Lan Gui Fang Cocktail Bar Takes on Sanlitun Bar Street With a Touch of Class
Who in their right mind would go partying on Sanlitun Bar Street?
Thoroughly pickled long-term expats, who actually enjoy the stripper poles and karaoke at those bars? Newbies unaware of the overcharging, scheming ways of the venue owners? Or one notoriously fearless lifestyle blogger on a gonzo-inspired bender? Well, all that sleaze might become a thing of the past if Zhang Yingsong – who dutifully goes by the nickname "Gin" in English – has anything to say about it. That's because he's opened a fancy new cocktail bar called Lan Gui Fang, right next to dives like Swing and Side by Side Bar No. 56.
From the outset, Lan Gui Fang looks less like an average shady Sanlitun Bar Street joint and more akin to Chunxiu Lu’s Inception, employing similarly dark and varnished wood, knotty retro furniture, and a velvety curtained stage. Owner Gin also bucks the Sanlitun Bar Street conventions of overpriced corporate brews and fake alcohol (yeah, we said it) with a swanky leather-bound booklet lined with specialty cocktails and a number of fine Highland, Lowland, Speyside, and Islay whiskies.
While these flourishes will surprise anyone who has had the misfortune of ambling up Sanlitun Bar Street late at night and contended with its unsavory sensory overload, those familiar with Gin’s prior venture will be far less shocked. After all, the businessman and barkeep has been quietly plying his trade for years at his Dongzhimen Gin House lounge.
READ: Dongzhimen's Gin House Offers Personalized Cocktails to Local Regulars
That spot has developed a small but devoted following thanks to its fine range of spirits and Gin’s deft mixing of off-menu cocktails personalized to each patron’s palate. At his new Sanlitun Bar Street venue, he branches out with a sturdier list of specialty cocktails (all the ones we try are RMB 90). Of those, be sure to try the Molimatianni, a delightfully earthy mix made with jasmine tea-infused gin, pineapple, and lemon juices, along with jasmine syrup.
Another must-try cocktail with Chinese characteristics is the Hawthorn Acid cocktail, featuring whiskey, hawthorn liqueur, and lemon juice for a sweet-yet-tart combination. We also enjoyed the Enthusiasm Cuba, a gobsmackingly good sour cocktail made with white rum, pineapple, passion fruit, lemon juice, sugar syrup, and orange juice.
The drink list is rounded out with a solid range of Scotch whiskies like 12-year-old Glendronach (RMB 80 per glass), 18-year-old Bowmore (RMB 120 per glass), and 12-year-old Macallan (RMB 90 per glass).
By showing up his neighbors with legitimate drinks and classy decor, Gin leaves us with just one question: will he continue to up the ante with Lan Gui Fang’s velvety curtained stage? While there's no news yet on whether elegant jazz singers will soon make an appearance and counter the nearby pole dancers and karaoke singers “entertaining” the crowds, we so far applaud Gin's efforts to class up one of Beijing’s most notoriously uncouth strips with this snazzy new lounge.
Lan Gui Fang
Daily 7pm-late. 66 Sanlitun North Street, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯北街66号
READ: Le Moments Looks to Recapture Tiki Bungalow's Tropical Glory in Sanlitun
More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
Instagram: mullin.kyle
Photos: Uni You
