Supreme Court

Discover six of the best lesser-known courtyard restaurants

Gege Fu

You know you’re in for a special evening when six princesses in ceremonial dress greet you with a curtsy and cries of ‘Welcome!’.

Gege Fu was home to one of Emperor Kangxi’s sons in the Qing dynasty before Empress Dowager Cixi bestowed it to Princess Rongshou in the 19th century.

Now it’s a restaurant with a comprehensive palace theme and a menu and service to match. Its three courtyards house a reception area, a main dining hall and restored rooms.

The latter has been painstakingly restored to replicate the traditional study, living room and dining room of a Qing dynasty residence.

The friendly staff, who use traditional forms and phrases of greeting, hover to answer anyquestions and are eager for guests to try sitting on the daybed or putting on ceremonial robes just for a laugh.

Eating here is an expensive affair though. Gege Fu offers mainly set menus for groups; the smallest for two to four people, and ranges from a really basic duck soup set at 488RMB (which we don’t recommend; the 688RMB sets are better value) to 3,488RMB for sharks’ fin.

Yet think of it as paying for admission to a performance, because it really is theatre – every hour in the evenings from 5.30pm, princesses float towards the main dining hall to put on traditional dances watched over by mockmenacing courtyard guards.

Great if you want to dine like royalty or to bring a friend who’s on company expenses for a cultural evening out.

9 Daqudeng Hutong, BeiheyanDajie, Dongcheng district (6407, 8001). Open 11am to 2pm; 5.30 to 9pm daily. Meal for two around 900RMB. 格格府,东城 区北河沿大街大取灯胡同9号

Guigong Fu

Guigong Fu is an impressive Qing dynasty-styled courtyard complex that was once the home of Duke Gui, the brother of Empress Cixi.

The massive 7,000sqm site sprawls over four courtyards with eighteen intimate private rooms, though it’s much nicer to dine al fresco.

The restaurant itself is called King of Kings Duck, which explains the 20 plus duck dishes that incorporate everything from the innards to the tongue.

The signature dish, the Duck King’s Duck (298RMB/168RMB half) isdelightfully succulent with none of the typical cloying oil that makes one stop after a few pieces.

Thanks to the new Guangdong management group, King of Kings also offers Cantonese cuisine. The pan-fried pepper beef rib with crispy garlic (88RMB) is highly recommended – tender, flavourful and delicious.

You might also want to sip on one of the 15 teas on offer; try the basic Pu’er (30RMB) or the exclusive Xihu Longpian (80RMB). A great place for those who want to experience beautiful lao Beijing.

11 Fangjiayuan Hutong, Chaoyangmennei Nanxiaojie, Dongcheng district (8511 2223) Open 11am to 2pm; 5 to 10pm daily. Meal for two around 600RMB. 桂公府，东城区朝 内南小街芳家园胡同11号

Liuzhai Shifu

Unlike the other courtyards featured here, there’s nothing dramatic about Longcheng Tang. Its furnishings are ordinary and its walls sport peeling paint – which is as authentic as it gets if you want to eat like the locals.

The courtyard is charmingly rustic – a tree grows in the middle, a doorway allows you to peek into the kitchen and smiling ayis take your order, offering matronly recommendations.

The Chinese-only menu features dishes from Guilin so do get the Guilin beef noodles (12RMB), which are wholesome, with springy noodles in a flavourful beef broth.

Also good are the walnut paste pork balls (28RMB) – compact and sweet – and the delicious beer-marinated fish wok (58RMB) – tender meat that falls off the bone covered by crunchy, deep-fried skin.

Be sure to get a bottle of the suanmeitang (sour plum juice, 4RMB) which helps cool you down in the heat.

Donghuangcheng Gen Beijie, Zhangzhizhong Lu, Dongcheng district (6401 9498) Open 10.30am to 10.30pm daily. Meal for two around 100RMB. 龙城堂广西柳州 餐厅，东城区东黄城根北街28号

Longcheng Tang

There’s nothing quite as good as home-cooked food, which is what you’ll get at Liuzhai Shifu. The place feels like its spring all the time with its air-conditioned courtyard prettily decked out in trellises covered in fake flowers, vines and atmospheric red lanterns.

