Have been to Modo a couple of times previously, but this was the first time I've eaten enough food there to comment (previously had focused on wine).

Wanting to try several dishes, we got the "8 to share" chef's menu (or something like that). The dishes ran the gamut, from totally underwhelming (the crab salad, the dumplings) to okay (the meatball) to really good (the goat cheese ravioli, the cod). I also ordered a cheese plate - the cheeses themselves (from local producer) were good, but for ¥98 the portions were miserly.

Which I think gets to the heart of my issue with Modo. I get the idea of small plates, and definitely understand that a great meal should be defined by quality not quantity. That said, most of what we ordered was barely more than 2-3 mouthsfull, which at ¥60-100 per "small plate" certainly qualifies as overpriced, and there were as many misses as hits.

The atmosphere itself is quaint, and service is fine (though far from great... a cocktail took 15 minutes, and adding money to a card for the enomatic wine machine took a good 10 minutes - and the restaurant was VERY light that night). At these prices, the service should be 5-star. In short, you're spending Maison Boulud money for an atmosphere that's only a notch above Element Fresh (for example) and for consistency and quality that pale by comparison to other 5-star spots.

Last gripe - we filled up a card to use the pay-as-you-go enomatic machines so we could try lots of different wines. When done we had leftover money on the card, but were told by the waitress that we could absolutely not be refunded the unused funds. This despite the fact that, printed clearly and in both English and Chinese, the card itself states "Any unused value and the deposit will be refunded upon return of this card."

Been there yesterday as it was promoted as "Best new restaurant" in Beijing so i want to try it, and was really disapointed... First of all the menu is not very clear, lot of long phrases to describe dishes that really fit the name they have :"small dishes".
its so small i think its first time i saw that small plates for this amount of money (not a five stars from michellin of course), the menu clearly says order plates for everyone and share them, but we cant even cut most of the dishes in just 2 pieces...

we were 4 peoples ordering 1 bottle of wine and 5 dishes and we pay 800 rmb for all without feeling have ate something more than a very little starters each, the food was ok but the quantity for the prices is to my opinion not very fair for the customers (they even forget to bring one of the dishes on the table and want us to pay for it)...
so as we dont want to spend 3000 rmb to have a really simple dinner in the village with correct amount of food, we left the place in order to moove to another restaurant to have a real amount of good food for half of the price we already paid...
ok the deco is nice and warm but was really disapointed to have this amount of tapas when you see what you can have from restaurant just nearby (carmen for example), if i want good quality food for that money i will definitely go to Maison Boulud or Le pre lenotre, there they can pretend something else and its valuable for your money, anyway it was a one try shot and wont go back there even after my first day salary, sorry when i go to a restaurant i want to have food not small starters...

we are regular customers here as it's one of the few places in beijing that can be relied on to deliver great service and food EVERY time you visit. (consistency is a rarity here in the jing...)

the lunch menu is great value and in the evening there is more choice with pretty much all of it being superb. you can really taste everything that the chef has tried to do, they care about flavours and they make sure that high standards are maintained.

front of house are excellent too, they are very friendly and professional. we've hosted several parties and work do's there and regardless of how busy the restaurant or how large our group was, food and wine comes out quickly and with no mistakes.

i know i'm waxing lyrical here, but having had so many shite experiences in beijing modo (and mosto to be fair) deserve the praise. both the expat and local staff there hold themselves to a higher standard than most in beijing. bravo!

Beijing is starting to come out with "tapas"/small plates/sharing dishes restaurants that are putting previous ones to shame! My favorite tapas restaurants seem to be the newest, Modo especially!

After several visits - and a lot off the menu - Modo has some of the best flavors and food around. Their "small plates" go from 40-200 (a few meat options are price at 90+, but most are in a resonable 40-70 range).Some of my favorite included: The crispy salad -simple, but with a very distinctive taste. The spice of the pepper and the tang of the fish sauce give the salad a strong SE Asia feel. The crispy pork belly is some of the best in the city and the paired with the cook apples the taste is perfect. Corn polenta with avocado and chili sauce has the taste of a refined taco, and offers small bites where all the flavors are perfectly balanced.

They also do some of the best desserts in the city! The nutella creme brulee with cardamon whipped cream and the white chocolate mousse paired with black currant sorbet are both amazing and offer desserts that are a change from the typical lava cake found everywhere.

Long wine list- the extra selection of by the glass options are nice, though i usually just get by the bottle and there is plenty reasonably priced ones.

As expected from the creators of Mosto, Modo delivers on all fronts.

The space design is funky and vibrant, the service is swift an professional, the concept is a fun change of pace.

This is essentially a tapas restaurant, but instead of "tapas" they explain that what they serve is "small plates," designed to allow for sharing and maximal flavor exploration. Perhaps they make this distinction ensure that people don't think they'll be getting Spanish-style appetizers. The dishes here are indeed creative and visually, texturally and aromatically evocative.

We tried the seared (mostly raw) tuna squares, the dill encrusted cod, the seared octopus salad, and the white chocolate mousse with black currant sorbet and tuile. All were interesting and darn delicious, would definitely be likely to try the cod and the octopus again next time. To me the mousse was an absolute showstopper. We also had a nice plate of chicken-avacado mini sandwiches on polenta circles which came with a light red sauce that seemed to me at the time to be one of the most amazing sauces I've ever tasted.

Of course, all the "small plates" at 40-100+ (many good ones in the 55-65 range) add up and take a financial toll. Well worth it if you can afford it.

Looking forward to trying their more traditionally-styled (starter-main-dessert) lunch menus (80/95 for 2 or 3 courses).