Jazzy Speakeasy Frank by Ala House Fancies Swinging You Off Your Feet
Intimate would be underselling it when describing Frank by Ala House in Beijing’s CBD, AKA the snuggest speakeasy imaginable. Upon entry, you’re lead through to the long, narrow lounge, which plays host to elegant live jazz twice a week and cocktails and whiskeys for well north of RMB 100 per glass. For a casual night out with your buds, look elsewhere. But if you’re looking to impress a special someone on a date night, then Frank’s got you covered.
The musicians we saw performing during our recent visit occupied not so much a stage as a nook. Pressed against the far wall opposite the entry, the quartet was fronted by trumpeter Matthew Parker, whose forlorn horn playing and Louis Armstrong by way of Tom Waits speak-singing suited the spot’s freewheeling old-timey vibe just right. The players weren’t dressed to the nines à la the elegant Good Bait, but instead sports a retro-chic sound and fashion sense. It's all meant to evoke a simpler time, and squeeze a pretty penny or two out of you to get you in that headspace.
Yes, the drinks at Frank by Ala House are frankly exorbitantly priced, and among some of the most expensive in Beijing, with nearly all the cocktails at RMB 120. The bartender shook us one such gin-based mixture that was sour enough to put your palate through the ringer, a complex drink that’ll turn the casual off but which will delight both the sweet-adverse and aficionados of strong and stiff cocktails in equal fashion. A better option is the creative tom yum goong-flavored cocktail, which has heat to spare that’ll linger on your tongue long after your slurp the last drop. Again, an anything but straightforward drink that at least makes an effort to live up to its RMB 100-plus per glass price.
The thing is, Frank's would still satisfy if the bartenders could be slinging moonshine and Bud Light as long as the band was as tight as the one we were lucky enough to see. Each player had extended solos, without straying far from the laid-back lounge vibe. So while no innovative bebop ground was broken, the musicians are out to showcase their chops for the music lovers in the crowd without derailing any dates.
Tough as that needle may be to thread, the band stitched up a seamless soundtrack for a packed house looking to escape bustling Beijing for a bygone era. And while the drinks are steeply priced and the venue only has live music on Wednesdays and Fridays, Frank's delivers in spades when it comes to ambiance and soothing rhythms.
For us, the cherry on top was the moment pianist Ye ”Dave” Zheng (pictured above) broke out into song, his bedrock-deep voice by turns conversational and romantic as he ad-libbed “my dears” and punctuated each line slyly on the keys. Throughout that song we were whisked away to a jazz heyday, helping Frank by Ala House succeed where some of its other aspects did not.
Read our review of Frank's sister venue, Tango by Ala House, here.
Frank by Ala House
Daily 7pm-2am. Tower 3, Central Park, Chaoyang District (6500 7847)
朝阳区新城国际3号楼
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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos courtesy of Frank by Ala House
