Beijing Restaurant Review: Satan's Hot Dog

By Will Philipps, April 16, 2015

Sanlitun SOHO is one of the least hellish places in Beijing. An increasing number of its lots are being filled with shops, restaurants and offices and yet it’s always blissfully quiet. The sleek glass towers are pleasing on the eye, there are decent toilets and, as far as we can tell, there’s not a hint of eternal fire and brimstone.

Which is why we think it’s an odd choice that the antichrist has set up a hot dog restaurant here, and a pleasant little one at that. We’re expecting flame decals, a red color palate and Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast on repeat, but the only hell motif is a mural of a prancing devil in a suit. eat-drink, satan's hot dog, restaurant, interior, hot dog, sausages, devil, fast-food,

With its green branding and exposed brickwork, Satan’s Hot Dog looks a bit like Subway… in the same way that salt looks a bit like sugar. However, Satan’s has just enough novelty ornaments to elevate it above a run-of-the-mill Subway clone. Amateurish photo collages of celebrities eating hot dogs, coat hooks shaped like dog butts (available in IKEA, fyi), Wrigley’s chewing gum on the menu (to prevent Hell’s mouth breath, RMB3), and an interesting poster proclaiming Satan’s healthy approach to fast-food: wholegrain bread, fresh ingredients, open kitchen etc.

But does that make the dogs any good? (Subway can harp on about healthy sandwiches all they like, but it doesn’t stop them tasting pure evil.) Well, we dive straight in with the main event: the Satan’s Hot Dog (RMB29), a thick, juicy sausage – we’d say an ungodly nine inches plus – alongside a few pickles, wrapped in a robust bread roll. The sausage has a homemade texture and look, but it’s a bit flavorless. (And the translucent skin has not been taken off – you wouldn’t get that in heaven). The bread is decent though – slop enough ketchup and mustard on and you have something worth a repeat visit. It doesn’t compete with the kind of artisan dog you might find at, say, a Beijing craft beer festival – but compared to the halftime hotdogs at Gongti Guo’an games they are divine. The veggie and regular (both RMB19) options are less exciting – stick with the Satan.

It all adds up to a solid little hot dog place, although we still find the branding confusing. (The staff are positively angelic.) “Temptation is the devil’s greatest weapon… [it’s] not a crime, have you had your Satan today?” the walls ask. Our reckoning: it was set up by a born-again Christian, with the aim of subverting the devil’s image, to laugh in the face of evil with mediocre fast food. The Christmas carols playing over the sound system are the give away.

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