The menu focuses on traditional Liu family recipes that are a century old. Some dishes seem familiar but the chef tweaks a number of them to create a more wholesome and nutritious dish.

The eggplant roll (32RMB), for example, is chockfull of pork stuffing encased in a battered eggplant shell. It’s served in a saucepan – just like at home when you can’t be bothered to wash an extra plate.

The roasted rabbit (68RMB) is also recommended – tender meat topped with sunflower seeds, peppers and dried chillis that offset any gaminess in the meat. They don’t stinge on ingredients, either.

Even the fruit juices (from 15RMB) are freshly squeezed. Be sure to order one of their traditional drinks such as the walnut black rice juice (25RMB glass/80RMB jug); all of which offer medicinal benefits as an added bonus.

8 Jiangjia Dayuan, Meishuguan Dongjie (opposite Longfu Hospital to the south) Dongcheng district (6400 5912). Meal for two around 150RMB. 刘宅食府, 东城区美术馆 东街蒋家大院8号（隆福医院对面）

Red Capital Club

The Red Capital Club’s small courtyard is a historic treat crammed full of Chinese ‘Party’ memorabilia – from Mao sculptures and newspaper cuttings to worn leather armchairs and old photographs.

The menu is an entertaining read, with each dish accompanied by an anecdote. The dragon prawn dish, ‘Raising the Red Lantern’ (58RMB), we are told, dates back to the Jin dynasty when Emperor Sima Yan would release a sheep to pick one of his 10,000 courtesans to spend the night with.

Eager to vie for royal attention, the courtesans would place said dish outside their doors to entice the sheep. The menu also offers lessons in modern Chinese history, with the favourite food of recent Chinese political leaders featuring heavily.

Try ‘Deng Xiaoping’s Spice of Life’ (78RMB) – a spicy and flavourful chicken dish – but give the ‘Chairman’s Favourite’ (88RMB) red roasted pork a miss.

Each dish is presented with vegetable carvings; Deng’s chicken is flanked by two cats, one white and one black, in homage to the former leader’sstatement that ‘It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.’

If you aren’t up for a meal, head to the Club’s cigar bar to grab a drink, soak in the atmosphere and puff away on Red Capital (18-68RMB) or Cuban Cohiba (368RMB) cigars like the big fat capitalist you are.

66 Dongsi Jiutiao, Dongcheng district (8401 8886). Open 6 to 11pm daily. Meal for two around 500RMB. 新红资俱 乐部, 东城区东四九条66号

Sihe Hongting Caiguan

The most famous resident to live in this small courtyard was the last emperor Puyi’s uncle Zhaitao, whose life was made into TV serial The Last Wangye (Duke).

When the Qing dynasty collapsed, the courtyard fell into ruin until Chairman Mao, who valued Zhaitao’s expertise in providing logistics for the People’s Liberation Army, gave the former court official 2,000RMB to restore the home to its former glory.

While it’s now fully refurbished and updated with arty photos of Chinese operasingers, the architecture, stone floors and some furniture pieces are more than a hundred years old.

Its menu is an interesting one – the list of double-boiled soups (from 48RMB), for example, are labelled according to the age and status of the potential diner. Here, the prices reflect the quality or rarity of the ingredients.

In the tanshaoye soup, which we are told is ‘Best for successful businessmen’, you get premium ingredients such as shark’s fin. But it comes with a hefty price tag (398RMB).

If you come in a group of four or more, be sure to order the less morally reprehensible Hangzhou fish soup (128RMB), which comes in a huge steaming pot that will take up most of your table.

And while Sihe’s food may be good, it’s the summer drink promotion that’s unbeatable and worth getting lost in the hutongs for.

Lasting until the end the August, they’ll be giving each table 20 bottles of Tsingtao beer for free, with no minimum spend required.

Xiyangwei hutong, Kuanjie Shizilukou, Dongcheng district (8404 6024). Open 9.30am to 10.30pm. Meal for two around 300RMB. 四合红庭菜馆, 东城区 西扬威胡同14号宽街十字路口