RFK Rankings · Beijing
Best View Restaurants in Beijing 2026
Restaurants with a view · Beijing · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 14, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
The gold-tiled roofs of the Forbidden City sit low and horizontal, a 600-year-old grid best read from a terrace above the moat. That palace view is one of two worth booking in Beijing. The other is the glass-and-steel skyline of the central business district around Guomao, where the CCTV Headquarters and the China World towers stack up the height. The trap in the high rooms is the international hotel kitchen that trades on the altitude. These six are ranked on the view and the cooking together, the rule being that a palace or a lit skyline still cannot save a careless plate.
1.China Grill
Prime grill 66 floors over the CBD with the CCTV tower in frame; book it for the skyline.
China Grill sits on the 66th floor of the Park Hyatt in Guomao, a glass room with a near 360-degree read of the central business district, the angular CCTV Headquarters and the China World towers filling the windows. The kitchen is a grill at heart, prime imported beef and fish cooked over fire across a range of styles, with sushi and a deep wine list alongside. It is the most complete of the city's high skyline rooms, the cooking taken as seriously as the altitude. The view is the widest on this list, the towers lit and the ring roads glowing below. Reserve a window table and time it for the city switching on at dusk.
Reserve through Park Hyatt Beijing; ask for a window table before the lights come up.
2.TRB Forbidden City
Modern French beside the Forbidden City moat; time it for dusk over the walls.
TRB Forbidden City sits in a building along the eastern moat of the palace, the dining room and terrace looking straight across the water to the vermilion walls and gold roofs. The kitchen is the strongest of the Forbidden City rooms, a French and Modern European tasting from the TRB group whose sibling holds a Michelin star, the cooking precise and produce-led rather than coasting on the address. The view is unique in the city, a 600-year-old palace filling the glass where most rooms get a street. It is the room to choose when you want both a serious kitchen and the Forbidden City in the same evening. Book a terrace or window table for dusk.
Reserve through TRB; request a terrace or moat-facing table at dusk.
3.Café Zi
Cantonese cooking with a roof terrace over the Forbidden City and Beihai; go for the dim sum at lunch.
Café Zi is the all-day room at the Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, and its draw is the roof terrace, one of the clearest high views of the Forbidden City, Tiananmen and the white pagoda of Beihai Park in the same sweep. The kitchen, led by a Cantonese chef and team, cooks contemporary Cantonese and a strong dim sum service at lunch, the technique careful and the produce good, a step above the usual hotel all-day room. The terrace is the seat to request, the palace roofs spread out below. It is the best lunchtime view on this list. Book a terrace table for dim sum and the Forbidden City in full daylight.
Reserve through Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing; ask for the roof terrace at lunch for dim sum.
4.Mandarin Grill + Bar
A contemporary grill with a garden terrace facing the Forbidden City; reserve it for a steak night.
Mandarin Grill sits in the same Wangfujing hotel as Café Zi and is billed as the only luxury-hotel grill in Beijing with a garden-terrace view of the Forbidden City. The kitchen is a modern take on the New York steakhouse, prime imported cuts cooked over fire with French refinement and a few fusion turns, dry-aged beef and grilled fish the centre of the menu. The garden terrace looks toward the palace, a quieter, lower vantage than the roof above. It is the room to book when the meal is a serious steak and the view is the bonus rather than the headline. Reserve a terrace-side table and order the dry-aged beef.
Book through Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing; ask for a terrace-side table and the dry-aged beef.
5.Siji Minfu Roast Duck, Forbidden City Branch
Beijing's most-loved roast duck with a window onto Donghua Gate; queue early or skip it.
Siji Minfu's Forbidden City branch stands on Nanchizi Street right by Donghua Gate, and the prize is a window seat with the palace wall and gate tower filling the glass. The kitchen is one of the city's most-loved roast-duck houses, the birds roasted over fruit wood to a lacquered, crisp skin and carved to order at the table, the fat rendered clean and the pancakes and condiments done properly. It is by far the cheapest room on this list, around ¥150 a head, which is exactly why the queues run two to three hours for a window. Come at an off-hour, put your name down early, and ask for a seat facing the gate.
Visit the Nanchizi branch; arrive off-peak, queue early, and ask for a window onto Donghua Gate.
6.Migas Mercado
A Sanlitun rooftop with the skyline and a wood oven; go for a summer dinner.
