Out by the pink-LED wrapped trees and eerie Qing facades of Xidian, nestled in a steadily gentrifying warehouse conversion project, sits new steakhouse 441 B.W.
B.W. stands for “Bear Warehouse.” The way the manager tells it, the kitchen staff here are Chinese nationals who worked as chefs on a PetroChina project in Sierra Leone. It’s unclear if the owner is further linked to the company, but a patron from one of the nation's richest state firms would go some way to explaining the decor, which combines the gleaming cogs and filament-heavy globes of a steam-punk cafe with the ambiance of an auto showroom.
Guan'erdai energy hangs heavy in the air here. Guests smoke openly. American car license plates adorn many surfaces and trophies and other memorabilia line the walls. The three full-sized rally cars on the ground floor leave no room for subtlety. (While one or two rally cars might set the mood, three feels a little like showing off.)
But the chefs can cook. The 300g Australian rib eye fillet (RMB328) is well sealed and juicy, with a satisfying charcoal finish. The baked rosemary potatoes are soft but tasty. The side salad is ungenerous, but there’s nothing stingy about the hefty plate of roast spring chicken that follows, with crisp skin and tender flesh (RMB78).
When we hesitate to buy a RMB98 glass of wine, the manager kindly offers a couple of cocktails on the house. It's the thought that counts here – my “hero” is served in a chic sloped glass but tastes like pure vodka. Reflecting the firmly gendered nature of the experience, my female companion is served a red-and-blue “starry night,” which comes on a lit-up LED base and features a flaming sugar cube that sits inside a hollowed out hemisphere of ice. It tastes like a melted Slurpee.
Upstairs we count at least three motorcycles, a shelf of expensive wines and spirits, and an entire wall rack of motorbike helmets, as well as a Predator mask. But the second floor space is more gently lit and pleasant, with a string of pentagonal wooden tables arranged in an intriguing “S” shape.
All in all, if you like the idea of eating pleasing plates of well-cooked meat alongside racing cars, 441 B.W. might be worth the trip.
[Images via Flynn Murphy/That’s]
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