Nearby The Tree

Smoky, crowed, but decent pizza and a good place to pick up some Belgian beers. Best enjoyed with friends. Seating in the front is better than near the bar or in the back because of the ventilation issues. Some nights there is live music that can make it difficult to carry on a discussion in the back room. There are other bars with better selection of Belgian beers in town but the Tree has a bit more character.

This 5 RMB pool fine is going to be the death of the place.

While playing pool I made a celebratory gesture in which the pool cue hit the ceiling, leaving a chalky dot but otherwise no damage. An inquiry was made that had the rest of our group laughing why it took a manager and 4 employees to inspect a chalk mark and determine what I owed - they ultimately gave me a warning with no fine.

A few minutes later a colleague scratches and a ball leaves the table. A waitress walks by and yells "5 kuai" to which we all laughed - hey at least these anal retentive staff can make fun of themselves. Turns out that she wasn't kidding, she did indeed expect 5 rmb for that offense. Making matters worse, she just subtracted that from the change of another person in our party so someone unrelated to the event but associated with us paid unknowingly.

She demanded the rest of her change back (the 5 rmb) and they proclaimed that we'd been fined. They pointed to a list of rules near the kitchen (who honestly looks for rules at a bar and then reads them even if they do see them - i mean the rules are usually joke rules if anything) and there it says that pool is free but they have various fees - one of which is a 5 rmb penalty whenever a ball skips the table.

We argued with the waitress, and once again the chefs joined in too against us. We demanded to speak to a manager and after 5 minutes of playing "I want to talk to the manager - there is no manager" game the female manager from the chalk incident finally appears.

We protest and unsurprisingly it falls of death ears. We asked to speak to the bar owner and they said that nobody owns the bar. When we pointed out how that wasn't possible she admitted there was someone in charge but she didn't know how to contact that person. Look, if we can't speak to the owner then just tell us that - don't tell us he/she doesn't exist or you don't know how to contact them - they just appear out of thin air whenever needed. You're already treating us like shit - no reason to assume we're idiots too.

She then tried to blow us off but we made it abundantly clear we wouldn't leave until we got our 5 rmb back, nor would we make it a pleasant environment for the half dozen other people (they were unhappy too but more so because this 5 rmb issue was preventing the staff from serving them drinks/food) so she finally called us cheap bastards and threw 5 rmb on the ground.

I would have made the same protest for 5 mao, and would gladly pay for pool but you can't just have an available table for free and then sneak in these fines. God damn idiots didn't even realize that we wouldn't have been there if they didn't have pool in the first place - that thing draws people in - don't jeopardize losing stable clients like me over 5 rmb. I'll never return. Fines me, gives me attitude, throws money on the floor, yeah, I'm really going back there ever again.

WAFFLES !!!!

Ayaaaaa,stunning waffles, not as heavy as others i had try before. I never thought i will find the best waffles in a Beer Bar.
I will just change some of the toppings.But never the waffle dough.
Will go with friends for an afternoon waffle.

Our Sunday evening at Nearby the Tree was the most unpleasant experience I have had at any bar in Beijing. We will not be going back and I strongly recommend you don't bother either.
A couple of rude and unnecessary warnings from the staff about their pool table descended into farce when a ball was accidentally dropped on the floor. They demanded 5RMB compensation and when we complained the kitchen staff started arguing with the girls in our group, and when I stood up to defend them they tried to start a fight with me!
Summary: rude staff, a good night spoiled, I won't be going back, zero out of ten.

Dinner here was pleasant enough, with a relaxed atmosphere upstairs and reasonably quick service, however felt the food was rather mediocre. Not terrible by any means, but just so-so. Not sure if the menu has changed since the CW review, but couldn't find the seafood chowder! Perhaps it is better as a lounge/bar rather than a restaurant, as there was an extensive drinks list and lively feel to the bar downstairs. Would go back for drinks, but not necessarily the food.

Great pizza and good Belgian beers, what's not to like?

sorry, i am NOW correcting it lol.

