Sanlitun So-Joe: New Coffee Options in Soho
It's coffee a-go-go in Sanlitun Soho at the moment. Here's a roundup of three new coffee options on offer: Emily Cafe, Cafe Flatwhite and Coquette Cafe.
Emily Coffee
Daily 7am-9.30pm. Unit 3-115, Bldg 1, Sanlitun Soho, Chaoyang District (5785 3751)
朝阳区三里屯Soho1号商场3-115
The words trendy and organic are usually red flags for us, concepts usually manifest as annoying smugness. But how can we dislike trendy, organic Emily Café when it manages to be so friendly and welcoming? The service smiles brighter than the remarkable orange walls and the staff are keen to share their knowledge. The coffee (RMB 20-33) is organic, fair trade and roasted on-site; to maintain freshness, none of it will be kept for more than three months. The cuisine is reasonably priced (RMB 20-28) and not dissimilar from what you'd find at Subway, although these sandwiches can be grilled. The laptop crowd will be pleased with the number of power outlets while those looking to impress fellow diners can pore over the archive of The Economist. The interior design (e.g. the untreated shelving entitled “wood ribs”) comes courtesy of an independent studio headed by an architect who worked under Zaha Hadid. You can see Emily Coffee’s a place for you to work or play while feeling good about yourself for buying sustainably. Not only are they doing good, but they are also so damn nice. To ensure a sense of community, the cafe is also hosting Emily Days on the final Friday of the month, where regulars will be invited to wine tastings or special evenings. With this thinking, we predict Emily will be a very popular young lady indeed.
Cafe Flatwhite
8.30am -8pm. B1-239, Bldg 2, Sanlitun Soho, Chaoyang District (5785 3762)
朝阳区三里屯Soho2号商场B1-239
Cafe Flatwhite’s sixth branch in Beijing is its first franchise. They’ve stayed true to the industrial chic of the chain with the Bowery feel cemented in the logo on the lacquered floor. The extensive menu focuses on local Rickshaw Roasters coffee (RMB 18-32) and a broad selection of food. Sandwiches (RMB 45-75) and salads (RMB 42-85) sit alongside steak pie (RMB 85), fish and chips (RMB 88) and various breakfast plates (up to RMB 85). They are clearly going for a local white-collar crowd as well as the international community, as the gongbao jiding (RBM 38) suggests. A stress on health – there’s New Zealand juices on every table – is in their favor, but Flatwhite has much to do to win over customers accustomed to cheaper alternatives. We wish them well, as their presence in Sanlitun Soho has certainly strengthened the mall’s cachet.
Coquette Cafe
10am-10pm. B1-507, Bldg 5, Sanlitun Soho, Chaoyang District (5785 3349)
朝阳区三里屯Soho5号商场B1-507
Feeling a desire to flirt with a light menu of coffee and functional Chinese-style Western dishes? Coquette is for you. Its major selling point falls somewhere between its beaten-track location and its unusual polygonal seating. The menu offers a decent local approximation of dishes (that slightly miss the mark), but at RMB 38 for a business lunch that includes a sandwich or rice plate, salad or soup and a drink, it’s worth a fling – if not settling down. If Coquette goes down well, we can expect this outlet to be the first of many.
Photos: Marilyn Mai
