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Comments(7) Add Your CommentNov 18, 2011 By Duncan Muir, eChinacities.com
Shenyang is home to many bars and restaurants, from German-themed chains to Chinese music bars, but knowing the best places to go when you’ve just arrived in a new city can be tricky. Many local bars are geared towards their usual patrons, with loud Chinese karaoke drowning out any chance for conversation. Other bars are eerily quiet and feel lifeless, reminding you that bar-style drinking is a Western innovation that hasn’t quite conquered the Shenyang nightlife scene yet. But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great bars in the downtown area… you just need to know where to go. Here are four of the best Western-style bars in the city to get you started.
Photo: synotrip
1) Heidi’s
If you're walking down Nansanjing Jie, it's impossible not to notice this Swiss-themed bar and restaurant. The building itself was designed to look like a Swiss chalet (with neon lighting everywhere), so you can imagine that it stands out a bit from the normalcy of the modern Chinese urban environment. Heidi's has a lot going for it. The bar boasts one of the few beer gardens in Shenyang, and though it's on a rather busy street, being west-facing, it's still a great place to catch the last of the evening sunshine with a cold beer while watching the world go by. But Heidi's isn’t just a summer bar spot. The wood-panelled interior is warm and cosy and has an alpine feel. It’s a great place for dinner with friends or a drink on a cold winter's day. Continuing the Swiss theme, the waitresses are dressed in white pinafores with red aprons tied over the top, their English is excellent and they are always cheerful. The menu offers a variety of Western dishes, from pizzas, pastas and burgers to cheese fondue and fillet steak. The bar serves various Western beers and wines, with selected drinks half price during happy hour (17:30-21:00, Mon-Thu). And thanks to their generous lunchtime offer—three courses for only 49 RMB—this is a great place to go for a midday meal.
Add: 37 Nansanjing Jie, Shenhe District, Shenyang
地址: 沈阳市沈河区南三经街37号
Tel: 242 289 4666
Opening hours: 11:00-24:00
Price: Beer starts at 18 RMB; the lunchtime deal is 49 RMB for three courses.
Website: http://www.heidi-china.ch
2) Lenores
Tucked right around the corner from Heidi’s, Lenores is a small, Chinese-run bar popular with foreign workers and students. Everything about it has a distinctly indie feel, including the staff. The décor is original, with walls covered in graffiti, paintings and photographs. At one end of the bar, two car doors hang near the ceiling, one emblazoned with white wings, the other with black. At the opposite end of the room hangs a painting of a man mooning the viewer. This picture was donated by one of the regulars, an art student. If you spend a fair amount of time in Lenores, not only will the staff recognise you and your usual order, but you will begin to recognise the regulars who smile at you from paintings and photographs on the walls and ceiling. The waitresses keep the tables stocked with as many sunflower seeds and peanuts as you can munch your way through, but Lenores doesn’t serve food. This doesn’t matter though, it isn’t the sort of place you go to for food anyway. It’s a bar for beer, tequila slammers, random conversations with people you’ve just met and drinking into the wee hours of the morning.
Add: 37 Nansanjing Street, Shenhe District, Shenyang
地址: 沈阳市沈河区南三经街37号
Tel: 151 0403 6489
Opening hours: 17:00- late
Price: beer from 10 RMB, spirits from 20 RMB
Photo: synotrip
3) Strollers
Strollers has been open so long that it’s become something of a Shenyang institution. The bar is busy most nights, mainly with foreign workers, but it also has some Chinese regulars as well. The décor is distinctly American; the walls are covered with a host of strange and interesting objects, from steel water canteens to road signs, saws, hammers and classic advertisements. All of this gives the bar a comfortable, worn-in feeling, and though it’s a little gloomy for daytime drinking, it’s a great bar for the evening. The Strollers menu is expansive, serving everything from burgers and fries, to pasta, chilli con carne, moussaka and a selection of steaks. Some of the portions can be a little small for the price, but the burger is a safe bet. One of the great things about Strollers is the wide variety of spirits on the drinks menu. This bar has more whiskies and bourbons than any other bar in downtown Shenyang and is one of the few places in the city to stock Tanqueray gin—a definite plus point for all gin lovers.
Add: 36 Wujingbei Jie, near Shiwei Lu, Heping District, Shenyang
地址: 沈阳市和平区五经北街36号
Opening hours: Bar 11:30-14:00, kitchen 11:30-00:00
Price: beer from 18 RMB, food from 36 RMB
4) Green Mile
Technically Green Mile is not in downtown Shenyang, rather it’s a little north of the centre, but it’s one of the best Western bars in the city and so it deserves a mention here. The bar itself has something of a New York loft feel about it. It’s not a large bar, but the ceilings are very high giving the space a roomy feel. The staff speaks excellent English and the bar offers a good selection of cocktails. During happy hour, beers and cocktails are two for one, making it the perfect place to go for after work mojitos. Green Mile also serves what is undoubtedly the best pizza in Shenyang. One pizza could set you back anything between 60-170 RMB depending on size and topping. Though this might seem expensive compared to the typical meal in China, you get what you pay for, and these pizzas are well worth it. Also, if you ask at the bar, you can get a VIP card, which will give you 20% off your meal and entitle you to the current house drinks promotions.