Migas Mercado brings the rooftop end of the list, a Spanish and Mediterranean room with a big open-air terrace over the Sanlitun district in Chaoyang, the city skyline spread out beyond the deck. The kitchen leans on the wood oven and the grill, Iberian and Mediterranean plates, paella and roasts and a long list of sharing dishes pitched at a lively crowd. It is more social than the palace rooms and built for warm nights, the terrace the reason to come. The cooking is solid rather than fine-dining, but the produce and the oven work hold up. Book a terrace table on a summer evening and treat it as a long, easy dinner with the skyline behind it.
Reserve through Migas Mercado; ask for a terrace table on a warm evening.
Skip these for the food, not the view
The palace and the skyline are real, the kitchen is not always
Atmosphere at China World Summit Wing for dinner. The 80th-floor lounge is Beijing's highest bar with a glittering skyline view and glimpses of the Forbidden City roofs, but it is a cocktail room, not a dining room. Go up for the drink and the height, and book your dinner at a table where the kitchen is the point.
The tourist roast-duck halls by Qianmen. The big duck restaurants ringing the palace and Qianmen sell the location and serve birds carved for the coach trade. For duck done properly, queue for Siji Minfu's Forbidden City branch above, or go for the modern duck at Da Dong or Duck de Chine instead.
How to book a view table in Beijing
Decide first whether you want the skyline or the Forbidden City, because they sit on opposite sides of the centre. The high CBD rooms, China Grill at the Park Hyatt in Guomao, give you the glass-tower skyline and the CCTV Headquarters, and their window tables go first, so reserve a week ahead and ask for a window by name. The Forbidden City view belongs to the rooms around the palace, TRB along the eastern moat and Café Zi and Mandarin Grill at the Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, with the roof terrace at Café Zi the clearest daylight vantage. Siji Minfu's gate-side branch is the budget palace view, and worth a long queue.
Time the booking to the view you came for. The high glass rooms are sharpest after dark when the towers light up, so book the later sitting at China Grill. The Forbidden City rooms are the opposite, best in daylight or at dusk when the gold roofs still read, so take a lunch or early-evening table at Café Zi or TRB. Beijing's winter is hard and the open-air terraces at Migas and the palace rooms close or move inside from late autumn, so confirm the terrace is open before you plan around it. The hotel rooms keep a smart code; the rooftop and the duck house are relaxed.
Frequently asked
What is the best restaurant with a view in Beijing?
China Grill on the 66th floor of the Park Hyatt is the best high-view dining room in Beijing, a prime grill with a near 360-degree read of the central business district and the CCTV Headquarters in frame. For a serious kitchen with the Forbidden City instead of the skyline, TRB Forbidden City along the palace's eastern moat is the pick. Both are rooms where the cooking matches the view.
Which Beijing restaurant has the best Forbidden City view?
TRB Forbidden City along the eastern moat and Café Zi's roof terrace at the Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing hold the best Forbidden City views, the palace walls and gold roofs filling the glass at one and spread out below the terrace at the other. Siji Minfu's branch by Donghua Gate gives a cheap window onto the gate tower. For the clearest daylight vantage, take the roof terrace at Café Zi.
How much does a view restaurant cost in Beijing?
It ranges widely. China Grill at the Park Hyatt and the Mandarin Oriental rooms at Café Zi and Mandarin Grill are the splurge end, with grills and tasting menus running into the higher tiers, while TRB Forbidden City sits in the mid-to-high fine-dining range. Siji Minfu's roast duck is the bargain at around ¥150 a head, and Migas Mercado's rooftop is mid range. The palace and skyline fine-dining rooms cost the most; the duck house is the value.
Which Beijing view restaurant is best for a special occasion?
TRB Forbidden City is the standout occasion room, a Modern European tasting with the palace walls across the moat. For a higher, glassier night, China Grill pairs the CBD skyline with a prime grill, and Café Zi's roof terrace is the best daylight Forbidden City view for a lunch. Book any of them ahead and ask for a window or terrace-edge table at dusk.
Do you need to book view restaurants in Beijing in advance?
Yes, the window and terrace tables go first. China Grill at the Park Hyatt and the Mandarin Oriental rooms release prime tables early and are worth booking about a week ahead for a weekend, and TRB Forbidden City fills quickly for its moat-facing seats. Siji Minfu's Forbidden City branch takes no reservation for a window and runs long queues, so arrive off-peak. Confirm the open-air terraces are open outside the cold months.
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