Mesh, Q Bar top the Beijinger's 6th Annual Reader Bar & Club Awards

The Opposite House's Mesh joined perennial winners Q Bar, Lush, Suzie Wong's and The Den at the top of the awards charts in the Beijinger's Sixth Annual Reader Bar & Club Awards, announced last night on the roof deck of Chaowai Soho in the heart of the CBD. Mesh took home six reader awards, including the coveted Bar/Club of the Year award, as well as honorable mentions in the Best New Bar/Club, Best Cocktails, Best Drink Selection, Best Hotel Bar and Most Beautiful People categories.

Over 500 denizens of Beijing’s nightlife scene gathered under balmy skies on the spectacular roof deck to enjoy a free flow of beer, wine, shots and mixed drinks, while being entertained by capoeira dancers, live bands and tunes from DJ Okay from Alfa 80s Night (which won the category for Best Regular Events).

Q Bar, celebrating its third anniversary next month, received seven nods from the readers, including Best Bartender (George Zhou), Best Cocktails and Best Drink Selection. They were also recognized by readers as outstanding in the categories of Best Lounge, Best Place to Bring a Date, BestOutdoor Drinking and Best Bar/Club of the Year. The popular Sanlitun area lounge is currently renovating its outdoor deck to create more space and increase sound insulation.

Meanwhile Wudaokou standout Lush was honored as Best Student Hangout and Most Worthy of a Long Cab Ride, and also earned honorable mentions for Best Survivor (a.k.a. a bar that has been in business for more than five years), Best Bar Food, and Best Bartender (Claire Dong, who Lush shares with its sister venue, Pyro Pizza).

Newcomer Chocolate won the Best New Bar/Club of the Year as well as recognition for its outstanding Décor.

Suzie Wong’s won five awards, including top nods in Most Beautiful People and Best Place to Find a Date, while White Rabbit took home three first-place awards (Best for Dancing, Best After-Hours Club and Best Nightclub), as did The Tree (Best Survivor, Best Draught Beer, Best Bar Food).

The annual awards start with a nomination panel of 200 people selected from all walks of Beijing life: writers and editors on the Beijing nightlife scene; wine and spirits industry professionals; customers from across the spectrum from heavy partiers to light drinkers; and a randomly selected batch of voters from last year’s survey.

These people were given blank ballots with 60 categories. After tabulating these opinions, the category list was trimmed to the most competitive 29 categories and the top nominees in each were included on the main ballot, which was then promoted via our magazine, this website and at the nominated bars and clubs themselves.
After three weeks of balloting over 2,000 votes were received; a little less than half were discarded due to incomplete or incorrect contact information or were disqualified after being determined to be attempts at ballot-stuffing.

The full list of Reader’s winners is as follows:

New Bar/Club
Best: Chocolate
Outstanding: Mesh, Opposite House; The Stumble Inn

Survivor
Best: The Tree
Outstanding: Lush; Suzie Wong's

Cocktails
Best: Q Bar
Outstanding: Centro, Kerry Centre; Mesh, Opposite House

Cheap Drinks
Best: Nanjie
Outstanding: Kai Club; Tun

Wine Bar
Best: La Baie des Anges
Outstanding: Aperitivo; Aria, China World; Centro, Kerry Centre

Drink Selection
Best: Q Bar
Outstanding: Mesh, Opposite House; The Tree

Live Music
Best: Yugong Yishan
Outstanding: D22; Mao Livehouse

Draught Beer
Best: The Tree
Outstanding: Paddy O'Sheas; The Den

Bartender
Best: George Zhou, Q Bar
Outstanding: Claire Dong, Lush/Pyro Pizza; Andy, The Rickshaw

Dancing
Best: White Rabbit
Outstanding: Salsa Caribe; Vics

Bar Food
Best: The Tree
Outstanding: Lush; The Rickshaw

Lounge
Best: Bed
Outstanding: Face; Q Bar

Sports Bar
Best: Paddy O'Shea's
Outstanding: All-Star Sports Bar & Grill; The Den

Student Hangout
Best: Lush
Outstanding: Nanjie; Propaganda

After-Hours Club
Best: White Rabbit
Outstanding: Suzie Wong's; The Den

Hotel Bar
Best: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding: Mesh, Opposite House; Punk, Opposite House

Place to Bring a Date
Best: Bed
Outstanding: Face; Q Bar

Place to Find a Date
Best: Suzie Wong's
Outstanding: Propaganda; Tun

Happy Hour
Best: The Saddle Cantina
Outstanding: The Den; The Rickshaw

Nightclub
Best: White Rabbit
Outstanding: Suzie Wong's; Vics

Business Networking
Best: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding: Aria, China World; The Bookworm

Beautiful People
Best: Suzie Wong's
Outstanding: Bling; Block 8; Mesh, Opposite House

Regular Events
Best: 80s Night @ Alfa
Outstanding: Cinco de Drinko @ The Saddle Cantina; Ladies Night @ Tun; Syndicate vs Bai Cai @ White Rabbit

Décor
Best: Lan
Outstanding: Chocolate; Face

Outdoor Drinking
Best: Kokomo
Outstanding: Q Bar; The Saddle Cantina; The Stone Boat

Bathrooms
Best: Lan
Outstanding: Block 8; Zeta Bar, Hilton

Most Worthy of a Long Cab Ride
Best: Lush
Outstanding: Bed; Propaganda

Value
Best: Tun
Outstanding: Nanjie; The Den

Bar/Club of the Year
Best: Mesh, Opposite House
Outstanding: Block 8; Paddy O'Shea's; Q Bar

Look for further extended details – including Editors’ Picks and a statistical breakdown of winning bars and clubs in the June 2009 issue of the beijinger, out around town May beginning Wednesday, May 27.