The bus from the Beijing airport dropped me off near the Hard Rock Cafe so I decided to drop in there for lunch. It has been closed for renovations for the past few months, so I thought it would be a good chance to check it out. I never saw how it looked before the renovations so I can’t say if it is better or worse, but I do know that it used to have a bit of a reputation for a place to go for businessmen looking for some company.

The service was attentive and the waitresses spoke good English. The front section has tables looking onto a stage for a band and the rear section, where I had lunch had comfortable chairs and was non-smoking. For tourists visiting Beijing I can’t imagine it will be a problem, but people living in China will see the place as a bit of a ripoff. I had a sandwich and a diet coke and the bill was 145 yuan - about $21. This included the 15 per cent tax/service charge. Beers were about 58 yuan. For that price I would prefer to go to the bar at the Emperor.

TGIs is probably better value and if you really need a fix of American/western style food in Beijing, you can go past Grandma’s Kitchen for a good, inexpensive feed.