I used to think the name meant "that little place." I was a fool.

Na is actually a Manchu surname.

This Manchurian restaurant delivers consistently delicious and unique food in an atmospheric, classy and hygenic environment at accessible prices - it is a great place to take guests and open people's eyes about the richness of Beijing's food culture.

Since it is a great, dependable place, both branches seem perpetually packed. Be prepared to wait for a table unless you have a reservation or game the system by arriving 15 minutes before the crowd.

Although the Botanical Gardens branch is an unpromising dusty 5min walk south of the park, the decor, service and food are everything you would expect of the Yong'anli branch.

Lots of deer meat on the menu, not sure how sustainable that is, but the service staff assures us that they are farmed ... which I guess eases the mind (a mind eased by animal farming).

I've been meaning to go to Najia Xiaoguan for at least 6 months, and two weeks ago i finally made it. I first heard of the Manchurian restaurant behind the Twin Towers Plaza when searching for the most well-ranked restaurants on the local restaurant review site dianping.com. Since then i'd also heard various friends and colleagues praise the place.

The restaurant is very popular and it's difficult to book a table, so expect a wait of at least 15-20 min if you do plan to visit. Fortunately, the venue has prepared plenty of seats and snacks to allow customers to wait for their table in comfort. The decor is stylish lao Beijing, with plenty of trees and birds in cages in the courtyard on the first floor which is ringed from above by a second story dominated by large wooden beams. 

After sitting down in one of those sturdy old Chinese-style wooden seats, you're presented with a wide choice of tasty options in the large and illustrated menu - which from memory is bilingual. It's been too long so i can't really remember exactly what we had - but I remember enjoying.