Recently, my friend and I had lunch at the Bookworm. She ordered the Croque Monsieur sandwich, and I had the Smoked Turkey & Goat Cheese with a Mango Smoothie.

When the sandwiches came, I was extremely disappointed to see that both were made with plain ol' Hostess white bread. Call me crazy, but when I pay over 40 RMB for a sandwich, I expect it to be made with something other than cheap white bread from the grocery store.

The portion sizes were adequate and the Croque Monsieur quite tasty. However, the smoked turkey looked and tasted liked packaged luncheon meat from the grocery store, while the goat cheese wasn't spread evenly throughout the sandwich, leaving half the sandwich dry and tasteless.

As for the Smoothie... The first smoothie they brought me tasted like bananas; its orange color was the only hint that it was supposed to be a mango smoothie. The server kindly replaced it with a second smoothie; however, all I can say is that this "smoothie" was not, in fact, a smoothie. It had the look and consistency of orange snot with a slight coating of clear viscous liquid on top. What I can say for sure is that it wasn't made of fruit/juice and ice. It was more like a badly-done milkshake or yogurt that had been thinned and blended.

Needless to say, this was not what I expected from a reputable establishment such as the Bookworm. I have eaten there one prior occasion and been very happy with my meal, but after this lunch, I don't think I will be eating at the Bookworm in the future.

One place get a coffee and get some books and exercise your mind and relax.With so many titles its a treat for those who loves books.
While I definately like to buy some books, one knows places like these are a heaven for those who want to read diverse subjects.
Also in a place like Beijing where to catch a glimpse of a english newspaper is a treat !
I like to attend the talks by the authors if I have the time. The WIFI is good so its a boon if you have to finish some office work if suddenly you remember to reply to some unfinished work lying in your mailbox.!

Dont eat here. Just walk out to the Village ,and there are so many choices out there. If nothing else a 15 rmb spend at mcdonald in village is still a good bet than the eats at bookworm.Thats the only thing they could improve. But they are doing a good job of what they are supposed to do . Get good books which I love.

I've given it many many chances to improve but I'm still highly disappointed. When they are not busy waitstaff would practically breathe down your neck and pester you to order. If you're waiting for a friend to come before ordering, just be prepared to get downright dirty looks from the waiters. I'm sure they talk behind your back about what a cheapskate you are too. And when they are busy, you are kind of left alone to do your thing even if you were to occupy the entire sofa for the evening. Two extreme ends of the spectrum.

Bookworm is hands down the best place to relax reading a book and generally get that cafe atmosphere that's so hard to recreate in Beijing. One of the best things about the place is the clientele--it tends to attract young intellectual types that can feel at home chatting about the economist (available free there). One thing that sometimes gets overlooked in the cafe frenzy is the food. Bookworm has really quality food. My favorite thing to get there is the cheese plate, which gives you about five types of cheese and crackers and some fruit. It's not the best value, but if you're reading for the day there it's not bad. Another thing that's nice is that they have a selection of free magazines. Kind of like some cafes in American cities, you can just go in, read free magazines, order a coffee and stay for a while. They also have wifi. All in all, it's a very nice atmosphere and their lecturers (the one tomorrow in sino-african relations should be good) are top-notch as well. Highly recommended.

where else in beijing can you look through such an excellent selection of foreign books while ordering a cup of coffee or a whiskey coke?
where else can you dive in an intense reading of your favorite book, and then chat about it with a friend over a meal and wine?
where else can you do all this and then listen to internationally acclaimed authors speak about their books?
the bookworm ain't your ordinary book store, your ordinary cafe, your ordinary bar or restaurant, it is the best all combined in one.
how about, instead of going to a place with blaring music and with people inept with drunkenness, having an intellectual conversation with the opposite sex?
the bookworm gives foreign beijingers some new purpose in life!

3 things:

Read, Meet, and enjoy.

Read some good books while enjoying meeting mew friends. this is the summery of bookworm.

I'm not a big fan of their food but this place is an excellent hangout for coffee, chats and wifi and its selection of books is truly one-of-a-kind in Beijing, with lots of used books lining the walls and even a great selection of new books focusing on China.

The Bookworm is a strange old place. There are a lot of people who sit in there during the day on their laptops while managing to make a cup of coffee last for several hours. I don't like that. I'm sure they are nice people but they seem a little bit snooty to me.

The stony-faced customers aside it's a lovely place, and it has books aplenty but no worms. There was an ant colony once but there were no worms. It also has a pleasant staff that are willing to pour things into a glass that other bars would scoff at. That's the thing with a lot of these literary types they often don't mind a drop, no matter how it comes.

You can also buy books and periodicals (which looked a lot to me like magazines but what do I know?) They sell food too. The food is better now that it has normal names and has ditched the silly literary references. Come on, who can order the Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Az-Cobb-an Salad with a straight face?

Top Tip: Don't join the lending library merely "borrow" books when the staff are busy elsewhere. Make sure you return the books once you have read them.

I would give The Bookworm 5/5 but I don't drink coffee or own an iBook so they demanded I take a star off.

Although I am a frequenter of The Bookworm, this is my first time leaving a review. I love this place. It's so down to earth, I think the staff is wonderful, helpful, and kind (especially in the lead up to the lit. festival), and although the food is a little pricey and may leave a bit to be desired, the drinks (alcoholic or not) are fairly reasonable. I've never had a problem here with mixed up orders, wrong receipts, watered down drinks, or the myriad of other problems and scams common at Western restaurants. In fact, whenever I HAVE had a problem or question here, the staff and management have bent over backwards to help me. Maybe if some of you dropped your senses of entitlement you could actually enjoy yourselves when you go out. Believe it or not, the Chinese were not born to lay at your feet.

I go to the Bookworm quite often. Sometimes to get stuff done on my computer and sometimes just to have a quick meeting with friends. If I spend the morning/afternoon there, I would always order something to eat and drink. I find the waiters annoying when I'm there only for 10 mins to meet with a friend. They dump the menu on your table and stand and watch and pester you until you feel sorry for not ordering anything. Sometimes I just don't feel like ordering anything and I don't think that for 10 mins it's a big deal. It's not like I'm holding the table for hours and other patrons have to wait. One time I was waiting for a colleague to arrive. We were supposed to meet there so that she could pass some work documents to me. She, however, planned on spending the rest of the afternoon at the Bookworm. When I got there, the waiter came and gave me the menu and asked if I was ready to order. I said no I would wait for my colleague to get there first. Waiter was annoyed. Colleague came and waiter gave her the menu and asked me again if I was ready to order. When I said no but my friend would, I was thrown this look like I was some kind of cheap skate who was there only to take advantage of the free wifi and of course occupy a seat too. I mean what the heck is wrong with these people? It's not like our table didn't order anything. My colleague got herself a coffee and a juice. I left shortly after that. I just think that the Bookworm management should get their act together and do some serious training for the waitstaff.