Tree's a Crowd: By the Tree Now Open

Just hours after we posted this story about how we were still eagerly, slightly impatiently, waiting for news of By the Tree's opening, I got a text from The Tree's owner, Patrick, announcing a "very, very soft" opening last night (Thursday). I couldn't make it along - I'll be having a look this Friday night - but heard good things from people who were there.

The bar's on the second floor of the hostel beside The Tree, and from what I hear it looks fairly similar to The Tree and Nearby the Tree. I'm told the selection of Belgian beers on tap includes De Koninck, Hoegaarden, Chimay White and Leffe (yes!), backed up by a few alternative draft options. At the moment, food - including The Tree's award-winning pizza - and bottled beers are available from The Tree's menu. Food orders are prepared in The Tree and sent upstairs - anyone who's ordered pizza in Nearby the Tree will be familiar with this routine.

Friends who went to the opening last night also tell me there's a good quality pool table (presumably similar to the well looked-after table on the second floor of Nearby the Tree) and a foosball table that owner Patrick reckons is the best that money can buy. Sports fans will also be interested to hear there are two large TV screens and a full satellite package. Is Patrick O'Tree about to launch a challenge to Paddy O'Shea's for the title of Beijing's best sports bar? By the Tree certainly sounds like it might be Beijing's first Belgian sports bar. And if I'm off the mark there, at least it sounds like a place I'm going to enjoy visiting. Looking forward to that pint of Leffe already ...