1/5 taverna is a delight to eat at. The menu, from pasta and pizza to Wagyu beef, will please a range of customers seeking a nibble with a glass of wine or a full-on meal. Several dishes like roasted spring chicken (98RMB) serve two to three people. A small selection of meze and a casual atmosphere are the only similarities 1/5 taverna has with the Greek restaurant in its name. The food is superbly crafted. A small plate of crispy calamari (28RMB) are as tasty as in Greece and perfectly match the house white wine (60RMB).

The accompanying aioli, a garlicky mayonnaise, is so good you’ll want an order of foccacia (8RMB) ¬– actually bread baked in a soufflé cup – to mop it up. Three skewers of lamb satay (32RMB), rubbed with fresh thyme and sparingly drizzled with chilli oil, are cooked so that the juices run out of the meat as you bite into it. Cutting into the seared salmon (98RMB) reveals a pink interior whose richness is accented by a sprinkling of concassed tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Crushed potatoes with olive oil (22RMB) may be Beijing’s best mash. The tasting plate of desserts (56RMB), small portions of apple tart, baked lemon cheesecake, strawberry tart and chocolate mousse, points to a top-class pastry chef. 1/5 taverna’s industrial chic dining hall combines a dark concrete floor with red brick walls and a cathedral ceiling of a walnut coloured wood. An open kitchen punctuates one end of the cavernous room filled with dark, rectangular wooden tables flanked by trendy brown leather settees and swish black chairs. A live Mariachi band, absent on Time Out’s visit, hopefully won’t distract from the ambiance and staff’s over-attentiveness will probably diminish as more diners discover the pleasures of 1/5 taverna. The full menu is available at dinner and a two-course lunch menu will be priced around 68RMB.

Area: Chaoyang

Address: 1949 The Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gongti Bei Lu (behind Pacific Century Place), Chaoyang district

朝阳区工体北路4号院

Opening: midday-2.30pm, 6:30-10:30pm daily

Phone: 6501 8882

Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AmEx

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