Mai Bar Owner Breaks Into Brunch Scene With Breezy Mai Fresh Courtyard Eatery on Beiluogu Xiang

Has your favorite Beijing restaurant or bar been bricked up and put out of business, leaving you forlorn and hankering for more? Don't despair – a beautifully breezy new Beiluogu Xiang courtyard eatery is the perfect place to brunch your summertime blues away. Yes, the hottest new restaurant to emerge from the rubble of seemingly endless closures and demolitions is Mai Fresh, opened by Ji "Jeff" Ping of nearby Mai Bar and Sanlitun's Parlor and JW Tailor bar, who got his start at the now closed Apothecary.

This is the bartender and owner's first food foray, but he's hired a former TRB chef to help him make elegant and light dishes. Ji has also managed to extend his drink-making deftness to the restaurant's juice menu, which features offbeat ingredients like durian – which may put off less adventurous patrons – along with more conventional produce like berries and avocado.

We tried the Fresh Prince Juice, which is made with cucumber, lemon, osmanthus flower, and dill (RMB 40). Though we're not normally fans of the latter, especially in our drinks, its flavoring was a merely a faint aftertaste that gave the juice a unique quality that was a fitting follow up to the juice's minty, pulpy initial taste. Other juice options include the Green Giant (avocado, apple, spinach, elderflower at RMB 40), the Beet It (comprised of beetroot, berry, mango, ginger, and lemon, also RMB 40), and the Passion Bali (made with durian, passionfruit, elderflower, and coconut milk at RMB 45).

Those drinks were the perfect way to wash down the equally-flavorful RMB 88 steak avocado wrap. Gushing with gooey avocado sauce, arugula, and black beans, along with a cushy fried eggs topping, this simple but tasty wrap also had plenty of juicy slices of beef. It's a perfectly hulking burrito-esque brunch option that'll counter your Sunday morning hangover and hunger. Brunch fans will also enjoy the RMB 98 metropolitan bagel brunch (pictured at top). Boasting a trio of bagel halves, the first topped with shrimp and avocado, the second slathered with mixed mushrooms, and the third piled under smoked salmon and cream cheese, they amount to a straightforward and tasty menu item that's perfect for sharing.

A lighter, yet quite filling, alternative can be found in the RMB 68 beef and spinach salad, made with hefty-yet-juicy beef tenderloin, quinoa and poached egg, along with spinach, onion, sweet red pepper, roasted almond slices, black vinegar, and olive vinaigrette. The tried and tested beef and egg combination give it plenty of protein for anyone hankering for a satisfying way to eat healthier. There's also a salmon Hawiian poke-style salad for the same price, along with slightly pricier options with tuna.

The menu's higher-grade options include mouthwatering French oysters (RMB 30 each or RMB 168 for half a dozen; or receive one for free when you buy three hours of free-flow Champagne for RMB 150), caviar egg for RMB 68, along with larger main courses like RMB 138 beef steak (topped with your choice of blue cheese, mushroom, or red wine sauce), an RMB 98 half a roasted chicken with mixed herbs (or go for the full bird for RMB 188), RMB 98 teriyaki salmon risotto, and RMB 138 honey-glazed organic pork ribs.

Fantastic as many of those dishes are, we suggest you skip the RMB 68 smoothie bowl, which essentially tasted like a melted popsicle, its overly sweet blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry mix drowned out any trace of the flaxseed that's supposedly included in the mix. Even more egregious, some of the berries that hadn't been smushed were still frozen when we bit into them, amounting to an amateurish misfire of a dish.

However, everything else we tried was superb, and the restaurant's atmosphere was equally satisfying. Complete with stark stone concrete walls, open terraces on both the first floor and the roof, the outdoor areas balance well with the overall snugness of the venue, retaining its former courtyard feel but with an airy yet intimate vibe.

We were also impressed – though not surprised, considering the popularity of Ji's bars – by the astoundingly lengthy cocktail menu, which comes complete with 17 selections, including a perfectly summery RMB 60 Aperol spritz, and others like the Lost in Thailand (Havana rum, Malibu, lemongrass, coconut, lemon juice), the Floral Martini (gin, white wine, elderflower, grapefruit ice), and many more (most of them priced at the more than reasonable RMB 55-70 range). Some of the drinks are the same as those available at the popular Mai Bar just a few doorways up the road, and Ji says he'll cut that total down later on, before mixing up several new cocktails exclusive to Mai Fresh, meaning there'll likely be plenty to satisfy fans of his bars.

Together, these features make Mai Fresh one of Beijing's best new brunch destinations, a fittingly yin Sunday morning option to balance the boozy yang evenings that Ji has become known for providing. At this rate, it may not be long before his reputation as a restaurateur rivals that of his bartending prowess.

Mai Fresh
Daily 10am-10pm. 44 Beiluogu Xiang, Doncgheng District (138 1125 2641)
东城区北锣鼓巷44号

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
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Photos: Kyle Mullin, courtesy of Mai Fresh