Restaurant in Beijing, China
Serious Cantonese cooking, easy to book.
Summer Palace in Beijing's Haidian District is one of the few places in the capital where Cantonese cooking reaches the level recognised by Opinionated About Dining, which has ranked it among Asia's top restaurants in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Under chef Liu Ching Ha, the kitchen delivers technically grounded Cantonese cooking in a city better known for northern Chinese traditions. Booking is easy; confirm pricing directly before you go.
The common assumption is that you come to Beijing for Peking duck and hutong noodles, not Cantonese cooking. Summer Palace challenges that directly. Under chef Liu Ching Ha, this is one of the few places in Beijing where Cantonese technique — clean stocks, precise heat control, restrained seasoning , is executed at a level that earns repeat recognition from Opinionated About Dining, which ranked it #295 in Asia in 2024 and #335 in 2025, with a Highly Recommended citation in 2023. That consistent presence on a rankings list dominated by Hong Kong and Guangzhou kitchens tells you something about the kitchen's seriousness. A Google rating of 4.6 across more than 9,000 reviews suggests the broader diner experience holds up, too.
Cantonese cuisine rewards technical discipline more than almost any other Chinese tradition. The goal is to make ingredients taste more like themselves , not to layer or complicate. That means the kitchen at Summer Palace is being judged on fundamentals: stock clarity, wok technique, ingredient quality, and timing. The OAD rankings, tracked over three consecutive years, suggest chef Liu Ching Ha is consistently meeting those standards in a city where Cantonese cooking has historically been a secondary consideration. For the explorer-type diner who wants to map regional variation across a trip through China, eating serious Cantonese in Beijing , rather than waiting for Hong Kong , is a genuinely useful data point. For comparison, Forum in Hong Kong and Le Palais in Taipei represent the upper tier of Cantonese fine dining in the wider region; Summer Palace sits in conversation with that category, not outside it.
Summer Palace is located in Haidian District, which puts it in the northwestern part of the city , closer to the actual Summer Palace imperial park than to the central hotel and dining corridors of Chaoyang or Dongcheng. The address in Haidian signals a venue that isn't purely positioned for foreign visitors or expense-account hotel dining. The physical layout is not detailed in available records, but the volume of Google reviews (over 9,000) at a strong average suggests a dining room that handles steady, high-frequency use, which in Beijing's Cantonese category typically means spacious, table-service format rooms with capacity for both small parties and larger groups. Plan travel time from central Beijing accordingly , Haidian is accessible but a meaningful distance from most visitor hotels.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which is a genuine advantage for spontaneous planners or visitors building an itinerary on short notice. Phone and website details are not currently listed in Pearl's records, so the most reliable approach is to contact the venue directly through your hotel concierge or via the address in Haidian District. Price range data is not available in our records , contact ahead to confirm current menu pricing, particularly if you're planning around a budget or a formal occasion. For broader context on where to eat and stay in the city, see our full Beijing restaurants guide, our full Beijing hotels guide, and our full Beijing bars guide.
Beijing has strong representation in regional Chinese cooking beyond its own northern traditions. Fu Chun Ju, Lei Garden (Jinbao Tower), and Zijin Mansion all operate in overlapping fine-dining territory. The Beijing Kitchen (Jianguo Road) and The House of Dynasties offer different regional angles worth considering for a multi-night dining itinerary. If you're building a regional Cantonese comparison trip across China, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou, Dai Yuet Heen in Nanjing, and Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau are the logical comparators in the same quality tier. Elsewhere in mainland China, 102 House in Shanghai, Xin Rong Ji in Chengdu, and Ru Yuan in Hangzhou each represent strong regional alternatives for the food-focused traveller. For experiences and wineries beyond the table, see our full Beijing experiences guide and our full Beijing wineries guide.
Book Summer Palace if you want technically grounded Cantonese cooking in Beijing and you're willing to travel to Haidian District to get it. The OAD recognition across three consecutive years is the clearest signal that this kitchen is working at a different level than most of its Beijing peers in the same tradition. Booking is easy, which removes the main friction point. Confirm pricing directly before you go.
