Any restaurant which wants to specialize in bagels in Beijing faces a tough audience of American bagel fanatics fiending for the hole-y staple. Sorry, fellow fiends—The Rug won’t fulfill your cravings for authentic bagels. But the food is nonetheless quite good, and the environment here is exceptional.

The Rug boasts beautiful interior design, with great lighting, lots of natural wood, colorful sofas and calm music. A gorgeous outdoor deck makes us miss summer weather all the more. Service here is very, very friendly and courteous.

The bagels are far from authentic. The texture is denser than it should be, and they taste a bit like soft pretzels. It’s a far cry from Mrs. Shanen’s, and not as good as the ones at Lush. It’s ¥16 for a plain bagel, and you can get a smallish portion of cream cheese on the side for ¥15. The bagel sandwiches come with two cups of tea or coffee. We were immediately drawn to the bagel with lox and dill (¥88), served with a side of garlicky potatoes. But while the sandwich looks gourmet, we don’t understand why the smoked salmon is diced, and you can’t really taste the cream cheese.

The Rug’s warm house salad (¥58), made with organic greens, huge croutons, bacon, Parmesan and a poached egg, has a nice light dressing, wonderful runny yolk and tasty bacon, but the flavors still didn’t blow us away. The Napoleon special salad (¥76) is more impressive. You get a stack of layered smoked salmon and brie cheese, with mixed greens on the side, a generous pour of olive oil and lemon to squeeze yourself.

Desserts are good here. The cheesecake (¥35) is very creamy, and we loved the apple pie (price TBD), a new addition to the menu.

Our rating: 3.5/5 stars

DETAILS

What: The Rug

Where: Lishui Gardens, Liulitun Bldg 4, 六里屯4号楼丽水家园

Tel: 8550-2722

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