The pasta here is mediocre at best. I had a similar experience with the ravioli, minus the unpleasant service. Mine was cooked fine but the food was no better than a pack of Buitoni premade pasta I can buy at the supermarket. More of a disappointment than anything. But since the above user idiosyncratically gave five stars to a restaurant he/she would never go back to, I will compensate by giving only 1 where perhaps 3 is deserved -- for delivering an Annie's like performance at higher prices.

I went here with a friend last Friday. Since this is Gourmet Month, we decided to take advantage of it and order from the special Gourmet Month menu. My friend and I ordered two appetizers and mushroom ravioli and waffle with fresh cream and blueberry sauce for desert.

The appetizers came first. A assorted cheese platter with bread and the other was salmon with dipping sauces. The appetizers were great. It's hard to find good cheese in Beijing. The salmon was beautifully prepared into a rose shape.

Our tomato bisque came second. The bisque was great but not as creamy as you would normally expect from a bisque. I am not a huge fan of milky things, so this was perfect for me.

The main course of mushroom ravioli was the poorest excuse for ravioli I have ever eaten. I cannot believe they even served it as ravioli. When the ravioli first arrived it was extremely undercooked and had a hard texture. After the first bite it was immediately apparent that it was undercooked. We could still see the raw white flour in the ravioli. We sent it back and the cooks seemed nice enough. (Usually cooks will be extremely unpleasant in Beijing when something is sent back.) They ATTEMPTED to recook the dish by frying the ravioli. I could not believe it. I wasn't aware that you could cook ravioli by frying it, nevertheless, I gave the cook a chance. After about THREE minutes, the waitress brought our food back. With the pieces that we had already bitten into on top. This time around the ravioli was MARGINALLY better. But still, extremely undercooked. We called the waitress over and POLITELY explained to her the situation. We explained to her that the ravioli needs to be reboiled, and it would be better if we were given a new batch of ravioli that was cooked properly from the beginning. She went back to the cooks to tell them. This time they were EXTREMELY AGITATED and not afraid to show it. They were raising their voices and insulting us in Chinese. They were definately making their annoyance known. While they were recooking our food the waitress came over to inform us that the cooks would not be using new ravioli, so we would have to stick it out with our old batch which has already been recooked two times at this point. The cooks boiled our ravioli for about TWO minutes. After we tasted it for the THIRD time, we decided to just suck it up and eat it. My friend barely touched hers. The third time was not a charm to say the least. The ravioli was still hard and undercooked. I could have made better ravioli at my house. How difficult is it to boil ravioli? Also, the cooks were extremely unpleasant. Why does "Nearby the Tree" think it is a better policy to save some food which probably cost 20 yuan than to lose a customer? We honestly were very pleased with our soup and appetizers, but boy was that a false advertisement. Ravioli is one of the easiest dishes in the world to make, and the cooks here couldn't even get that right? We had to suffer through our meal because they were too cheap to make another batch from scratch and boil it properly this time.

The desert of waffles and fresh cream was disgusting as well. I don't know how they pass this along as waffles. It should be called "a plate of air." The waffle was so light and airy because they were probably too cheap to use more flour and less oil. The cream on top of my friend's waffle looked like a three year old put it on. It was sprayed haphazardly on top of my friend's waffle. They put at least half a bottle of fresh cream on my friend's waffle. It was completely SOAKED in cream. She had to take ALL of the cream off with her spoon. Thank god I ordered mine without cream. The waffle was just a plate full of airy. I have never had a waffle like this in my life. I could cut out the little squared with my knife in one hand. That is how airy it was.

The waitress was a very nice and affable young lady. She spoke good English and gave very good service. When my friend and I took out our camera, she immediately asked if we wanted a picture together. The only thing I didn't like about her was she did not attempt to fix our problem about the ravioli. She just told us that the cooks will not be cooking anything new and that we had to eat what they made basically.

Overall, I would say come to this restaurant ONLY for drinks and appetizers. Service is good, but they don't know how to make pasta for anything. I definately will NOT be coming back to this restaurant. For their prices, I would rather take my money somewhere else.

