Pool Bars

The best places to play pool around town

Best for...making friends

Black Sun Bar 2
Chaoyang Park West gate, Chaoyang district (tel 6593 6909). 朝阳区朝阳公园西门
One of the city's busiest pool tables, Black Sun Bar 2 may have a long waiting list and frequent queue jumpers, but it would be unusual for you not to have met at least one interesting person before your turn rolls around. Young, friendly and – thankfully by and large pretty awful at pool – students frequent this little Chaoyang Park joint and will happily chat to you as you roundly trounce them on the table. If you're new to the city and in need of some friends, then this is definitely the place for you. 

Best for...chilling

Ball House
Hutong East of Gulou, call for directions, Dongcheng district (tel 6407 4051). 东城区鼓楼胡同东侧
One of Beijing's best kept secrets, it almost seems a shame to publicise the existence of Ball House, lest it become too popular. Down a small alley to the east of Zhonglou with no obvious sign to help out the uninitiated, Ball House resides in a wonderfully rustic, converted hutong abode. The two-floor location contains three pool tables as well as foosball, free internet, cheap snacks, three cats and an undeniable family atmosphere.

Best for...unwinding after work

Face
26 Dongcaoyuan, (just south of the Instituto Cervantes) Gongti Nan Lu, Chaoyang district (tel 6551 6738). 妃思酒吧 朝阳区工体南路东草园路26号 
With their maroon-coloured felt tables and old colonial vibe, Face is a fine venue to unwind with a gin 'n' tonic after a hard day's grind at your imperialist multinational corporation. A bar in which wearing your suit won’t make you feel out of place, the two pool tables won't leave you waiting for a game as long as you have to in their Shanghai location and, if you like your games of pool accompanied by fine cocktails and southeast Asian snacks as opposed to tepid Tsingtao and popcorn, then Face is where you'll want to be every evening at 5.45pm.

Best for...serious play

Dawang Star
Dawang Office Building, 12 Xidawang Lu (just off the Tonghuihe Be Lu service road), Chaoyang district (tel 5135 9800/1 ext 808). 朝阳区西大望路12号大望办公大厦
This brand-new pool and snooker club boasts two floors of tables and attracts a lively crowd who come to play first and party second. Pool tables cost 28RMB/hour, snooker tables 38RMB/hour and large bottles of Asahi beer are 10RMB – making this a great place to start or end an evening out. There's even a private room (98RMB/ hour), so you don't have to compete with the riff raff for the table every time you finish a game. In years to come this may well become yet another rundown pool hall, but at the moment it offers pristine tables and a clean, friendly environment well worthy of a visit.

Best for... killer competition

Maggie's
South Gate of Ritan Park, Chaoyang district (tel 8562 8142). 朝阳区日坛公园南侧
Home to Beijing's most experienced ball specialists, Auntie Margaret's den of iniquity has been providing Beijing's pool players with extremely stiff competition for years now. Hanging out in a bar all the time has clearly made the staff pretty decent at pool, and while we know readers don't need reminding that billiards isn't exactly the bar's main attraction – although 'I was only in there to play pool!’ is still probably a better excuse than'‘I was only in there to brush up on some Mongolian!' – the Maggies pool table remains home to a group of whirlwind players. Just don't go there if you're scared of being beaten by a girl.

Best of the rest 

With its similar hutong location and vibe Pool Bar (106 Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng district; tel 8404 7956. 东城区鼓楼东大街), has a lot in common with Ball House. Formerly a studio, the second floor still displays a few art works and actually overlooks the pool table, making this a sadly underused venue for pool competitions. Having hosted this year's Guinness 9 Ball tournament, Durty Nellies (Basement, Liangma Flower Market, between the Sunflower Tower and Kempinski hotel, Dongsanhuan Bei Lu, Chaoyang district; tel 6593 5050. 朝阳区东三环北路凯宾斯基饭店) remains the closest you'll get to a genuine pub experience in Beijing. Wooden furniture, a quiet atmosphere and that undeniable musky 'pub' smell make Nellies a favourite for homesick British and Irish expats.

The equally charismatic Frank's Place at Trio (Jiangtai Xi Lu, West of Rosedale Hotel, Lido, Chaoyang district; tel 6437 8399. 朝阳区将台西路铂丽饭店西侧) offers the same mix of pints and potting and, for the late night player, Goose 'n' Duck (Bihuju, West Gate of Chaoyang Park, Chaoyang district; tel 6538 1691. 鹅和鸭酒店 朝阳区朝阳公园西门) provides 24-hour entertainment with more tables than you could shake a cue at and a huge selection of bar snacks. And of course this summer's big hit, The Rickshaw (30m South of the Gongti Bei Lu and Sanlitun Nan Lu intersection, Chaoyang district; tel 6500 4330. 朝阳区三里屯南路工体北路以南30米), owes its popularity in part to the second floor pool table, which currently sees more traffic than Guomao on a Friday evening at rush hour.