Capital Bites: New Eats in the Village, Highest Eats in Beijing

A slew of new places have opened or are opening soon, so prepare to stuff your faces. In Sanlitun, the recent flurry of activity has come to fruition. Meat-lovers will be thrilled as Flamme, an aptly-named sleek bar and grill and Leaf, a Korean barbecue, are now welcoming diners on the top floor of Sanlitun Village. On the first floor serving premium caffeine is Fisheye Cafe. Not another Starbucks, this joint ships its coffee in weekly from San Francisco coffee experts Ritual Coffee Roaster.

Meanwhile, their neighbor Modo, the brainchild of the Mosto team, is planning to open within the next week, and will appeal to oenophiles with a large selection of wines by the glass, accompanied with small plates of contemporary European fare.

Soft-opening August 16 is the much-hyped highest restaurant in Beijing. Grill 79 is the headliner at the China World Summit Wing, serving up seasonal contemporary cuisine on the 79th floor, and the other restaurants in this space include the legendary Cantonese Fook Lam Moon and the Japanese Nadaman.

Other Sanlitun cafes now in operation are Oyo House, providing all-day brunches, and reopening after a week of renovations, Mosto has a new autumnal menu including lemongrass duck breast and codfish with miso glaze.

Cabare, a new European bistro and bar, has opened in Solano and is serving tapas and a variety of wines and cocktails. In the CBD, at the new French concept marketplace Couleur de Vie includes new bistro Le Manege, which offers diners reasonably priced French cuisine. Also recently opened is My China at the Hilton Beijing Capital Airport hotel.

For the fast food lovers among us, Burger King is opening soon in Shin Kong Plaza. Also on the way is Switch!, a new place in 798 opened by the Canadian catering group Culinary Capers. It takes over Super Ganbei and the café at UCAA and will “switch” up its menus and wine lists frequently.

Pomegranate has temporarily shut its doors due to some issues with the landlord, and is looking to reopen as soon as possible. As for reopening, Ginkgo has reopened its doors with slightly different décor.

Maison Boulud has found a new GM hailing from Lyon, France, who will start there within the month. As for Maison Boulud’s old GM, Ignace Lecleir, there are rumors he is looking to open a restaurant in Beijing. Given his popularity at Maison Boulud, no doubt many will be excited to see what this project will be.