I come here a few times every week ( addicted? ) and still love it. In the afternoon I sit upstairs..chilling in the huge couches and drinking tea. The free internet makes it very agreeable.

At night I sit downstairs drinking beer, or have a pizza ( same ones as in the tree..they actually make them in the tree and then deliver them to nearby the tree ).

Every sunday, monday and tuesday they have free beer between 6 and 9 pm. And every saturday starting between 9 and 10 pm they have an amazing band! Love the band!

Plus; not as crowded as the tree ( you dont have to wait for a table ).

Not much I can really but well this place is just great. The food (PIZZA) amazing, the staff amazing, the beer well its amazing also, the look and feel of the place amazing. Gets a bit cold in winter and dam hot in summer, but I love this place. Washrooms could use an upgrade ;-)
I have eaten and drank here more than any other place in Beijing, if I had to guess I have been there 30 times now.

It is a lot less chaotic and wholeheartedly more relaxing at Nearby the Tree. The dishes come out in a much more timely fashion. And the giant glass windows allow the sunlight to flood the floors during the day.

Instead of plating the pasta, Nearby the Tree places it in deep bowls, making sure each string of pasta gets covered in sauce — messing with the tortellini is nothing short of a good idea.

You can order pizza as long as you're sitting in the downstairs portion of the restaurant. But you don't go to Nearby the Tree for the pizza.

My one qualm with Nearby the Tree is in fact it's name and location from the Tree. Any party arriving at separate times will have this to worry about when they're looking for the restaurant:

Friend 1: Where are you eating?
Friend 2: Nearby the Tree.
Friend 1: [pause] Right, I'm nearby the Tree, so where are you eating?
Friend 2: Nearby the Tree.

The decor is reminiscent of The Tree but more elegant and upscale looking. I ordered a pasta dish with asparagus and semi sun dried tomato pesto that didn't look that amazing but turned out to be incredible. The only problem with our meal is that everyone's dishes came at different times, and those who had ordered lasagne had to wait until everyone else had finished eating before their food arrived! While the food was great, the high prices (75 kuai for a plate of pasta? Even if it is excellent?) will probably stop me from going back.

duncanshaunsmith: thanks for the comments. Nearby now has a baby high-chair.

What a beautiful place! So relaxing and great to just hang out, use the net, and have some very good food! The service was fantastic - very polite, and was very initiative- telling us of the upcoming promotions - which is a first in Beijing!

I will be going back again, and again!

The pasta tastes great and is actually made to order in the open kitchen. We also really enjoyed the meats and cheeses combo platter.

The dining area is very bright and airy with huge windows all around the room. They play some rather good tunes and the service is very friendly.

Will definitely be back, but they lose marks for a lack of a baby highchair.

I went there for a relaxing afternoon coffee, and it's safe to say I'll be coming back many times.

The upstairs has huge windows and is very airy and bright, the music is good, the interior design just the way I like it (wooden, red bricks, comfy sofas, lots of plants), and they've got free wifi (*).

The food menu seems a bit limited (pasta's not my thing), but the drink selection seems much better; they've got lots of bottled Belgium beers, and De Konick, Beamish, Hoegaarden, and Tsingtao on draft.

(*) They also make the mistake of using a non-sensical (default) name for their wireless LAN (the SSID) . When will people learn that the SSID could be both descriptive and good advertising. Take a clue from Hooters, which has an SSID called "Welcome to Hooters!".

Will there be a no-smoking area?

Nearby The Tree is opening on October 21st

As the name suggests, the new venue is just a few minutes walk from the existing Tree, and uses a similar design. It is not an overflow for the busy Tree Bar but a new and exciting concept. 'Nearby' is on two floors; downstairs is a bar in a similar style to The Tree, albeit with less Belgian Beer on stock and the upstairs (when open as Phase Two) will be serving fresh Pasta in a more children friendly relaxed bistro restaurant environment.