very high. Do not expect less than 2000 RMB for a dinner pour deux in this place, especially if you take a nice wine and dessert.

if you have some money left, there is a small Patek Philippe boutique just outside of the Manoir to buy original watches :-)

We went there for brunch.
Wow, the place is huge,the courtyard is gorgeus.
We love the duck omelette and the onion soup.
Very good service.The only thing i can complain is about the kids noise,
aggh ! They closely ruin my brunch, why parents don´t properly educate their sons?
If not then stay home with the ayi.
Or just put tables with kids and their families in separate rooms.

In my foodie world of fine dining and great food Maison Boulud is my mecca. Maison is not merely about the food, but about the entire experience. After arriving and being seated you are presented with the 2 volumes wine list, one red, one (quite smaller) white. The prices reach astronomical levels but I ordered a 500 kuai Malbec that was one of the best I've tried. I am nearly certain that ordering the cheapest bottle you would still receive a palatable wine. The wine was decanted and throughout the evening, as soon as one glass was near empty a server would appear and top off the glasses. This service was consistent throughout the evening. You never felt like the servers were hovering, but as soon as a plate could be cleared, a glass topped up, anything at all they were there.

The menu has a decent selection of starters and mains, along with some French classics. Deciding on the menu can take a while as everything sounds delicious. After ordering canapes were brought over, an asparagus puree and a delicious cream cheese. My starter of frog legs was surprisingly larger than expected. Along with fava beans and asparagus everything was cooked beautifully and a rich sauce seasoned the dish perfectly. My partners tuna confit was light, yet complexly flavored with fresh vegetables and herbs. Our mains were the most tender and succulent pork, baby pig on the menu, with a light and crisp skin. And a beef short rib, delicate and tender. As with all other courses, after we had both finished, the plates were cleared simultaneously, and silverware was set for the next course. The dessert menu, like the dinner menu, offered plenty of options and choosing between the fruit or chocolate based ones were challenging. Two chocolate desserts were both rich, and delicious, each topped off with flecks of gold. During and after dessert we also received fresh madeilines and a dish of multicolor macaroons. After the bill the waitress called for a taxi and we got fresh packaged muffins to bring home, a delicious treat that I got to savour the following morning.

Maison is a rare experience with food not only cooked well but executed on a level not reached elsewhere in the city. The atmosphere is luxurious, but inviting and relaxing. The service is flawless and there are small touches throughout the evening that let you realize this is not any average restaurant to say the least.

Not the kind of venue most people could afford to visit regularly, but when you have something special to celebrate, and really want to push the boat out, this is the only restaurant worth mentioning. The unpretentious, yet extremely classy environment lends itself perfectly for you to really enjoy your meal and feel 'at home' rather than 'on show.' The food is beyond compare, and there are many additional gifts and surprises that you are given to make you feel appreciated. The price tag is completely justified and, while expensive, is worth every penny.

Maison Boulud is a stellar preservation of colonial Beijing and dining. With its well-kept lawns, elegant columns and chestnut color, Maison Boulud impresses upon the visitor the grandeur that is to come.

Stepping into the manor, one is soon washed with a feeling of being in Scarlett O’Hare’s manor from Gone with the Wind, though the colonial dignity is soon supplanted with a fusion of modern sleekness and Greco-roman style.

The bar is lined in deep rich paneling of chocolates and browns, and offers leather stools and lounges to ease into while sharing a drink of lively champagne, complimentary roasted cashew nuts and dried Indian bread. On offer is also lovely cheese and cracker hors devours, which is white, light and fluffy and creams in the mouth adding a decadence to the understated bar.

The main dining room is open yet cozy with 30- tables with dark wood tabletops and chairs and couch seats. The white sheath columns and large windows give it a grandiose and neo-classical ambiance, yet allow the patron to feel privacy and forget the hustle and bustle of the room.

A minimalist menu, simply stating the small selection of Appetizers, Winter Classics, Mains, and so forth is exciting and enticing with its embellished descriptions, with prices ranging from 100 (the very few) to 700 rmb per dish. The wine list, comprising of two volumes is of superlative quality and over-whelming extensiveness. New world wines for 200 rmb to Taittinger Collections at 20,000rmb are all included.

The Chestnut Soup is a capital choice for a starter. The Celery-Chestnut Soup and Pheasant Tartine with Red Currents is a rich golden soup, the silk and velvety texture with its intense chestnut taste and delicate Tartine gives it a latte like feel. Its minimalist approach reduces the dish to its most essential elements, an uncomplicated recipe that reveals how the liver is of impeccable quality and the cream soup is lustrous and serene. Paired with a Chardonnay Shanxi China Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve 2005, the citric and sweet Shanxi wine distinguishes the contrast of tastes admirably.

