2011 Reader Bar & Club Awards: Best Newbies

The votes are flying in for the Beijinger’s 2011 Reader Bar & Club Awards, and contrary to received wisdom, some of the best drinks don’t need to age. Here’s a look at the new kids on the block that have already left a mark on Beijing over the past year and been nominated in our "Best New Bar/Club" category. Check out what we said about each when they first opened.

Best New Bar/ Club Nominees

Atmosphere, China World Summit Wing
Opened September 2010
First Impressions: "Like an 80th-floor evolution of the popular lounge Centro, Atmosphere pulls off classy without being stuffy."

Migas
Opened August 2010
First Impressions: "The fun egg-shaped chairs and looming cacti will provide a fun setting to enjoy a glass of wine."

Great Leap Brewing
Opened December 2010
First Impressions: "Not so much a bar as a home brewing operation that opens for retail, Great Leap is what German-American Carl Setzer calls a hobby. To taste the product, you’d think it was his sole preoccupation."

Grinders
Opened December 2010
First Impressions: "Run by Trevor Metz, with the capable aid of one of Beijing's most instantly recognizable bar personalities, Chad Lager (Metz' brother-in-law)."

George's
Opened June 2010
First Impressions: "Former Q Bar man George Zhou - voted "Bartender of the Year" by the Beijinger's readers in 2009 - is back with George's, his new cocktail bar … a low-lit lounge featuring the martinis, mojitos and other cocktails that Zhou made his name with."

The House
Opened August 2010 (but closed and essentially reopened as a new club in December 2010 - the quote refers to the venue's current incarnation)
First Impressions: "The House has the potential; it may just live up to the hype and become the club Beijing’s electronic scene has been waiting for."

The Stumble Inn
Opened August 2010
First Impressions: "The elements that made Shane O’Neill’s bar a fleeting success in 2009 are recast here across a two-story space whose large windows give the place a “bright lights, big city” feel."

The Green Cap
Opened November 2010
First Impressions: "The Green Cap offers a welcome alternative for Beijing’s suburbanites…. A well-poured pint of Guinness, a punch-packing “Long Ireland Ice Tea” and TVs to watch sport confirm this is a bar of simple pleasures."

Contempio
Opened July 2010
First Impressions: "Ever imagined sipping cocktails in a 600-year-old Chinese temple?... Now you’re ready for a journey back in time. Continue past the stone waterfall, along the bamboo path, and continue imbibing in a 15th-century Qing-era “lounge,” now furbished with Chinese watercolors and antique-style beds for perching on."

You've read about them - now support them. Click here to go to our voting site and cast your ballot.