RFK Cuisine · Chinese · Beijing
Best Chinese Restaurants in Beijing 2026
Chinese · Beijing · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
Roast duck, kaoya, has been the signature of this city for six centuries, since the imperial kitchens of the Ming court, and no single dish defines a dining trip to Beijing more completely. But the modern map is wider than the duck houses: Beijing only gained a Michelin guide in 2020, and its top tier is now led by a three-star room cooking the seafood-driven food of Zhejiang and a two-star vegetarian kitchen opposite the Lama Temple. This list pairs the city's best contemporary Chinese tables with the great roast-duck institutions, so it covers both the meal you came for and the one you did not know to ask for. Seven rooms, ranked on the cooking, the room and the value, with the dish to order and how to book.
1.Xin Rong Ji
Beijing's only three-star Chinese kitchen; book the Xinyuan South Road room for the city's finest regional tasting.
Xin Rong Ji, on Xinyuan South Road in Chaoyang, is the Beijing flagship of the national group and the only restaurant cooking Chinese cuisine in the city to hold three Michelin stars in the 2025 guide. The kitchen serves the refined seafood-led cooking of Taizhou in Zhejiang province, built on prized ingredients flown in fresh, with signatures such as the braised yellow croaker in rice wine and premium braised abalone. This is regional Chinese cooking at its most luxurious, in a discreet, grown-up room rather than a banquet hall. It runs into the high hundreds of RMB per head and up. It is the choice for the most serious Chinese meal in the city. Book days to weeks ahead and ask about the seasonal seafood.
Reserve direct; the braised yellow croaker, the abalone, the seasonal Taizhou specialities.
2.King's Joy
The best vegetarian Chinese kitchen in the country, opposite the Lama Temple; book it for a meatless tasting that converts sceptics.
King's Joy, in a calm courtyard space on Wudaoying Hutong opposite the Lama Temple, is the two-Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant that proves meatless Chinese cooking can stand at the top of the city. The kitchen builds its tasting menus around prized mushrooms, matsutake and morels among them, premium vegetables and meticulous stocks, with Buddhist-influenced dishes that carry the depth usually reserved for meat. The setting, all tea, incense and temple views, matches the food. The degustation runs into the high hundreds of RMB. It is the choice for a vegetarian feast with real ambition, or for any diner who wants a quieter, more contemplative meal. Book several days ahead and take the full tasting.
Reserve direct; the mushroom tasting, the matsutake course, the tea pairing.
3.Da Dong Roast Duck
The modern roast-duck benchmark from Dong Zhenxiang; book it for leaner, crisper-skinned Peking duck in a slick room.
Da Dong, with classy branches across the city, is chef Dong Zhenxiang's reinvention of Peking duck and the house that changed how the dish is cooked. Da Dong built its name on a leaner roast duck with shatteringly crisp skin, carved tableside and served with the full ritual of pancakes, scallion, cucumber and sugar, alongside a long menu of polished modern Chinese dishes and artful plating. It is more contemporary and design-led than the old state-run duck halls. Expect around RMB 300 to RMB 500 a head with a duck and a few dishes. It is the choice for first-timers who want the definitive modern version of the city's signature dish. Book ahead and order the duck when you sit, as it takes time.
Reserve direct; the signature lean roast duck, the crisp skin with sugar, a few modern dishes.
4.Duck de Chine
Date-wood roast duck with a carving ceremony in a hutong courtyard; book it for the most atmospheric duck dinner in town.
Duck de Chine, set in the 1949 The Hidden City courtyard off Gongti Beilu, roasts a Cherry Valley and local crossbreed over date wood, and announces each duck with a bell and a tableside carving ceremony. The cooking marries Chinese tradition with French polish, there is a Bollinger champagne bar on site, and the brick-walled courtyard setting is among the most romantic in the city. It sits a notch above the casual duck halls in price and atmosphere, around RMB 400 to RMB 500 a head. It is the choice for a date or a celebration where the room and the ritual matter as much as the bird. Book ahead and request a courtyard table in good weather.
Reserve direct; the date-wood roast duck, the carving ceremony, a glass at the Bollinger bar.
5.Made in China
The Grand Hyatt's open-kitchen northern Chinese room; book it for hotel-grade Peking duck near the Forbidden City.
Made in China, inside the Grand Hyatt Beijing just off Wangfujing near the Forbidden City, is the hotel's long-running northern Chinese restaurant, built around a dramatic open kitchen where you watch the ducks roast. The Peking duck is among the best of the hotel rooms, served with the full accompaniments, alongside dumplings, noodles and northern dishes cooked to a consistently high standard. The setting is polished but unstuffy, with the heat and theatre of the kitchen in the room. Expect around RMB 350 to RMB 500 a head. It is the choice for a reliable, central, high-quality duck dinner with hotel comfort and easy booking. Reserve ahead and start the duck early.
Reserve direct; the Peking duck, the handmade dumplings, the northern specialities.
6.Country Kitchen
Rosewood's wood-oven northern kitchen under Chef Zhang; book it for hand-pulled noodles and duck in the city's smartest hotel room.
Country Kitchen, at the Rosewood Beijing in the CBD, is a modern tribute to northern home cooking led by Chef Zhang, with an open kitchen built around a wood-fired oven. The menu leans into Beijing and Shandong flavours, with hand-pulled noodles, dumplings and a wood-oven Peking duck made to order, all turned out in one of the most handsome hotel dining rooms in the city. It is contemporary and produce-led without losing the soul of the regional dishes. Expect around RMB 350 to RMB 500 a head. It is the choice for a refined take on northern Chinese cooking with hotel polish and a strong duck. Book ahead and watch the noodle pulling from the counter.
