*** Beiluo Bread Bar has been a big part of my cultural geography for a few years now. Not sure when it opened but when I was living off Beiluo in 2011 it was some generic coffeeshop called Beiluo Cafe or something. Ownership / management have changed hands a few times but last month it sorta morphed into a hutong hipster afterhours spot and oh lord, it's a whole different scene now. It's been taken over by punks-turned-DJs, which is a surprisingly large demographic in Beijing. On Saturday, Beijing acid house arbiter Kaize and Anarchy Boys frontman Shen Yue are doing up a little summertime hutong street party, spinning tunes from 4pm til whenever the last person passes out. BBB has you covered from your first coffee to your last beer:

Area:

The Bread Bar is on Beiluoguxiang — it's right there in the name. Walk north across Gulou Dong Dajie from the north side of Nanluoguxiang. It's not very far up the road. There are plenty of cafes in this little stretch, look for the one with the neon blue rockabilly skull logo. If it's nighttime, stop when you hit a bunch of musician-looking people drinking beers on small street tables next to Stone Roses videos being projected on the wall.

What is it:

BBB started off as your standard wifi cafe, with a focus on quality coffee and mostly breakfast-oriented food. "Mean Beans and Badass Bread," in their own words. They also make some pretty killer pasta dishes. But yeah, when the sun's out it's a hutong laptop worker vibe. At night it gets taken over by Liu Ge, singer of stalwart BJ punk band The Molds. At this point it flips into the after-hours default for a whole crew of rockers, rappers, DJs, people with dreadlocks, some dogs, and other lushes attracted to the prospect of drinking beers in the street while guitar music bounces around the alley walls. Stays open until the last person leaves (usually 3-4am on weeknights, as late/early as 7-8am on weekends).

Why it’s good:

Their bread is pretty badass, actually! They serve a rolling selection (brown bread, sunflower bread, croissants, and Laugen rolls, last I checked), which can be pressed down into a customizable panini or accompanied by standard breakfast sides (eggs, bacon, salmon, veg) in a set meal kind of arrangement. Coffee's pretty damn good too. Has snapped me out of yesterday on more than one occasion. On the nighttime tip, BBB is good for outdoor lounging, drinking, socializing with a higher energy level than you find at other more reserved hutong cafe spots, but not as full of pitfalls as your other latenight options in the zone (looking at you Dada/Temple).

Atmosphere:

Sunny, airy, splendid. Again, during the day, it's an ideal spot for laptop work. Their playlist is righteous. As the sun sinks low and the drinks start flowing the atmosphere changes accordingly. But it's never so full-on raging. Just like a chill neighborhood block party where you finally get to see your neighbor you casually say hello to every now and again get his buzz going. This happens every night.

Prices:

Comparable to other Gulou-area cafes. Way cheaper than Zarah, actually, and better quality for money in my opinion. Breakfast meals and pasta dishes will set you back between 40 and 50 kuai. Coffee is in the 20-30 kuai range depending on how involved of an espresso drink you want. There's a modest selection of beers in a fridge at the front, your standard list of the same Belgian beers you find all over Beijing, probably all coming from the same distributor. Asahi's are 20 kuai, go for that.

Ordering Recommendations:

Hmm... Coffee. Scrambled eggs with mushroom and brown bread toast. Coffee. Asahi. Asahi. Asahi. Get crazy with a panini, like pesto and swiss cheese and salmon on a Laugen roll or some shit. Asahi. Asahi. Whiskey shot. Asahi. A pretzel. Asahi. Asahi. Home. Sounds alright. *** Beiluo Bread Bar is located at 70A Beiluoguxiang, just north of the northern end of Nanluoguxiang, around the corner from Mao Livehouse. Find it on a map in the listing. They're having an outdoor DJ party this Saturday from 4pm on, seems like a good time for you to check it out.