| With
it's sister restaurant already up and running very successfully
in Tianjin, 'Sgt. Pepper's' has just opened in Chaoyang
District, Beijing. We went along expecting a restaurant
full of Beatles memorabilia, and so were pleasantly surprised
to find the decor typically American diner, complete with
posters of music icons of the 60's and 70's, and a stage
with the restaurant's live band at one end. All in all,
a very pleasant place to while away a couple of hours.
As we were told the restaurant's manager, Alistair, Sgt.
Pepper's is hoping to become a place known as much for
its music and drinks as for its food, with a clientele
of professionals, students and music lovers, Believe me,
if the food and music stay as good as they are now, this
place should soon reach its goal.
As
we looked through the menu, which may not be extensive
but certainly has something for everyone and from everywhere
(from goulash to minestrone, salmon with brie to beef
burgers...) at prices which are very easy on the eye,
we nibbled on complimentary bread with fresh pesto,
which was a great Italian touch. Having ordered, we
started with a pretty greedy round of starters-French
onion soup, which was perfect, a Caesar salad, which
was tasty but ordinary, a smoked salmon salad, which
was perfect, and a very good tomato, mozzarella and
basil salad. Everything certainly tasted extremely fresh.
The service was unsurprisingly keen, but helpful at
the same time. After a short wait, out came the main
courses. One thing to stress here-portions is huge and
extremely good value for money. If you're not starving,
skip the starters and go straight into the main course.
We went for the roast beef sandwich non toasted ciabatta
(which required huge effort to get your mouth around,
but once managed was more than worth the effort, as
the beef was surprisingly well cooked, juicy and pink
in the middle), pan-fried salmon on a bed of roasted
vegetables (good salmon, good vegetables, and more then
enough of both), and a club sandwich, packed with everything
it should, which judging by the speed it disappeared,
was pretty tasty too. We had to take a break after all
this before dessert, which was the perfect excuse to
listen to Sgt. Peppers' very own band, Hot Stuff, who
had by now moved on from their earlier gentle music
to something distinctly rockier. The group covered a
great range of bands, from Pink Floyd to Red Hot Chili
Peppers and Queen, and both the male and female lead
vocalists have great voices. Even if you don't plan
to eat, go along for a drink and listen to the music.
Dessert was stunningly presented, and presented favorite,
a delicious crepe filled with Grand Marnier-soaked bananas
with chocolate and ice cream. Our Italian friend deemed
the trimmers a little average, but the ice cream, though
not freshly made, a real winner (this coming from a
self-confessed ice cream lover). This was all finished
with excellent coffee-from the shape of the cup used
(very important to an Italian) to the blend of beans
used, this was a genuine espresso.
We
left impressed and well-fed. We had been looked after
very well, the food had been just what we wanted, and
the music was excellent. Being very new, we felt the
place still lacked an atmosphere of its own, but if
all goes to plan and standards remain as high, this
is definitely a place to visit and let your hair down.
We'll be back.
Sgt.
Pepper's
Beijing Add: #1 Nongzhan Nanlu (West Gate of Chaoyang
Park), Chaoyang District
Tel: 010-65008088
Tianjin Add: 60-64 Jie Fang Bei Lu
Tel: 022-23128138
Edited by www.travel-silkroad.com
Oct 2001
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