#12 is going downhill, fast.

Joined: Feb 06, 2017
Posts: 8
2

Let me start off by saying I have been a huge fan of GLB since moving to the city in 2014. I love their beer, with the Little General and Explorer General IPAs being among my favorites on tap in Beijing. I remember going to the #12 location when I first moved here and being impressed by the service and the burgers on offer. It was always crowded, but had a good vibe with a nice clientele.

My, how the mighty have fallen. The standards at #12 have seriously gone into the crapper. The burgers and fries are now nothing short of a joke. The fries are below McDonalds-level quality, and even the sweet potato fries (how on earth one can make those taste bland is beyond me) are just “meh” and often undercooked. The burgers are also quite sad, boasting tiny, grey, fast-food quality meat patties, no inventive ingredients or options on offer, and dripping with grease. The double cheeseburger is the size of a single patty burger at competing restaurants.

Poor food options could be easily excused due to the excellent beer on offer, if it weren't for the other, much larger problem of the clientele at #12. The location has apparently tapped into the dirt-bag, English-training center expat demographic in Beijing. If you, like me, are not a part of this demographic, but work in an office from Monday-Friday and like to go out to have a beer after work on a weekday evening, then you are in for a not-so pleasant surprise in 2017 at GLB #12. Your quiet Monday evening is the start of the weekend to some group of idiotic unlicensed English teachers working illegally on tourist visas, with no real reason to be here and nothing to lose. Loud, obnoxious, screaming, breaking glasses, you name it. The immature behaviors that collectively showcase the worst of the expat community in Beijing are all on display at GLB #12.

Thankfully, and the only reason I have given GLB two stars overall, the #45 location has much better food on offer and, being close to the embassy district, attracts a much more subdued and pleasant clientele. I quite like some of the pizza there, which has improved greatly since that location launched in the summer of 2015. The service is also much better at that location, likely the result of a smaller, more manageable space. Even though I live 15-20 minutes walking distance from #12, I find myself hopping over to #45 more and more often due to the overall more pleasant and relaxing experience.

I will always find myself coming back to GLB simply because of the beer. But I also find myself branching out to other gastropub options in Beijing now. Places like Jing A and Slowboat may not be able to match the quality of their brews (just yet, although Jing A does boast some excellent seasonals and collabs) but both have crafted a better experience overall with their respective Sanlitun locations. I hope the owners of GLB can get things under control at #12. Even in a saturated market like Beijing, it would be great to have it as a viable option for dinner and drinks again.

I always hate it when the people in the booth next to me don't have proper working papers

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20

Absolutely not. I have no problem with English teachers, per se. I am just expressing my dissatisfaction with a particular set who come to places like GLB and act like loud, immature, drunken fools. They are, of course, everywhere in this city. But GLB # 12 seems to have a higher per capita concentration of them. *biggrin*

Nothing to do with their working papers, everything to do with the behavior of people who are in China without proper working visas and, as a result, have low paying jobs, nothing really tying them to China, and thus nothing to lose from acting like idiots. If I am being unreasonable, apologies. Maybe I am indeed tired of having pint glasses dropped and broken at my feet when sharing a table with a loud, obnoxious group of low-wage glorified babysitters. I hear the government is starting to really crack down on these elements though, raiding training centers and deporting people working illegally. Good news.

Actually in my experience there's far more high flyers withouth working papers than English teachers.

I see where you're coming from with the rant but I think the connection to one's working permit status is tenuous at best

 

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20

I go in #12 maybe once a fortnight, and in my experience it doesn't resemble the description above. Often I find we're sat next to a group of nice older Europeans, or an American guy with a Chinese girlfriend/wife minding their own business. If anyone is noisy and obnoxious in there, it's the occasional group of rowdy Chinese (and I notice signs have been put up to that effect in Chinese - no shouting, no puking etc - in the booths).

But then, this is a bar after all, some rowdiness is to be expected, especially when you're serving beers in the 6-8% range. Maybe OP would be happier if he found a quiet coffee shop that also serves beer (there are plenty).

Also, it does seem like a personal rant about English teachers - when some of the most obnoxious expat behaviour I've seen in 6 years China is by no means restricted to backpacking English teachers.

What do you expect GLB to do? Start filtering people at the door based on occupation?

*NB I am not an English teacher either.

In that case, can I ask that they stop people bringing their screaming kids in there and neglecting them while they get drunk in the middle of the day! (this IS annoying behaviour I've occasionally seen in there)

Delete your account and learn how to write a proper English sentence. I am an American with absolutely nothing against teachers, including those working here illegally. I merely pointed out the poor behavior of some people at GLB #12, in addition to commenting on a decline in the quality of the food. You are also incorrect in your assertion that I work as a teacher of any kind. And as all of our fellow commenters can see, you lack even a tenuous grasp of the English language. I would advise you to employ a private English tutor. I bet you can find one on the cheap at GLB.

If you are indeed a native English speaker, then I pity you.

Agreed!

Maybe for future expansion, and to satisfy customers who can't stand sharing a public space with anyone except people that are exactly like themselves, they can use hashtags instead of numbers, so instead of GLB #12, GLB #45, it could be

GLB #unlicensedteacher

GLB #tuhao

GLB #screamingbrats

GLB #pretentioushipster

GLB #justletmegetdrunkinpeace

 

 

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20