Restaurant in Beijing, China
Beijing's most credentialed French table.
Blackswan is Beijing's most credentialed French Contemporary restaurant at the ¥¥¥¥ tier — a Michelin-starred kitchen from chef Vianney Massot, set in a white dining room overlooking a swan pond in Chaoyang. Book it for a special occasion where the room and the cooking need to arrive together. Plan at least four to six weeks ahead.
If you are comparing Blackswan against Beijing's other high-end French options, the calculus is fairly clear: this is the city's most credentialed French Contemporary restaurant at this price point, and nothing else in the ¥¥¥¥ French tier comes close to matching its award record. The Michelin star (2024) and consecutive La Liste placements (78pts in 2025, 76pts in 2026) confirm it is operating at a level that justifies the spend. The question is whether you specifically want refined French cooking with a European chef at the helm, in a setting that is genuinely unlike anything else in Chaoyang. If yes, book it. If you want something equally priced but rooted in Chinese cuisine, the alternatives covered below are worth considering instead.
Before you even look at the menu, the setting earns its keep. The dining room is white throughout, with feather motifs and sweeping arabesques woven into the design. The restaurant overlooks a pond where swans and koi are visible from the table — a visual backdrop that, for a special occasion dinner, does real work. For a date or a milestone celebration, few rooms in Beijing offer this combination of stillness and visual coherence at the fine-dining level. The design is not incidental; it is part of the proposition, and it holds up better than the generic hotel-ballroom aesthetic that afflicts several comparable-priced venues in the city.
Chef Vianney Massot's approach is French in foundation, seasonal in execution. La Liste's 2025 entry specifically highlights wild-caught turbot, slow-roasted, served with two complementary sauces — a dish that signals the kitchen's orientation toward classical French technique applied to quality sourced produce. This is not fusion cooking or a Chinese-French hybrid; it is French Contemporary cuisine in the European sense, with the discipline and restraint that implies. For diners who want that specific register , precise, ingredient-led, technically grounded , Blackswan delivers it at a level the Michelin guide has recognised. For diners expecting Beijing-influenced flavours or local produce front-and-centre, the menu may feel more imported than rooted.
The PEA angle here is worth addressing directly: at ¥¥¥¥ pricing with a European chef and classical French technique in the kitchen, the wine program at a venue like Blackswan is not an afterthought. French Contemporary at this level , the category that includes Odette in Singapore and Amber in Hong Kong at the regional tier above , is a format where the wine list is expected to carry French regional depth and the ability to pair course-by-course. The specific wine list at Blackswan is not confirmed in our data, so we are not speculating on producers or markup. What is accurate is that booking at this price and format should prompt you to ask about wine pairing options when you reserve. A tasting menu format without a wine pairing option would be unusual at this tier; confirm availability when booking and factor the likely uplift into your total budget.
Blackswan is a hard booking. A Michelin-starred French Contemporary restaurant in Chaoyang with a distinctive setting and a small, precise dining room does not have spare tables on short notice. For a special occasion , an anniversary, a significant business dinner, a milestone celebration , plan at least four to six weeks ahead, and more if you are targeting a weekend. The address is in Chaoyang (100029), but no phone or direct booking URL is confirmed in our current data; your leading route is to check through a concierge or a restaurant reservation platform that covers Beijing. Walk-in availability should not be assumed. See also our full Beijing restaurants guide for context on how Blackswan sits within the broader dining picture, and our full Beijing hotels guide if you are coordinating accommodation.
At ¥¥¥¥, you are in Beijing's leading price tier, sitting alongside venues like Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) in the premium bracket. The difference is that Blackswan is spending that budget on European technique, a singular setting, and a kitchen with Michelin recognition. Whether that represents value depends entirely on what you are booking it for. For a special occasion where the room, the prestige, and the cooking register matter equally, it earns its price. For a purely food-focused meal where Chinese regional cuisine at the same price tier would satisfy you equally, consider whether Blackswan's French-first identity is actually what you want. Comparable French Contemporary at high distinction elsewhere in Asia includes 102 House in Shanghai, and for regional contrast at the same travel tier, Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau shows what Chinese fine dining achieves at a similar award level.
Blackswan is built for the kind of dinner where the setting and the meal need to arrive as a single coherent experience. The pond view, the white room, the classical French approach , these elements work together for a date, an anniversary, or a business meal where you want the venue to signal serious intent without requiring explanation. It is less suited to a casual group meal or a quick business lunch, both because of the format and because the effort of booking it is wasted on an occasion that does not use the setting. Solo dining is possible but the experience is optimised for two to four. For solo diners, Jing at ¥¥¥ offers French Contemporary with lower commitment. If you are travelling with a larger party, confirm group capacity directly when booking , the room configuration and the tasting menu format may have constraints that affect table size.
For further Beijing dining context, see also Brasserie 1893, Les Morilles, and Rive Gauche in the French register, and our full Beijing bars guide for pre- or post-dinner options nearby.
Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024) | La Liste 76–78pts | ¥¥¥¥ | Chaoyang | Book 4–6 weeks ahead minimum | Leading for special occasions and date dinners.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Blackswan | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Jing | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang) | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Lamdre | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Jingji | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
For Beijing specifically, yes. Blackswan holds a Michelin star and has placed in La Liste's top restaurants two consecutive years (78pts in 2025, 76pts in 2026), which makes the ¥¥¥¥ price tier justifiable against what the city offers at the same level. If you are comparing it to Xin Rong Ji on value-per-dish, that depends on whether classical French technique with a distinctive setting is what you are paying for — here it is, and the credentials back it up.
The venue data does not confirm counter seating, so solo dining depends on reservation policy at the time of booking. That said, Michelin-starred French Contemporary rooms in this format typically accommodate solo covers at a table without issue. At ¥¥¥¥, this is a considered solo splurge rather than a casual drop-in — check the venue's official channels to confirm arrangements before booking.
No bar seating is documented for Blackswan. The dining room is described as a precise, white-interior space focused on the full sit-down experience, and there is no record of a bar counter option. If a more flexible entry point matters to you, this is not the right venue for that format.
Yes, and it is one of the stronger cases in Beijing for it. The dining room overlooks a pond where swans and koi swim, the setting is intentional and singular, and the Michelin star gives the meal a credible anchor. For occasions where the room and the food need to work together as a single statement, Blackswan is a reliable choice at this price tier.
Groups are possible but the dining room is described as small and precise, which means large parties will depend on availability and the restaurant's private dining arrangements. For groups of six or more, confirm directly with the venue — this format works better for parties of two to four where the setting lands as intended.
At ¥¥¥¥ with a Michelin star and La Liste placement, the tasting menu format is the right way to experience what Vianney Massot is doing with seasonal, French-technique cooking in this room. La Liste's 2025 write-up specifically calls out the wild-caught turbot preparation as a reference point. If you want à la carte flexibility rather than a set progression, this kitchen is not optimised for that approach.
For high-end Chinese in Chaoyang at a comparable price point, Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) is the peer comparison — similar spend, different cuisine direction. Lamdre offers a more culturally specific experience if European technique is not the priority. For French specifically in Beijing, Blackswan is the most decorated current option based on available award data.
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