Capital Bites: SALT's Secret Sanlitun Project

Lido stalwart SALT have added a rather special luxury beer - Estrella Inedit - to their menu, created by El Bulli maestro Ferran Adria. Enjoy this beer (specially made to pair with food) for RMB 128 a bottle on SALT’s terrace when it opens May 20. Even more exciting is the recent cryptic announcement of Gaby’s new secret “Sanlitun project” to open June 8 – the blog title was a bit of a tease - we’ll keep you posted as soon as we get more info!

Lots of new menus around town to get your teeth into. Red Capital Club has introduced some tasty new Northern Chinese influenced dishes, Union Bar & Grille are unveiling a new snack menu, and The Olive have released a new lunch menu, to name a few.

The other big restaurant news this week is all about that debacle over at Kro’s Nest – read our latest coverage of the ongoing dispute here and here. Another round Italian icon having problems this week is Claudio Sadler, celebrity chef behind Ristorante Sadler in the Legation Quarter. Volcanic ash delayed his recently scheduled visit to Beijing. He hopes to touch down later this week.

Another delay … yes, you’ve guessed it! ROOMbeijing are enjoying their soft launch period so much they plan to stay soft for just a bit longer. Well, as long as they get everything looking spiffing before revelers come and trash the place, we can’t really complain.

Coming up, Michelin-starred French chef Julien Machet will be cooking at Le Pre Lenotre at Sofitel for five days from May 24th. Also, look out for Cabaret, a new German-owned Mediterranean restaurant opening at Solana next month.