Palette Vino opened its new wine bar, shop, and restaurant on Saturday night, but let’s put aside the food, the wine, and the lovely courtyard at this Dongsishitao spot for a moment. Here are two “intangibles” that impressed me:
– The kitchen: Fronting the courtyard, it is brand spanking new, glassed in so patrons can see the staff in action, and – considering the size of this venue – spacious.
– The toilets: Palette Vino has two, both with sitters, a decent amount of space, and a nice if simple design. (This is impressive given that some pricier places in Beijing either have dodgy loos or even lack them, thus requiring patrons to leave to use a toilet).
Add in a constant flow of food such as cheeses, lamb chops, California rolls and “hutong burgers†(beef served in crispy buns topped with sesame seeds) as well as some OK South African wines and an art exhibit, and this turned out to be a pleasant opening.
I tend to be skeptical about the viability of wine bars, but this one has the elements, including a backing distributor, Palette Wines, with a solid portfolio. (I say all this without knowing anything about the landlord, local regulations, and so on.) The biggest factor might be Palette itself, which has struggled with promotion in the past.
In any case, a bit more fine-tuning is in order at this place before it officially re-opens in ten days.
Note: John Gai, own of Palette Wines and Palette Vino, is a contributor to this blog.
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