In terms of Beijing’s bar scene, Botany is this month’s “find.”
And we mean that literally – we have to work to find it. We have to call in advance to make an appointment. We have to walk past security guards into a residential compound, and take an elevator to the right floor and knock on the door. The exclusive-bar-hidden-somewhere-you-don’t-expect gimmick is no longer new to Beijing. It is, however, new to Yongli International Plaza, the outwardly dismal mall on Gongti Beilu. Granted, we’re not in the mall, but in Yongli’s serviced apartments, which makes the somewhere-you-don’t-expect gimmick particularly effective. From Botany’s apartment-cum-bar on one of the block’s upper levels, you can literally look down on people lining up at Vics while you sip your artisanal cocktails.
Botany is helmed by Frankie Zou, a master mixologist previously of fine-dining heavyweights TRB and Maison Boulud. Let us repeat that: TRB and Maison Boulud. The hype surrounding this man was huge. Our expectations were even huger. So how did Botany live up to them?
Well.
Botany’s Tokyo Bay (RMB85) is worth canceling all your plans for. The Japanese green tea-based drink is one of the best cocktails we’ve had this year. And it’s the best tea cocktail we’ve had, period.
Other drinks require a tad more explanation. Botany is more of a cocktail laboratory than a place to guzzle things down. Zou loves explaining the complicated processes behind his drinks, as well as the homemade botanicals he crafts specifically for his recipes. The cocktails, we’ve decided, are a show that plays out best with Zou’s narration.
In the sitting room (bedroom?) of the bar (apartment?), we don’t get as much explanation. As such, the special nature of some of them – in particular the tasty, but unexciting Friday Night (RMB85) – is lost on us. We do get excellent service, though, plus loads of canapes. Throughout the night, our party is in a near-constant state of surprise due to the rounds and rounds of complimentary bites delivered to our table. There are delicate flatbreads, nibbles of smoked salmon and – at the end – pink macarons.
Surprises also come in drinkable form. Zou himself brings out multiple rounds of tiny sample-sized cocktails, which are, for the most part, complex and delightful.
Zou’s biggest weakness lies in decor (he’s a mixologist, not an interior designer). While the level of service creates a palpable feeling of comfort, it doesn’t have that look – gilded picture frames and wall trappings veer towards the cheesy.
But zoom out from all that minutiae, and you’ll see your time at Botany for what it is: an experience – at the very least, a night out you won’t soon forget.
Zoom way out from all that – say, with a satellite overlooking the entire block, replete with Vics and Elements – and you’ll see you’re the luckiest drinker in all of Gongti.
Images by Holly Li
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