It is as if time freezes when you walk through these tall glass doors
In a fast-paced city like Beijing where sky-high buildings shoot up faster than you can turn your head, Brasserie Flo feels like a warped dimension, like the only place in Beijing where any sense of time is frozen. As you step through that glamorous entrance, you can’t help but pause to admire the tall ceilings and beautiful chandeliers and you realize you’ve gotten used to living surrounded by confined congestion and what a luxury it is to have space to breathe. This establishment has the power to transport you straight out of Beijing into a truly traditional French brasserie.
Now I say this with the utmost respect when I say that Flo is old. Having first opened its doors in 1999, that puts Flo into a league of its own, making it older than most of the other restaurants in Beijing combined. That tells you one of 2 things. Either they are pretty damn good at what they do, or they have some outrageous guanxi. Having never eaten here before and having done so now, I’d say that it’s pretty damn good.
Brasserie Flo has 2 locations in Beijing, Café Flo in Parkview Green, and the Liangmaqiao flagship location, which has a huge patio with outside bar, bakery (Boulangerie) and everything else you would expect from a top class restaurant.
A Massive Outside Patio Surrounded in Green
As dazzling as Brasserie Flo is, I should mention that there are a couple of caveats. It’s really French, and it’s really formal. Except that none of the customers respect the formality.Bow-tied wait staff, hand folded napkins and a vast wine list is to be expected. Unfortunately, the customers don’t quite match the effort the restaurant makes. This mismatch is something that is a fact of life in Beijing, but still sticks out, and you don’t really want to have a small child screaming on the table next to you while you take a client or a date to a nice dinner.
Ok, onto the food. The menu is an exploration of French cuisine and includes pretty much every classic dish the French have created. The seafood is all flown over daily, and the bakery makes French sticks, tarts and macaroons fresh regularly. Don’t expect innovation. This is unashamedly derivative, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad – just true, authentic French to its core.
Freshly Baked Sweet Treats at Flo
The menu is, as previously mentioned, extensive. And when you’re given a hefty wine list alongside a thick a la carte menu, we were relieved to find a couple of set menus to choose from in the back (to do most of the thinking for us).
We settled on a 3 course option named Burgundy at RMB 666 (seafood, main, dessert) and a 4 course named Provence at RMB 398 (starter, soup, main, dessert). It was a nice option to choose from separate sets so that we could have more variety in selection and in the end, we shared it all anyway
First Course: Starters
Escargot were exactly what you’d hope from eating snails – that it doesn’t seem like eating snails but rather rich, buttery morsels lathered in a personal favorite combination of garlic and parsley.
Baked Escargots in Garlic, Parsley, Isigny Ste Mere AOP butter
The oysters with langoustine were presented beautifully with the langoustine as a suitably imposing centrepiece. Accompanied by lemon, vinegar and other accoutrements, everything was fresh and succulent.
1 New Zealand langoustine, 2 Gillardeau No. 2 oysters, 2 Fine de Claire No. 3 Oysters
2nd Course: Soup
The mushroom and truffle soup was moreish and velvety smooth. Rich, but not overpowering.
Creamy Mushroom Soup, Duxelle and Black Truffle Cream
Main Course
The lamb shoulder came served in a separate crock pot swimming in a gorgeous stew. I basically poured all of the pot’s contents over the beautifully plated pile of couscous and steamed vegetables.
Navarin of Lamb Shoulder with Couscous, Raisin, Parsley and Steamed Seasonal Vegetables
Navarin of Lamb Shoulder with Couscous, Raisin, Parsley and Steamed Seasonal Vegetables
The lamb shoulder was tender and flavourful, but paled in my opinion, compared to the suckling pig. Delicately crispy skin on top of beautifully tender pork, it is definitely the best pork I have had in a while.
Crispy Suckling Pig, Cep Terrine, Truffled Mashed Potato and Perigourdine Sauce
Dessert:
Finally, the crème brûlée and chocolate fondant. Once again, delicious and of premium quality. The crème brûlée was thick and creamy (the perfect consistency) and the chocolate fondant used a beautiful dark chocolate that oozed out as you sliced into it. Though I normally am not a fan of mint ice cream, their homemade mint sorbet was bursting with real mint flavor (none of that artificial mint that tastes like chewing gum) and was a surprise highlight to the dessert.
Each dessert was excellently executed, but once again, nothing innovative. This is not a criticism, just a reminder that this place is classic rather than creative. You won’t find any fancy foam or molecular gastronomy here.
Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee with Raspberry Textures and Vanilla Ice Cream
‘Valrhona’ Dark Chocolate Fondant with Griottine, Creme Fraiche, Chocolate Tuille and Mint Sherbet
So, if you’re craving French food, go. It’s well executed and extraordinarily pleasant. The service was very professional (though not very personable) and the space is impressively grand, giving an air of regal luxury.
And though Flo is nothing new, we praise it for lasting the test of time, which says a lot when you’re located in such a fickle-minded, speed-fueled city like Beijing.
Brasserie Flo Contact Details:
- Address: On Xiaoyun Lu (nearer the 4th ring), strategically close to the French embassy and near the Lido area. 18 Xiaoyun Lu, Chaoyang District
- Chinese Address: 朝阳区霄云路18号
- Tel: +86 (010) 6595 5135
- Daily Opening Hours: Lunch: Sunday – Monday: 11:00 – 15:00, Dinner: Sunday – Monday: 17:30 – 23:00
- Website: http://www.flo.cn/brasserie/
About Kristen
Kristen Lum has an accomplished background in PR, communications and events in China. Born and raised in California, Kristen has been based in Beijing since 2006 and is founder of the lifestyle blog called LumDimSum, covering mostly restaurant news and reviews alongside upcoming events around town that relate to Beijing’s muti-faceted, quickly-developing creative industries like art, music, film, health and fitness, fashion, nightlife, charity events, and travel tips.
