Located inside an ancient Daoist temple, this hip little bar has the perfect combination of a great locale and that atmosphere of laid-back cool Beijing does so well.
Not only are the local guys who run it friendly, welcoming and bilingual, but they’ve created an intimate bar you’ll want to spend the whole evening in. Just two hefty wooden tables populate the space, and an old staircase leads up into the rafters if you can’t find a perch downstairs.
Zajia Bar Beijing has already become something of a hangout for the cool crowd (we spotted fashion designer Xander Zhou and half of Hanggai when we visited) so you won’t be surprised to see ‘accidentally’ kitsch odds and ends dotted about. From Taschen erotica tomes to a farmer’s weighing scales and artfully melted candles, it’s all been arranged in a hip wusouwei manner. Perhaps, dare we say it, thanks to the Italian wife of one of the owners.
Meanwhile Zajia’s cute, hand-written menu features everything from Boddingtons beer to Mai Tai cocktails. We’d obviously prefer to keep this place a secret, but it’s probably already too late for that. So go, enjoy, and if you see us feel free to buy us a Mojito…
Zajia Bar: Hong En Daoist Temple (behind the Bell Tower), Dongcheng District (+86 8404 9141)