Beijing’s Jam Bar

If you were excited by our ‘novelty golf bar’ review and stumbled over to these words hoping against all hope to find a joint dedicated to sticky preserves, we’re sad to have to extinguish them. Instead, the ‘Jam’ of the title refers to the other meaning of the word: a group of musicians gathering for an informal music session, and has little to do with the legendary strawberry toast topping. Found in a courtyard off Gulou Dong Dajie, Jam announces its presence with a classy sign located on the corner of the street. The bar is accessed via an outdoor spiral staircase, which certainly impresses the easily pleased. Inside the second storey venue, the owners have taken a minimalist approach, with sparse wall decoration, wooden floors and modern-looking furniture. The bar itself takes up one side of the room, while the tables and chairs are arranged in a café style throughout the main section. The drinks list includes a decent selection of single malts, ranging from 40RMB to 100 RMB for a single, with the option of a double for just under twice the price. A long cocktail list features a slightly disappointing selection of classics – gin ’n’ tonic, vodka mule, cuba libre etc – all sectioned into three price tiers of 40, 50 and 60 RMB. But Jam manages to stand out from other bars in the area by splitting from the usual cliché of hutong haunts – so you won’t find any bits of old industrial equipment or Mao-era toys cluttering up the place. With quite a large floor space and a muted soundtrack of rare Beatles recordings and cool jazz, Jam stands out as a quiet, charming bar. It is never likely to get overcrowded and would easily work well as a great place to start the evening off, or as a hinterland away from the hustle and bustle the area now attracts