Villa Castanea

Villa Castanea is a posh resort for day-trippers to the hills, a luxurious slice of Bavaria to fuel a day gorging on scenery. Stroll the grounds and enter a cavernous beer hall through a grand atrium. Wooden-beamed high ceilings and working copper-brewing equipment set quite the scene, and out the back is a large patio. It’s here that you’ll want to settle in, share a plate of German-style sausages (158 RMB plus 15 percent service charge) and appreciate the views. Of course, this should all be washed down with beer.

Like most brauhauses in Beijing, Villa Castanea makes three varieties—a lager, a wheat beer and a dark beer (160 RMB a liter; 80 RMB 0.5l). The first is hoppy and substantial, the second has the banana and bubblegum flavors typical of wheat beer, and the third is the best of the lot—plummy, spicy and deep red in color.