Reach for the sky
Summer is here, which means outdoor partying. Ross Goulding takes a look at the best new al fresco bars in town
Blue Frog
This Shanghai burger bar chain has been doing good business since moving moved into The Village last summer, but with its terrace poised to open this month, Blue Frog looks set to establish itself as the place to be in Sanlitun.
It may surprise you to discover that Blue Frog actually has two outdoor terraces. A DJ booth is housed on thehigher terrace, which looks down on to the dancefloor below, allowing for Ibizan-style deification of the disc jockey.
On the lower terrace, marquees house comfy sofas, while an outdoor bar stretches along one side of the dancefloor, which contains tables and chairs during the day, and is open at night.
The glare of the Apple sign notwithstanding, the renovated spacelooks classy with its outdoor sofa areas and large BBQ.
Blue Frog’s terrace will officially open on Saturday 9 with a Full Moon Party featuring the Afro Soul DJ team and special deals on food and drink.
Lantung
While most people have an understandably snobbish attitude towards bars in shopping malls, Solana is just about acceptable as far as temples to capitalism go, being nice and outdoors-y as well as fostering a sunny, southern Californian feel. Lantung is the best bar in Solana’s eerily empty bar street, and will hopefully become a summer hotspot.
The bar recently relaunched itself as an upmarket spot; key to this is its newly opened roof terrace. The outdoor BBQ serves up a selection of satays and other Thai treats, while the unique cocktail list contains concoctions made from vodkas infused with Thai spices.
Looking out over the lake adjacent to Solana, the third-storey view takes in an alluring vista – at night the trees on the distant bank are illuminated with fairy lights reflected in the water alongside the rippling moonlight.
Fez
Fez opened just a little bit too late to catch the dying embers of the summer glow last year. The result being that no one really knew about the placebefore it was forced into hibernation by Beijing’s bitterly cold weather.
Expect all that to change this summer, when Fez looks set to be the bar that defines Ch’ien Men 23 (previously known as the Legation Quarter).
The vista is impressive, placing you at eye level with the rooftops that surround Tiananmen on one side, and offering an unobstructed view o the old Legation Quarter on the other. \
The North African-style tent tops add an interesting aesthetic twist, and the main dancefloor area and DJ booth promise rooftop summer raving.
Happiness Lounge
Beijing’s highest outdoor roof terrace can be found way up in the Olympic Village at the Pangu Hotel.
Head here and you’ll find twin balconies hovering on either side of Pangu’s Happiness Lounge, a place of distinctly chilled music, finely mixed drinks and an ultra cool ambience.
The terraces themselves are a good 20 floors up, offering unrestricted views down on to the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest. It’s rare that Beijing’s party-going population gets away from the accepted areas of inebriation (read Sanlitun or Houhai), and the view here is all the more impressive for its rarity.
The expanse of open space around the Olympic Village makes it feel like you can see for miles. The décor outside is unpretentiously minimalist, with decking and seating playing second fiddle to the view.
Best of the rest
We may knock it every now and again for being a bit of a wally magnet, but it’s hard to resist The Beach’s stylish allure. Expect more spectacular parties this summer.
Kokomo is always a fun, reliable, unpretentious venue, with a prime location, and the excellent ‘Sundays on Top’ parties, which are starting again this month.
Last summer’s big hit, Yin, reopened last month. Possibly Beijing’s most beautiful rooftop view, their aim is to hold bigger, more accessible parties this year.
Q Bar is where cocktail lovers on a medium-sized budget head when the sun finally decides to come out; the excellent terrace is bolstered by popular reggae BBQs, which should be returning this summer.