Back for More: Colibri in Sanlitun

Colibri has come a long way since its original incarnation as the hip place for Sanlitun’s Macbook-toting creative crowd to down a caffeinated beverage (I’m not judging, I’m often one of them). Today, the laptops and furious typing remain, but elsewhere Colibri’s edges have been smoothed out into something more welcoming: a bright cushion here, a wall displaying a range of homey Italian ingredients there.

With the new feel comes a new menu of healthy salads and juices, elevated above normal café fare with a simple Italian twist. If you manage to grab a table outside while the weather is still warm, celebrate your success with an order of the tomato, peach and bocconcini salad (RMB 78), which on our visit boasted tasty mozzarella but unfortunately unripe peaches. The tuna salad (RMB 78), with its sizeable chunks of good-quality canned fish, will satisfy those in the mood for something more traditional.

Italian food in its most successful incarnations is all about making the most of simple, good quality ingredients. While Colibri is not aiming to be an Italian restaurant, nods towards this philosophy can be found throughout the menu. The pasta of the day (RMB 78) features delicate homemade noodles – tender ribbons of pappardelle with a rich duck ragù when we visited. The biggest surprise was a crisp panino stuffed to bursting with homemade ricotta, hard-boiled eggs and anchovy (RMB 58), the salty anchovies the perfect foil for the comfortingly plain cheese curds.

A must for any good café, Colibri also serves passable coffees and cakes (made in the pastry kitchen at the nearby Opposite House). However, if you happen to find yourself there around meal time, put away that laptop and focus on the food instead.
 

Photos: Ken