8MM: Sanyuanqiao's in the Club

Jessica Rapp | Nov 14, 2014 5:30 pm | Add a comment | 2357 reads

Its sweeping, sparkling facade is hard to miss if you’re headed north on Third Ring Road past The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel, but it’s the inside of 8MM Club that will have to impress if it is going to pull party-goers so far away from Gongti’s flashy nightspots. 8MM is a venture by Ammo, the same group that brought art house bar, Entourage, to Central Park, and it has settled into Hard Rock Cafe’s old spot alongside a sister fine-dining restaurant. That space is set to serve luxury sets of foie gras, steak, and seafood, but it was the club that had our attention when its soft opening kicked off with a performance by Grammy Award-winning rapper Chamillionaire, following teaser after-parties with White Collar Boxing and Ellie Goulding. Resident DJ Markino has been manning the decks, a sign that this is the spot for showing off the Lamborghini in the early hours of the morning after shaking your tush to a top 100 DJ elsewhere. No sign of additional big international bookings at 8MM just yet, though.

Still, we hope they make more use of that stage-turneddance floor, which is situated oddly close to the well-lit entrance. The bar is easy to access, and it’s covered by a two-tiered LED VJ display and capped by a DJ balcony. The remainder of the open plan is defined by tiredly trendy bare light bulbs. In the far back corner and away from commotion is a wine bar, a nice touch.

Here’s a request: Dear Chamillionaire, next time you come to Beijing, please sing “Ridin’” not “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas. Or did I just see someone pop some Moet & Chandon in a KTV?

8MM
WF1-WF2, Landmark Towers Bldg. 2, 8 East Third Ring North Road, Chaoyang District, 200m south of Liangmaqiao subway station (Line 10) (6590 6678)
朝阳区东三环北路8号亮马河大厦2号楼WF1-WF2室