Laowai's Lounge serves up solid quality at Wudaokou
For those living in Wudaokou, there is often a shortage of quality places to go for a Western-style meal or a drink. Sure, there are plenty of bargain-basement venues, but as residents grow beyond the age of a student, they are not quite as appealing as they once were.
Laowai's Lounge in Wudaokou fills this gap by offering better quality than many of its neighboring establishments while still managing to be less expensive than most lower-end Sanlitun joints.
Owner Brett Gentry, from New Orleans, has injected some much-needed Southern flavor into the often-bland interpretations of US food in Beijing.
"I'm from the South, so I wanted to have some specialties like pulled pork on the menu," he said.
Certainly the food is crucial to the appeal of Laowai's Lounge. The burgers and pulled pork sandwich are excellent, and at around 40 yuan, good value too. Other items like potato skins, mac 'n' cheese, chicken wings, chicken tenders and ribs all hit the spot.
They also have a list of Asian food items like black pepper chicken with rice, which are surprisingly good.
The breakfast is tasty and the fact you can choose any item from a long list of ingredients to build your own breakfast is a nice touch.
The food makes it stand out as probably the best Western-style food in the area and the first real competitor to the dominance of Lush in many years. They also deliver some of their menu in the local area from 10 am to midnight.
Like many other Wudaokou venues though, Laowai's Lounge is more of a casual restaurant/bar than just somewhere to eat.
The drinks are better quality than some in the area with no obvious signs of fake alcohol; something that Gentry is keen on maintaining.
"We don't see the other places in the area as competitors because we don't want to offer poor quality at low prices," he said.
"We are looking to offer good quality food and drinks at reasonable prices."
The pool tables, darts, table football and shuffleboard add further reasons for a visit to Laowai's Lounge, although it is hoped their service will improve.
Having only been open for a short while, there are still many teething problems to iron out. Food can be slow out of the kitchen, and on the three occasions I have gone there, there has been a mix-up with either my food order or the bill.
If this can be improved and the standards of food and drink maintained, then Laowai's Lounge will be a real hit.