Add: Yiwei Lu, near Beisanjing Jie, Shenhe District, Shenyang
地址: 沈阳市沈河区一纬路北三经街
Tel: 138 9814 0138
Price: cocktails 30 RMB, beers from 10RMB, pizzas from 60-170 RMB.
Happy hour: 17:30-21:30
Related links
Exploring New Expat-friendly Bars in Shenyang
The Weird Cuisine of Shenyang: Food for the Adventurous Traveller
A Taste of Home: Finding Foreign Food in Shenyang
I love all of these, though I don't get to Heidi's or Stroller's too often, but I think there has been an egregious omission. Uncle Sam Bar and Grill is on the same street that dead ends into the one closed to all, but pedestrian and consulate traffic. What's more, their menu rivals all of those listed above. Mexican Wednesdays, Pulled Pork Tuesdays and daily drink specials from 4:00 pm to 7:30 provide the impetus for a diverse mixture of Chinese and foreigners - from Art Students and Teachers to Consulate officials and multinational execs. They are always giving you the Wal-Mart welcome at the door, if a bit more sincere, and a number of them speak English better than some of my friends (I'm talking to you Brits, and thank you for the language we have bastardized). The hi-lite is the house micro brew, in lite and dark. Pair one of those with a Bacon Cheeseburger and house cut fries and you'll be set. So in summation. The menu is steadily improving. They have excellent drink specials. And, the staff takes an interest in its customers not normally seen in most western bars.
Add: 50 Meters South East of the American Consulate
沈阳市沈河区十四纬路51号
Tel: 31063450 or 13352481900
Price: Cocktails from 25RMB/ Beer from 10RMB
Happy Hour: Nightly from 4:00-7:30 pm (other deals include Ladies Night on Tuesdays, seasonal celebrations and daily specials)
Hours:
Monday to Friday from 4:00 pm until late.
Weekends from noon until late.
Sam, he want's you to visit.
P.S. Michael and Steel, I still love you and we'll be over to Lenore's for late night drinks soon.
P.P.S. Please respect house graffiti in regards to seats claimed by writing our names above our seats. Though, Sam reminds us that he will not enforce the contract we made with the ceiling, it's just being polite.
Pizza at Green Mile is the best by far. It is a significant improvement of the I Love New York pizza chain from which it purportedly descended, but stay away from the liquors... they'll give you headaches, probably because they are bootleg. Low priced beers are available. The staff is sometimes dishonest as well.
I can vouch for Strollers' bacon cheeseburger... its amazing. But having only been there a few times, I can't comment on much else.
"but stay away from the liquors... they'll give you headaches"
I respectfully reject this as subjective based generalization... The Mile is my only stop for quality liquor at very reasonable prices. Cheaping out with jeigermeister shots or cheap tequila will give anyone a headache, at any bar.
Miles is knowed for its fake alcohol.....This place is dangerous for your health !
2 choices, cheap and bad quality, or a bit more expensive but you know what you drink !
Do not go to this bar! It is the worst in Shenyang. The bar owner, Sam, always throws out his customers before finishing their drinks and before closing time. Makes no sense to do that to his patrons! He loves picking up young girls in his bar also and go out with them while working at his bar. He does this in front of his Chinese wife such disrespect. Recently, all of his Chinese waiters and waitresses quit because he placed a young girl that he picked up as the head bartender while the other workers have been working there longer. This bar owner has no dignity! Much better bars throughout Shenyang.
不要去这个酒吧！这是最坏的在沈阳。酒吧的老板，山姆，总是抛出之前完成他们的饮料和截止时间前，他的客户。是没有意义的，做他的顾客！他喜欢拿起年轻女孩，在他的酒吧也和他们一起去了，而在他的酒吧工作。他在这种不尊重他的中国妻子面前。最近，他的中国服务员辞职，因为他把一个年轻的姑娘，他挑头调酒师，而其他工人已经工作有较长。这个酒吧的老板有没有尊严！整个沉阳酒吧好得多。
Uncle Sam's Bar Grill.
Do not go to this bar! It is the worst in Shenyang. The bar owner, Sam, always throws out his customers before finishing their drinks and before closing time. Makes no sense to do that to his patrons! He loves picking up young girls in his bar also and go out with them while working at his bar. He does this in front of his Chinese wife such disrespect. Recently, all of his Chinese waiters and waitresses quit because he placed a young girl that he picked up as the head bartender while the other workers have been working there longer. This bar owner has no dignity! Much better bars throughout Shenyang.
山姆大叔的酒吧烧烤。
不要去这个酒吧！这是最坏的在沈阳。酒吧的老板，山姆，总是抛出之前完成他们的饮料和截止时间前，他的客户。是没有意义的，做他的顾客！他喜欢拿起年轻女孩，在他的酒吧也和他们一起去了，而在他的酒吧工作。他在这种不尊重他的中国妻子面前。最近，他的中国服务员辞职，因为他把一个年轻的姑娘，他挑头调酒师，而其他工人已经工作有较长。这个酒吧的老板有没有尊严！整个沉阳酒吧好得多。
IS THERE ANY WINE BAR, WITH LARGE SELECTION OF WINE BY GLASS IS AVAILABLE AND FOOD IS SERVED? iF YES WHERE?
tthk U!
