Windy City Ballroom is set in the grounds of a quiet courtyard, beside a beautiful lotus pond fringed with willows. Located in the north of Beijing near the Olympic Park, the name, décor, and cuisine are all inspired by Chicago, a city famous for its warm and welcoming nature. Opened in 2012, the restaurant offers a unique waterside setting where you can escape the summer heat and enjoy a relaxed dining experience.
With roots stemming from mid-western America, the restaurant takes pride in using quality and fresh ingredients. Head Chef Dustin Merrett, formerly of Home Plate, took over the kitchen last year and brought with him an authentic soul-food repertoire. Families can enjoy Chicago comfort food classics like deep-dish pizzas, grills, signature burgers, and some tasty fish dishes.
The six or four person BBQ board (RMB 598/328) is a great way to try a range of their foods. It includes wings, kebabs, sausages, ribs, steaks and chops, skewers, corn, and plenty of traditional sides. The popular brunch menu is available every weekend, from 11am to 3pm, with advance booking essential. Brunch dishes include house made cinnamon buns, French toast, breakfast wraps, eggs benedict, and a Hearty American full breakfast.
Our two hungry diners are WAB students Alice (age 8) and Jamie Mutter (age 5). The Mutters spent three years in Nanjing, before moving to Beijing in 2014, and are relocating back to the UK this summer. Alice’s favorite foods are chicken soup and hotdogs, whilst Jamie loves fried rice and pork dumplings. They tried a few dishes from the kids’ menu – the Meat Ball Mountain served with pasta, chicken pizza, breaded chicken and fries, and corn dog with fries. Prices range from RMB 20-42. They both agreed the chicken in a basket was great, and the meat balls were a big hit too. By far their favorites were the “delicious” blueberry, raspberry, and apple smoothie and the pineapple, mango and banana smoothie (both RMB 45). Prices are very reasonable across the menu, offering great value cuisine for all the family.
Facilities:
Windy City Ballroom is a big restaurant, with seating for 150 inside and over 60 on the terrace patio. There are three private rooms, with another one underway. Highchairs and kid’s utensils are available. The toilets are very clean, with both Chinese and western-style stalls, with paper and soap provided. The main restaurant is no smoking, but smoking is allowed in the outside area.
Windy City Ballroom 风渡嘉荷
Daily 11am-10pm. 9 Yongtaizhuang Bei Lu, Qinghe, Haidian District (6299 3777, WindyCityBallroom@mail.com) www.comfortfoodbeijing.com 北京市海淀区永泰庄北路9号
This article originally appeared on page 28 – 29 of the beijingkids July 2015 issue. Click here (http://issuu.com/beijingkids/docs/2015.07_beijingkids) to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
