Westside Bar and Café

A CBD pub that takes its cues from London's after-work watering holes

Hold your hand to your chest, palm facing inwards, cross your middle finger over your ring finger then spread out your index finger and pinky… That’s right: west side! While neither being on the actual west side of town, nor having anything whatsoever to do with anachronistic American gang signs, Westside Bar & Café still has a number of fuwuyuan who appreciate the gesture.

Located in the newly opened Prosper Center in the heart of the CBD, Westside Bar & Café takes its design cues from central London’s after-work watering holes; many of its wall hangings and photos have been imported directly from the English capital’s pubs, including a large 200-year-old mirror, and – rather bizarrely – a set of 150-year-old door handles.

The high-ceilinged venue has been designed to catch suit-wearing business types out for an after-work drink, midday snack or liquid lunch. The food menu contains a selection of sandwiches (45RMB), soups (25RMB) and pasta dishes (45RMB), which use high-quality ingredients, and will change regularly to ensure the local office workers have something new to try each time they visit.

Most cocktails come in under 50RMB, Guinness on tap is 40RMB, and coffee 25RMB. The outdoor terrace was unfinished when we visited, but when completed will have a full-service bar and a stage for live performances. The decking outside is surrounded by shallow ponds, which give the area a pleasant beer garden feel.

With cheaper, more credit crunch friendly prices, and its charming outdoor section, Westside Bar & Café has a real shot at siphoning off visitors from Centro, and provides a much-needed alternative to that CBD original.

Westside Bar and Café. Prosper Centre, 5 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang district (no telephone). Open 8am-10pm. 朝阳区光华路５号世纪财富中心

Ross Goulding