A Caviar and Organic Egg Yolk gives a polished transition. The Green Apple Gelee, Pique with Anise Seeds, Pumpernickel Toast has an intense aroma and is integrated with the light spices coming from the fine poached egg , which pair with the toast. There is a slight apple hint from the Gelee on the flavor palate that goes with the minerals from the caviar. To mirror the taste of the poached egg, the Chardonnay Burgundy France Pouilly Fuissé Domain Roux Père and Fils 2008, is a fine compliment, and the wine has a tart berry taste. It also kept a great vibrant acidity that adds complexity and a gradual development to the course. A very long finish ends this harmonious pairing.

The Tuna Seared << à la Plancha >> and, Carrot << Cru et Cuit >>, with Creamy Spinach, Jus à la Diable is best when medium rare, as the western chefs know. Marinated and briefly seared, it melts in the mouth and releases the blended melody of herbs and spices leaving a heavier and heartier taste to the senses. The sensual experience of the tuna is only enhanced with the rippleless of a Alentejo Courela Portugal Cortes de Cima 2005, with a rich red color and spiciness that lingers on the tongue.

The Lamb will not disappoint either. Grilled Australian Loin with Variation of Cauliflower, Pomegranate Seeds, Sumac and couples with a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Bordeaux France, Chateau La Rame 2005 imbues a delicate flavor and a desire to have it enlarged and magnified to surpass the serving plate. Simply and eagerly stated, it is to die for, and immaculate, one of the crowning glories of the meal, and unequaled with any meat tasted before in Beijing. The Pomegranate seeds inundate a paradisiacal high to the mouth when coupled with the lamb.

Throughout the meal, the chicly dressed staff offer complimentary bread, which is soft and moist to cater to the locals (which also encompassed 80% of the clientele) and is served with tamarind, whole wheat, and almond. Though not a classical serving bread, the cloyingly honey taste is a nice palate cleanser between dishes, and can be dangerously persuasive. Patrons are also treated to house-made marshmallow. Presented in a carnival-like large vat, it is carved in front of the table and served in small squares of mint and strawberry flavor and color. The sacchariferous marshmallows are airy and featherlike and diffuse too quickly in the mouth, though they are incredible. Equally lavish and vibrantly tasting are the Petit Fours, mini French chocolates and pastries, which come in several variations each minute and powerful. If that weren’t over-excessive, the staff provide complimentary basket of Sweet Madeleins, sugary and yielding.

As a finisher the Duo of Chocolate & Fruit – is superb. The Warm Chocolate Gateaux Coconut and Passionfruit Vacherin served with iced wine Ortega Pfalz Germany, Weltachs Kirchheimer Beerenauslese 2005 delights and titillates. The warm chocolate filling and spicy coconut is full bodied and lush in taste, where as the exotic fruit vacherin is a light, divine dessert, giving a little taste of a tropical vacation. Thick, creamy, flavorful hot chocolate and frothy lattes concluded the meal, and can heal a horrible day at work, and inflame the stoniest heart. It’s pure ambrosia.

Maison Bouloud is a laudable dining experience. The dishes are neither hackneyed nor forgettable. The technical execution is not overly mechanized so as to leave no room for dynamism. Rather, patrons will be galvanized by the experience and aroused by a new standard in culinary preparation. Maison Bouloud is indelible and must be appreciated and experienced in its seduction of patrons and accomplishment in bringing fine-dining to Beijing. It is a tabernacle of palatable cuisine.

The first french restaurant I went to when I arrived in Beijing.

It was simply fantastic. I was stunned by the decor, beautiful. Food was delicious, couldn't decide on what to have so we took the tasting menu with wine pairing.

I eat at many michelin starred restaurants in Europe and MB is right up there at that level.

It was also jam packed! Lovely to be in a busy restaurant.

This I would rate is so far by best experience on Dining in Beijing .

The ambience so chic, the sofas,the paintings,It was a feeling I am back in NY in one of NY best restaurants.

The Manager spoke immaculate English, all staffes were dressed so well.The staff are amazing.After experiencing the service at quite a few Beijing restaurants to be frustrating this seemed if I was not in Beijing.The people there are just wonderful.

The wine list so exhaustive was something never seen before in Beijing.

The food was divine -We had ordered some version of Tuna fish,Ravoli,the breads,Crab Salad.The sorbet was perfect.The Katafi Crusted Salmon with asparagus tasted so good.
The piping hot basket of french shell-shaped cookies were great.
The breads would get refilled without you asking for.

Gorgeous,Fantastic, words are short to describe this experience.
All best things come at price and so does this place. But its every penny spent worth for the experience.

You could see pics of the chef with best people in the World and if you want to have a drink privately with a smoke there is a nice bar on the left .

I just love this place and would visit soon again at the right occassion though!