Hutong

Spacious and large, this bar belies its backstreet name

The vast majority of new bars in Beijing seem to think the best route to success is to open up shop next to a successful bar and copy every aspect of it.

That’s surely the reason we have so many similar establishments clustered around each other. Sanlitun boasts the cheap hormone pits with dodgy alcohol, Gongti has the epilepsy inducing Chivas and dice clubs, and Nanluoguxiang has quaint, converted hutong homes.

Hutong, however, breaks the trend by copying its neighbours but doing everything a little bit better. For a start it’s not limited by the size constraints of Nanluoguxiang’s other bars.

Hutong is huge compared to its neighbours, and has three main sections: the bar area at the front, an outdoor area complete with two rooftop balconies, and a final indoor area with two mezzanines.

The bar feels very lived in, as if it has been there for decades accumulating trinkets such as masks, books, ornamental plates and other bits of 20th-century hutong miscellany.

The furniture could have been stolen on nightly raids to hutong homes in the area, and seemingly no two chairs match.

The outside of the bar signals itself with red lanterns above a heavy wooden door, and a chalkboard by the entrance features the bar’s logo.

Drink prices are among the cheapest in the area, with 15RMB Tsingtaos and other imported beers such as Kingfisher for 35RMB – a beer we haven’t seen in Beijing outside of Indian restaurants.

Their menu also contains over 20 different German beers in 5L kegs, starting at 418RMB; the impressive selection is something Beijing’s beer-drinking community needs to know about.

While it may not score points for originality – even the name is decidedly unimaginative – Hutong is a winner for gathering the best bits of neighbouring bars and fusing them together in one massive siheyuan. Ross Goulding

Hutong 2 Ju’er Hutong, off Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng district (6400 6782). Open 6pm-late daily.