The Opposite House – which opened in 2008 to an appreciative crowd in Beijing’s buzzy Sanlitun neighbourhood – has just reimagined its resident bar.
Set on the ground floor of the 99-room hotel, the lofty space is the work of New York-based AvroKO’s Bangkok office – the inspiration, apparently, coming from the modernist studio of ceramicist, Lucie Rie. Certainly, the room has an element of grand Gatsby-esque fantasy, the eye drawn along by the long linear lines of a central communal table that’s flanked by a spice wall, metal mesh panels and copper trim; and furnished with giant chandeliers, and leather club chairs from AvroKO and Stellar Work’s Brightliner collection.
All this serves as a suitably soigné setting for a whimsical drinks menu dreamed up around the Silk Road. Which explains the Genghis Khan Martini spiked with Mongolian kumis (or fermented mare’s milk) and sea salt, and a Canton Mule of wheat vodka and kumquat. A late afternoon service brings an exuberantly stocked drinks trolley at which non-shaken cocktails are prepared tableside.
And should the munchies strike, the kitchen sends out Wagyu sliders, aged San Daniele prosciutto, and Norwegian salmon poke bowls, though, if you ask us, it makes more sense to hightail it for the Peking Duck at in-house restaurant Jing Yaa Tang, and swan back for a post-prandial drink and music.
INFORMATION
Address
The Opposite House
Sanlitun
Beijing
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautifulAn exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacyDavid M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
-
At the Institute of Indology, a humble new addition makes all the differenceContinuing the late Balkrishna V Doshi’s legacy, Sangath studio design a new take on the toilet in Gujarat
-
Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in ShanghaiPrada partners with Wong Kar-wai to bring Mi Shang Rong Zhai to life, a dining experience influenced by the arthouse director’s seminal oeuvre
-
Enjoy heritage views and contemporary brews at a new Beijing caféJM Café, White Pagoda Temple by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio nods to the history of the Xicheng District while injecting a shot of vitality
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
Travel back to the Ming dynasty at Beijing’s new Mandarin Oriental hotelMandarin Oriental Qianmen merges traditional culture with contemporary needs in a 600-year-old historical building complex
-
Inside Palazzo Versace Macau, a lavish, mosaic-rich hotelPalazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, continues to preserve Donatella Versace’s swanky hospitality vision
-
Wander Hotel in Beijing is an ideal escape for serene moments of introspectionRenovated by Fon Studio, Wander Hotel adds organic symmetry to the adjacent Great Wall of China
