Sugarbar (Shichahai)

Café · Rooftop café$$Shichahai, Xicheng, Beijing

A small café by the Shichahai lakes whose fourth-floor rooftop terrace overlooks Houhai and the Drum and Bell Towers, serving coffee, cold drinks and light meals.

At a glance

Type: Rooftop café
Area: Shichahai, Xicheng, Beijing, China
Price: $$ · Mid-range

Good to know

Rooftop terrace over Houhai
Coffee and light meals
English menu

Why we recommend it

Sugarbar is a small café by the Shichahai lakes, at 22 Qianhai Dongyan in Xicheng. It is listed by Beijing's official tourism resource site, which highlights its rooftop terrace on the fourth floor of a small building, with views across Houhai and its boats, the Drum and Bell Towers nearby, and the CBD skyline in the distance.

The interior has grey brick walls and wooden seats, and a wooden staircase leads up to the rooftop. You order on the third floor and then carry your drink up to the terrace. The menu covers coffee, cold drinks and light meals, and a China Highlights guide to hutong cafés notes that there is an English menu.

The view is the main reason to come, and seats on the terrace are limited. The China Highlights guide suggests late afternoon, between about 4pm and 6pm, for photographs, and warns that you may have to wait around ten minutes for a seat at busy times. The same guide gives opening hours of 10am to 10pm, but these are not published by the café itself, so check before making a special trip.

The location is one of the best in the area for a break while exploring. Yandai Xiejie and the Drum Tower are close by, and the time-honoured Qingyunlou Restaurant and Kaorouji, known for Beijing-style grilled lamb, are on the same lakeshore at Nos. 22 and 14 Qianhai Dongyan, according to the Beijing government. The Shichahai area was declared a historical and cultural scenic area in 1992, and in the Yuan dynasty these lakes marked the northern end of the Grand Canal.

Sugarbar suits couples, photographers and anyone who wants a drink with a view after walking the hutongs. It is a good place to pause between the Drum and Bell Towers and Beihai Park, which connects with the Shichahai lakes at its northern end. In winter, when the lakes freeze and people skate on the ice, the terrace offers a different scene from the summer boats.

Shichahai station on Line 8 is the nearest metro stop. Lost Plate's evening food tour starts from the same station, so a coffee here works well before a food walk.