Restaurants in Beijing

There are no prizes for guessing the house speciality at this sleek French-meets-Chinese restaurant in the industrial-modernist 1949 The Hidden City compound. The upscale menu of duck delicacies is accompanied by a stellar wine list, and many say it serves the best Peking duck in town.

Created by celebrity chef Umberto Bombana (who also co-owns the three Michelin star retaurant 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong), this upmarket Italian restaurant offers creatively presented contemporary Italian fare. The set-lunch is particularly popular - guests enjoy quality Australian Wagyu beef or artisanal spelt spaghetti for a few hundred yens.

Nestled in a 600 year-old temple, this restaurant wins with big, bold flavours and artfully presented small plates. Appealing to the Francophile tastes of the Beijing elite, the menu is French-flavoured, but with subtle nods to Asia.

Down a backstreet hutong off Gulou Dongdajie, this delightful courtyard restaurant serves excellent set menus of authentic Yunnanese cuisine. The menu runs from Yunnanese dumplings and sausages to fish with chilli and fresh vegetables and herbs from the Yunnanese hills. Come summer, the tree-filled garden terrace is one of Beijing's most appealing dining spots.

The dim sum steamers keep coming at this Taiwanese restaurant in Chaoyang, and despite the moderate prices, the dumplings are some of Beijing's best. Xiaolong bao (southwestern-style steamed dumplings) are the house speciality but there are loads of other delicate bites to try, including tasty red-bean paste stuffed dou sha bao.

At the top of the mid-range bracket, this chic Japanese restaurant draws a mixed crowd of businessmen and hip 20-somethings who don’t mind paying extra for something a little special. The chefs prepare sushi and handmade California rolls with real artistic flair, all enjoyed in a snappily dressed dining room.

A sizzling treat for street-food addicts, the Donghuamen Night Market is clean, cheap and phenomenally popular. Red lanterns lead the way to this bustling collection of stalls serving everything from meaty kebabs to obscure Chinese delicacies such as silkworms and scorpions. Pancakes, dumplings, stews and dipping sauces also accompany these skewered treats.

Beijing’s spice lovers make a beeline for this low-key Sichuan restaurant for its epic hot pots, with incendiary broth for dipping and a host of tasty, fresh ingredients to dip into it. As well as fiery flavours, you get fun and friendly service and the live theatre of noodle-pulling, all ingredients for a fun night out.

This small hole-in-the-wall establishment serves a wide range of reasonably priced dumplings. No-frills, just good homemade dumplings.

This small hole-in-the-wall establishment serves a wide range of reasonably priced dumplings. No-frills, just good homemade dumplings.

Tucked into a historic courtyard, this Manchurian restaurant was reputedly founded by the personal doctor of a Qing dynasty emperor, using recipes borrowed from the imperial kitchens. Regular diners rave about the tender pork belly with dates, and the intriguing game meat stews.