Yes, and it's an especially good choice for a solo food-focused visit. Cantonese cooking at this level rewards attention , you're not here for a social occasion, you're here to eat well. The high volume of Google reviews (9,099 at 4.6) suggests the front-of-house is experienced with a wide range of diner types. Booking is rated Easy, so there's no planning penalty for a solo reservation made on short notice.
No dress code is listed in our records, but the OAD ranking and the Cantonese fine-dining tradition both point toward smart casual as the safe default. In Beijing's leading Chinese restaurants, that typically means neat, presentable clothing , not formal, but not casual streetwear either. If you're coming from a business trip or a hotel in central Beijing, standard business-casual attire will be appropriate.
The venue's location in Haidian District and its high review volume suggest it has the capacity for group dining, which is standard for Cantonese restaurants at this level. Private room availability is not confirmed in our records. Contact the venue directly , or ask your hotel concierge to call ahead , to arrange a group booking and confirm room options. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, so group reservations should be manageable with reasonable notice.
Yes, with one caveat: confirm pricing before you go, since no price range data is currently available in our records. The OAD Leading Restaurants in Asia ranking (#295 in 2024, #335 in 2025) provides credible reassurance that the kitchen will hold up for a meaningful meal. For a special occasion in Beijing, this is a stronger choice than a venue without third-party recognition, and the Cantonese format , multiple dishes, shared table, considered pacing , suits celebratory dining well.
For Cantonese specifically, Lei Garden (Jinbao Tower) is the most direct comparison in terms of tradition and format. For broader fine Chinese dining in the city, Fu Chun Ju and Zijin Mansion are worth considering. If you want a different regional tradition entirely, The Beijing Kitchen (Jianguo Road) offers northern Chinese cooking in a more accessible location. See our full Beijing restaurants guide for the complete picture.
Cantonese cooking is generally more adaptable to dietary adjustments than cuisines built around fixed tasting menus, since dishes are typically ordered individually and the kitchen is accustomed to substitution requests. That said, no specific dietary accommodation policy is listed in our records. Contact the venue directly before your visit , particularly for serious allergies or complex restrictions , to confirm what the kitchen can accommodate. Your hotel concierge is the most reliable channel if you don't have a direct contact number.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Palace (Beijing) | Easy | — | |
| Jing | ¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang) | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Lamdre | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Jingji | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Summer Palace (Beijing) measures up.
Yes, and the easy booking rating makes it a low-friction choice for solo visitors. Cantonese kitchens in this tier tend to offer counter or small-table seating that suits solo diners well. The OAD ranking signals a kitchen focused on craft rather than spectacle, which rewards the solo diner who wants to pay close attention to the food. If you're in Beijing alone and want a serious meal without advance planning stress, this is a practical option.
Dress information isn't in the venue record, but an OAD-ranked Cantonese restaurant in this tier typically expects neat, presentable clothing rather than formal attire. Avoid beachwear or activewear. If you're coming directly from touring the Summer Palace park nearby, a clean layer change before dinner is a reasonable call.
Specific private dining or group capacity details aren't documented for this venue. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which suggests availability is generally good, but groups of six or more should check the venue's official channels before assuming space is confirmed. Cantonese restaurants in this category often have round-table options suited to group dining, though that can change here.
It works for a special occasion if Cantonese cooking is what you're celebrating, and the OAD recognition (ranked #295 in Asia in 2024, rising to #335 in 2025 by rank count) gives it enough credibility to impress a guest who knows the category. It won't deliver the theatrical drama of a Peking duck ceremony or a private imperial-style dining room, but for a focused, technically grounded meal in Beijing, it holds up. Book in advance to be safe, even though difficulty is rated Easy.
For upscale Cantonese in a more central location, Lei Garden (Jinbao Tower) is the standard comparison. If you want northern Chinese cooking that feels more native to Beijing, Fu Chun Ju and Zijin Mancheng are worth considering. Lamdre and Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) are both in the OAD-ranked tier in Beijing and relevant if you're comparing across regional styles or price points.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is documented for this venue. Cantonese cuisine generally uses shellfish, pork, and seafood as core ingredients, so diners with allergies or restrictions should check the venue's official channels before booking. Chef Liu Ching Ha leads the kitchen, so specific requests may be possible, but this needs to be confirmed directly.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
