A Few Spots To Grab Food and Drink Around Shichahai, Pt. 1

Katie Coy | Oct 1, 2023 10:30 am | Add a comment | 720 reads

There’s a good chance you’ve been to Shichahai/Houhai, the lake area located in western Beijing just north of Beihai Park. A bustling spot where you can go boating in summer, ice skating in winter and enjoy food and drink from one of its many bars and restaurants all year long, it’s a great place to go and explore while taking in the beautiful scenery. As it does have just so many eateries and bars, we’ve picked out a few that we think are worth a visit and put our recommendations into a two-part series on the area.

Please bear in mind that as it’s the National Holiday some places may be closed, so it’s best to check ahead to make sure they’re open.

Great Leap Taproom (Houhai branch)

Recently, Great Leap has opened up a number of new Great Leap Taproom across the city as part of their ambition to open 100 locations in China. One of their newest taprooms is located right in the heart of Houhai. The space has two floors, with a long bar downstairs being the focal point, and then upstairs is more of a chill out area with huge sofas that are perfect for relaxing on. You can get their usual selection of beers like Banana Wheat (RMB 40) or Hidden Noble (RMB 45) and a selection of bar snacks.

Great Leap Taproom (Houhai branch)
6 Houhai Nanyan, Xicheng District
西城区后海南沿6号
Hours: 4pm-1.30am
Phone: 185 1917 6489

Fork by TRB

Opening up in November last year, Fork by TRB serves up a range of global fusion food. Fork offers affordable but classy food, with a side of their usual excellent service and attention to detail. The decor inside is chic and minimalist with a blue and gold color scheme that looks gorgeous in all the natural light.

Something to watch out for is their weekday lunch menu deal, where you get an appetizer, main course, dessert, drink (including beer or wine) plus tea or coffee for RMB 158. The deal runs Tuesday to Friday 11.30am-2.30pm and includes delicious options like Pan Fried Salmon Cake, Josper Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Grilled Sea Bass. On weekends they also do an amazing oyster deal where all oysters are only RMB 10 each (normally RMB 48-68). If you want to find out more about Fork, you can see what our sister site jingkids International thought of it here.

Fork by TRB
Vue Hotel Houhai Beijing, 9 Yangfang Hutong, Xicheng District
西城区羊房胡同9号花间堂后海酒店
Hours: Tue-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30-10pm (closed on Mondays)
Phone: 135 5295 8257

Peach (Houhai branch)

Located right by Fork is Peach, also part of the TRB brand. Peach opened up their Shichahai branch in September last year and they serve up their usual offerings of pasta, sandwiches, salads, burgers and more, with a focus on vegan and veggie options, so it’s a great place to grab a healthy, and very reasonably priced, bite to eat. They have two great weekly deals: Burger Wednesday, when all burgers are RMB 28, and Fish Friday, when their Fish to Your Chips is also only RMB 28. You really can’t beat that!

Peach by Hulu (Houhai branch)
Vue Hotel Houhai Beijing, 9 Yangfang Hutong, Xicheng District
西城区羊房胡同9号花间堂后海酒店
Hours: 10am-10pm
Phone: 130 0112 7126

Katchup

Earlier this summer, Katchup reopened at a new location by the east entrance to Shichahai. Inside they’ve gone full ketchup theme with red, yellow and blue Heinz-style ketchup bottles lining the walls. You can get their usual great burger offerings with classics like The Bacon Cheese (RMB 78), topped with crispy bacon and Katchup’s signature salt and pepper seasoned beef, or other dishes such as Barbecued Pork Rib (RMB 168) or Classic Reuben Sandwich (RMB 78).

Katchup
23 Di’anmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District
西城区地安门外大街23号
Hours: 11am-10.30pm
Phone: 137 0137 1116

East Shore Live Jazz Cafe

East Shore was opened up way back in 2006 by legendary jazzman Liu Yuan – ex-manager of CD Jazz Cafe and singer Cui Jian's sax player since 1984. One of the capital’s oldest and most authentic jazz bars, they have live music every week from Thursday to Sunday. The venue is cozy and intimate, just like any good jazz bar should be and they serve a range of reasonably priced cocktails, beer, wine and other drinks.

East Shore Live Jazz Cafe
2/F, 2 Qianhai Nanyan, Xicheng District
西城区地安门外大街前海南沿2号楼2层
Hours: Tue-Sun, 3pm-midnight (closed on Mondays)
Phone: 185 1081 4025

Guxi 33

Guxi 33 Brunch and Bistro (lead image) is a bistro that serves up a range of Western fare, including, as you might guess from the name, brunch. Located inside a hutong courtyard, the interior decor is predominantly white and minimalistic, but the real star of the show is the rooftop with beautiful views across the hutongs to the Drum Tower. Some must-try dishes are the Avocado and Poached Eggs on Toast (RMB 78), Sea Food Pasta (RMB 158) and Norway Smoked Salmon Bagel (RMB 98).