Seafood and wine connoisseurs should be ecstatic that La Marée, whose name means “the tide,” has washed up on the banks of the CBD. The restaurant is decorated in nautical colors, and the maritime theme is completed with seashells and fish tanks. Encouraged by both the décor and the exceptionally good waitstaff, we went straight for the seafood, starting with the “five flavors of the sea” platter (RMB88), which includes crab, scallop, salmon, macarel and tuna. The portions of each are small, but we were completely satisfied with every blissful morsel. We also tried the roast king prawn (RMB178), the largest shrimp we’ve ever seen, artistically decorated with paper thin fruit and vegetable chips and served with a fantastic celery root purée. We followed our seafood feast with an incredibly rich green pea and roquette cream soup with parmesan (RMB55), a gourmet French recipe that had us savoring a vegetable soup like we’d never done before, and finished with the hazelnut crème brûlée (RMB38) and the “pear tart” (RMB45), a delicate combination of pear, crispy pastry, ice cream and a truly delicious cinnamon cream. Our meal was complemented by the Preiss Henny Reisling (RMB328/bottle), just one of the many French wines imported exclusively by Les Millesimes, home to both La Marée and adjacent fusion restaurant Meli Melo. La Marée and its French chef have made a serious splash on Beijing’s fine dining scene, and it’s well worth shelling out to treat yourself to one of their mouthwatering meals.

Sienna Parulis-Cook