Cycle Style: Serk Offers Bikes and Beers

Beijing has seen a glut of multifunctional imbibing establishments recently. We now have places where you can sip a martini as you get your nails done and swig beer while you have your pooch preened – the latest is Serk, where you can corrode your liver as you invest in your health.

We’re not talking anything quite as extreme as a gym with vodka served intravenously (though that could be another winner), but Serk offers patrons the opportunity to discover cycling through their in-house biking clinics, while enjoying a small but considered range of drink.

Sitting unremarkable yet distinct among the sleepy hutongs of Beixinqiao, Serk’s is a style best defined as effortlessly practical. There’s no drinks menu. Instead the prices are etched onto the black wall behind shelving which displays its wares. Chipboard wood benches and storage compartments are minimalist but in keeping with the modern style of the space, and the front of the expanse will eventually edge more towards a cafe style. But it’s Serk’s planned events that set the pulse racing, with bike speed-dating and televised bike racing among them.

Also try: The Drive-Thru, Modernista

Serk Mon-Wed 11am-11pm, Thu-Sat 11am-late. 40-2 Beixinqiao Santiao, Dongcheng District (134 2647 4634) 东城区北新桥三条 40-2号

By Subway: 300m northeast of Beixinqiao station (Line 5)

Photo: Volker Kunst