Wine bars in China | Paradox to expand to Beijing

By Jim Boyce | Paradox will open its third French restaurant and wine bar, a sibling to venues in Shanghai and Suzhou, next month in Beijing.

Backed by the wine distributor of the same name, Paradox should pop its first cork on Workers Stadium West Road about Valentine’s Day, says Charles Carrard, the company’s vice president and GM. That’s more good news for a city that has seen wine bars Fu, Vesuvio and VinVino open in recent months.

While the wine list will lean heavily toward France, there will be options from around the globe, says Carrard. He stresses that higher-end French wines will list for about the same price they sell for at Carrefour, welcome news for Beijing consumers who often face very high restaurant markups. Paradox will also sell wine from Hansen, the Inner Mongolian winery it teamed up with a month ago.

Expect food favorites such as cheese and cold cut platters, escargot, steak tartare and cream brulee. The current Paradox venues also offer daily deals, such as burger nights on Mondays and a free glass of wine with each main course bought on Fridays before 9 PM. One special featured a dozen French oysters for rmb280, with the option of a bottle of Muscadet for rmb108. Here’s hoping that one makes it to Beijing.

Paradox is named after the “French wine paradox”, the observation that French citizens have a low rate of coronary heart disease despite a diet rich in cholesterol and saturated fat, a situation some believe is due to high red wine consumption.

I’ll have more on this venue soon. You can also check out the venues in Shanghai and Suzhou.

Note: Photos are of Paradox Shanghai.

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