Although one might not consider Lido to be a hotspot, new addition Barn is set to give new life into Park Square. This newcomer will officially exit its soft opening period in March, and, just like their neighbors Yotsuba and Salt Spring, they have a huge space to play around with.
To be specific, Barn's main dining area is a spacious 100 square meters, with pool table and bar area in the middle, adjacent private room for groups, as well as a massive 350 square-meter space in the back for events. The dining area's design features simple American rustic elements: brick walls and an industrial finish.
Manager Yang Ling introduces their food as “simple and affordable Western food." That said, the menu is quite eclectic, featuring dishes from five countries: Spainish paella, German sausages, Mexican quesadillas, fried chicken from Korea, as well as sandwiches and pizza from America. Yang Ling adds: "The food here is served in robust portions, and a meal will cost approximately RMB 100 per person.” After the official opening there will be live country music and jazz every night to add to the atmosphere.
We ate the signature Barn salad (RMB 40), made up of boiled pumpkin chops, pearl barley, purple rice, lettuce, and some chips, which was served with pesto sauce. It looked and tasted healthy, but if we were to poke holes, the pumpkin pieces were a bit raw for our liking and, given that it came with tortilla chips, the whole serving was more of a dry dipping plate. The sausage platter (RMB 80) with four different types of sausage, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes fared a little better but the mashed potatoes could have used more flavor.
Out of what we tried, the Spanish spicy shrimp (RMB 120) was our favorite and the chef certainly didn't hold back on the red chilies. Although the burn was certainly what we loved about this dish, we recommend you order something different if you're not able to take the heat.
Their seafood paella (RMB 160) was tailored to suit Chinese tastes, many patrons often complaining that traditional paella rice is too hard. Yang obviously took that to heart and this rice was most definitely softer, perhaps a little too soft. Even the squid rings, mussels, and small shrimps couldn't save this one, as we much prefer authentic paella the Spanish way: with a little bit of bite.
To round off the meal we also tried a couple of the bar's signature cocktails. The Candy Julep (RMB 70) is a combination of pear flavored vodka, mint, and lime juice. If left at that, this concoction might have been nice, but the additional rose syrup and colored marshmallows put this drink way over the top in terms of sweetness.
We did however enjoy the ZC 17 (RMB 75), the house version of an old fashioned, made from Glenfiddich 12 Year, orange bitters and orange peel, hazelnut Frangelico, maple syrup, and topped off with a dried date. There are also several beers on tap if you prefer to keep it simple: Goose Island, Carlsberg, 1664, and Tsingtao. So far they cater a lot of groups for private parties. We would go for drinks over dishes at this new venue, and even then it might not be a hike all the way to Lidu if you live further west. Since it won’t be officially opened until March, releasing some business lunch set then, we hope they still have enough time to iron all the wrinkles out.
Barn
Daily 11am-1am. 9-3 Jiangtaixi Lu, Chaoyang District (6437 6988)
谷仓：朝阳区将台西路9-3
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Photos: Tracy Wang