Treehouse Cafe 菊儿小树

I really like this place. It’s not somewhere you’d go for a big night out, but for some lounging around at the weekend and for chatting with friends or playing cards, it’s the perfect venue. It’s usually pretty empty which is strange seeing as it’s so near to the busy Nanluoguxiang and it has comfortable sofas, plus a load of books and good quality magazines like national geographic so you can just chill out and have a read.

The boss is really friendly and has an excellent taste in music - there’s always something good playing.

The bar is so named because there is a tree growing through the middle of it.

It has a rather homely feeling with the mismatching furniture, bookshelves, and a very friendly landlady. They have film screenings and host poetry nights, although space is limited. Hence it’s not really a pumping atmosphere or somewhere to come for anything other than a quiet drink or two. The major bonus is that it must surely be Beijing’s only remaining bar that serves big bottles of qingdao for only 10 kuai. The major failings are the fact that it’s very cold in the winter (having a tree grow through your bar basically renders any efforts at insulation completely redundant) and that the food menu features one of the West’s most vile abominations of a snack… something that should never have been invented, let alone exported. I am of course referring to the bland, starchy, jacket potato.

(also, has wireless, and there are 2 双皮奶 shops on the same little hutong)