Our Favorite Hidden Izakayas in Beijing

Don't get us wrong, we love popular Japanese restaurants like Hatsune and Yotsuba, but there are so many other options worth exploring. There is a concentration of Japanese restaurants in Liangmaqiao and Chaoyang Park close to the Japanese embassy on Liangmaqiao Dongjie, but you can find great Japanese all over town, particularly casual izakaya.

For those that don't know, an izakaya is a casual eating and drinking place, with an emphasis on the drinking. Most izakaya serve a range of dishes, from yakitori to sashimi, while some will specialize in just one dish. Either way, there will be plenty of beer, sake, and cocktails. 

Vin Vie
Vin Vie is the kind of place that you're almost reluctant to recommend to people in case they decide to go and you suddenly can't get a table when you want. Because once people visit Vin Vie once, you know they're definitely going back. The Western-influenced Japanese dishes (e.g. red wine-braised beef tongue, horse carpaccio) are a delight, complemented by a menu of very good yakitori – try the tsukune, chicken meatballs served with a raw egg for dipping. Add to that great, and exceptionally good value, wine selection, plus sake, beers, and highballs, and you've got a recipe for a good night out. Be sure to book in advance, as it gets very busy. 

Ishikawa
Hidden in an inconspicuous and slightly shabby courtyard of office buildings in between Hujialou and Dongdaqiao, Ishikawa serves a selection of good value rice and noodle dishes, but their real selling point is grilled eel. The exceeding fresh eel is roasted over charcoal and basted in slightly sweet sauce for a crispy outside that conceals succlent flesh inside. The lunchtime eel rice set is a bargain at RMB 70, or they have a slightly bigger set available at dinner for RMB 130. 

Geba Geba
Excellent value lunch sets make Geba Geba a favorite with the Beijinger staff. Set on a side street just south of Chaoyang Beilu, the interior is warm and cozy, although a bit worn in places. Those aforementioned lunch deals include everything from simple udon noodles and donburi (rice bowls), to extravagant sets featuring multiple dishes. Our favorite is the "strong lunch" (RMB 98), which features deep-fried pork chop, sashimi, rice, pickles, salad, miso soup, and dessert. The evening a la carte menu is slightly pricier, but still feels worth it for the quality of the ingredients.  

Missi Missi
Like Ishikawa, Missi Missi specializes in unagi (freshwater eel). Basted in a secret sauce of soy, mirin, and sugar while grilled, the eel is the perfect marriage of savory and sweet. Get the unadon (eel rice, RMB 148) for a nice contrast between the rich eel and the plain rice. The eel is cooked by 67-year-old chef Tsukamoto Makoto, who originally hails from Nagoya. According to a piece by China Daily, Chef Makoto says he stays in China because he can find better eel here. Other dishes on the menu – tempura, katsu, grilled salmon – are as good, if not better, than other places around town. Slightly less "hidden" than other places on the list, but worth including nonetheless.

Tori Ton
Tori Ton is the definition of hidden – the alleyway across the the east gate of the Workers Stadium looks like the kind of place you'd want to avoid not frequent for dinner. But once you find the sign with the characters "鸟屯" and push open the wooden door below it, you'll find a cozy space rich with the smell of grilling meats. Tori Ton's selection of yakitori (grilled chicken) is on point and we also love their bacon-wrapped selections – think cherry tomatoes, asparagus or enoki mushrooms. Prices for individual skewers are pretty low, but expect your total bill to add up. A word of caution: stick with the skewers. The rest of the food (sushi rolls, salads, etc.) is not as impressive. 

Moto
The food is passable at Moto, an izakaya spirited away on the first floor of the uninspiring FX Hotel in Liangmaqiao (the same building that houses Fiume), but what we really come here for is the RMB 99 all-you-can-drink deal. The price gives you a choice between beer, sake, and shochu or red, white, and sparkling wines, either of which you can indulge in to your heart's content for two hours. Appetizers are stronger than main dishes – some of our favorites include the onsen egg with avocado, and the grilled onigiri chazuke (a grilled rice ball topped with hot dashi stock).

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Photos: Robynne Tindall