Reserve direct; the wood-oven Peking duck, the hand-pulled noodles, the seasonal Shandong dishes.
7.Najia Xiaoguan
Qing-court home cooking in a snug period room; book it for imperial-recipe Beijing dishes at the gentlest price on this list.
Najia Xiaoguan, near the CBD, cooks the home-style dishes of the imperial Manchu table, drawn from Qing-dynasty court recipes and served in a cosy, dark-wood room dressed like an old Beijing house. This is comfort food with a pedigree: slow-braised meats, court-style gluten and vegetable dishes and rich, traditional Beijing flavours, at prices well below the starred rooms and duck houses. It is the most characterful budget choice on the list and a window into how the capital ate before the hotels arrived. It is the choice for a relaxed, atmospheric dinner of historic Beijing cooking without a duck-house bill. Book ahead at peak times; off-peak walk-ins are usually fine.
Reserve or walk in off-peak; the court-recipe braised dishes, the imperial-style specialities.
How Beijing eats Chinese
Beijing's Chinese dining splits into three traditions worth knowing before you book. First, the native Beijing kitchen, defined above all by Peking duck and a repertoire of northern dishes, noodles, dumplings and braises, carried today by Da Dong, Duck de Chine, Made in China and Country Kitchen. Second, the imperial inheritance, the Manchu court cooking kept alive at rooms like Najia Xiaoguan. Third, the new Michelin-era fine dining, which in Beijing is firmly Chinese-led: Xin Rong Ji brought three-star Zhejiang cooking to the capital, and King's Joy made vegetarian Chinese a two-star proposition. For the wider picture, see the global best Chinese restaurants worldwide and the city's sibling guide in Kuala Lumpur.
Practically, book the top rooms in advance: Xin Rong Ji and King's Joy fill days to weeks out, and the duck houses are busy at peak times, so reserve and ask the kitchen to start your duck when you sit, since a proper roast takes the better part of an hour. A whole duck usually feeds two to three with a few dishes alongside. Many restaurants take bookings through Chinese apps, so a hotel concierge can be the easiest route, and cashless payment is the norm. Geography spreads the list across Chaoyang, the CBD and the hutongs near the Lama Temple, so factor in Beijing's traffic. For everything beyond Chinese cooking, from the hotel French rooms to the international scene, the Beijing dining guide maps the city by neighbourhood and occasion.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for a real Beijing Chinese dinner
The tourist duck halls around the main sights. Several famous-by-name duck restaurants near the big attractions trade on history and coach parties rather than the bird. For the dish at its best, book Da Dong or Duck de Chine instead and skip the queue-and-photograph operations.
Xin Rong Ji or King's Joy for a quick, casual bite. These are serious, reservation-led rooms built for a long, considered meal. If you want a fast, cheap northern lunch, head to a noodle or dumpling shop and save the starred rooms for an evening you can give them.
Frequently asked
What is the best Chinese restaurant in Beijing?
Xin Rong Ji on Xinyuan South Road is the best, the only Beijing restaurant cooking Chinese cuisine to hold three Michelin stars in the 2025 guide, serving refined Taizhou cooking from Zhejiang province. For the city's defining dish, Peking duck, the great houses are Da Dong, Duck de Chine, Made in China and Country Kitchen. And King's Joy, opposite the Lama Temple, is the best vegetarian Chinese restaurant in the country. Choose by what you came for: a tasting, the duck, or a meatless feast.
Where is the best Peking duck in Beijing?
There is no single answer, but four houses lead. Da Dong made its name on a leaner, crisper-skinned roast duck and a slick modern dining room. Duck de Chine roasts a Cherry Valley crossbreed over date wood in a hutong courtyard, with a carving ceremony. Made in China at the Grand Hyatt and Country Kitchen at Rosewood both serve excellent hotel-room duck with open kitchens. For tradition and theatre, start with Da Dong or Duck de Chine.
How much does a Chinese meal cost in Beijing?
It spans a wide range. The three-star tasting at Xin Rong Ji and the vegetarian degustation at King's Joy run into the high hundreds of RMB per person and up, before drinks. The duck houses, Da Dong, Duck de Chine, Made in China and Country Kitchen, sit around RMB 300 to RMB 500 a head with a duck and a few dishes. Najia Xiaoguan, the imperial home-cooking room, is the gentlest on this list. A whole roast duck typically feeds two to three.
How many Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants are in Beijing?
As of the MICHELIN Guide Beijing 2025, the city has two three-star restaurants, Chao Shang Chao and Xin Rong Ji, four two-star, including King's Joy, and twenty-seven one-star, the great majority of them cooking Chinese cuisine. Beijing only gained a Michelin guide in 2020, so the scene is younger than Shanghai's or Hong Kong's, but its top tier is now firmly Chinese-led rather than Western.
Do you need to book Chinese restaurants in Beijing?
For the top rooms, yes. Xin Rong Ji and King's Joy should be booked days to weeks ahead, especially for weekends, and the duck houses fill up at peak times, so reserve Da Dong, Duck de Chine, Made in China and Country Kitchen in advance and ask them to start your duck when you sit. Najia Xiaoguan and the casual branches take walk-ins more readily off-peak. Many rooms book through Chinese apps, so a hotel concierge can help.
More Chinese dining and fine dining
More from RFK
Browse the full Beijing dining guide, compare the global picks in the best Chinese restaurants worldwide and the best fine dining worldwide, see the best Chinese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, plan a client dinner at Xin Rong Ji or a celebration at Duck de Chine, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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