Restaurant in Beijing, China
Serious tempura, lakeside address, legitimately awarded.
Xuewei holds a Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025) and an OAD Asia Top 272 ranking — making it one of the most credentialled tempura restaurants in Beijing. The counter-focused format and Shichahai lakeside address suit a date or small-group special occasion. Booking is rated Easy, but call ahead to confirm the drinks program and group capacity before committing.
The common assumption about a tempura restaurant in Beijing is that it will be a pale imitation of what you'd find in Osaka or Tokyo. Xuewei, at 22 Qianhaidongyan on the edge of Shichahai lake in Xicheng District, corrects that assumption directly. This is a destination restaurant with a 2025 Black Pearl 1 Diamond and two consecutive Opinionated About Dining Asia recognitions (Highly Recommended 2023, ranked #272 in 2024). It earns those credentials not on location charm alone but on the quality of a kitchen led by chef Zhang Xuewei, whose name the restaurant carries.
Book here if you want a special-occasion meal in Beijing that sits outside the city's dominant Chinese fine-dining register. Do not book expecting a casual lakeside meal. This is a considered, format-driven experience — tempura as a central discipline, not a supporting act.
The address places Xuewei along the eastern bank of Qianhai lake, one of the most photographed stretches of central Beijing. Do not let the tourist-adjacent location mislead you. The interior pulls away from the lakeside bustle and delivers the kind of contained, low-distraction space that tempura counter dining requires. Spatial intimacy is the point: a tight room and counter seating mean the kitchen is the visual and experiential focus. For a date or a business dinner where conversation and attention to food matter equally, this format works better than Beijing's larger, louder banquet-format restaurants. If you need a private room for a larger group, verify availability before booking , the counter-first layout suggests capacity is limited.
Tempura as a cuisine rewards precision over complexity. The format at this level , sequential courses of battered and fried proteins, vegetables, and seafood, often served directly from the oil , depends entirely on timing, oil temperature, and ingredient quality. Xuewei's Black Pearl recognition and OAD Asia ranking signal that the kitchen is operating at a level where those variables are being managed at a high standard. For context, OAD Asia rankings are based on diner surveys weighted toward professional food industry respondents, so a #272 placement represents genuine peer recognition rather than a popularity contest. Comparable tempura execution at this level in Japan can be found at restaurants like Numata in Osaka or Shunsaiten Tsuchiya in Osaka , Xuewei operates in that reference frame, not the city's Chinese banquet circuit.
No specific dishes or menu details are confirmed in our data. Expect a structured menu driven by seasonal availability and the chef's selection , first-timers should follow the kitchen's lead rather than arriving with a fixed order in mind.
The editorial angle here is worth flagging: tempura is one of the cuisine types where the drinks pairing decision meaningfully affects the meal. The lightness and texture sensitivity of well-fried tempura is easily overwhelmed by heavy red wine. In Japan, the format pairs most naturally with sake, beer, or restrained white wine. Whether Xuewei offers a sake program, a curated wine list, or both is not confirmed in our data , but this is a question worth asking when you book. A restaurant at Black Pearl level in Beijing is likely making considered decisions about its drinks offer; the quality of that list will tell you a lot about how seriously the kitchen takes the full experience. If you are building a special-occasion dinner around a specific wine or sake, call ahead to confirm the program before committing.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. The Shichahai address is in Xicheng District, accessible by taxi or metro. No price range is confirmed in our data, but Black Pearl and OAD recognition at this level typically places a venue in the upper-mid to premium tier for Beijing. Budget accordingly for a special-occasion spend. No phone number or website is listed in our data , book through a concierge, a third-party reservation platform, or by visiting directly to confirm availability.
See the comparison section below for how Xuewei sits against Beijing peers including Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road), Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang), Lamdre, and Jingji.
For broader dining in the city, see our full Beijing restaurants guide. If you are planning a wider trip, our Beijing hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the full city picture. For comparable fine dining elsewhere in China, 102 House in Shanghai, Xin Rong Ji in Chengdu, Ru Yuan in Hangzhou, Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou, and Dai Yuet Heen in Nanjing are all worth considering for your wider itinerary. King's Joy in Beijing is another option for a special-occasion vegetarian meal in the city.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, meaning you are unlikely to need more than a week's notice for most dates. That said, for a Friday or Saturday dinner, or any date around a Chinese public holiday, contact the restaurant at least a week out. Counter-format restaurants with limited seats can fill quickly even when they are not technically hard to book , do not leave it to the day before for a special occasion.
This is a structured, counter-focused tempura experience , not a multi-dish Chinese banquet. Arrive expecting a sequential, kitchen-led meal where timing and restraint are part of the format. The OAD Asia recognition and Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025) indicate a serious kitchen; treat it accordingly. Do not come with a fixed dish request , follow the chef's selection. If you want a more familiar Beijing fine-dining format, Jingji or Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang) offer that register instead.
The counter-first layout suggests limited capacity for large groups. Small groups of two to four are likely the sweet spot. If you are planning a group of six or more, contact the restaurant directly before booking to ask about private seating arrangements , do not assume a large table is available. For a group celebration where space and flexibility matter more than format, Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) at ¥¥¥¥ is worth considering as an alternative.
If you want Chinese fine dining rather than Japanese tempura, Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) (Taizhou, ¥¥¥¥) and Jingji (Beijing Cuisine, ¥¥¥¥) are the strongest options at a comparable prestige level. For a vegetarian special-occasion meal, Lamdre (¥¥¥¥) is the most awarded option in that category. If budget is a concern, King's Joy offers a refined vegetarian experience at a potentially more accessible price point.
Yes, with caveats. The Black Pearl 1 Diamond recognition and the intimate counter setting make it a strong choice for a date or a small-group celebration where food quality is the priority. The Shichahai lakeside address adds atmosphere for arrival and departure. The caveats: confirm the drinks program in advance if wine or sake is important to your evening, and verify whether a private space is available if you need one. For a business dinner where conversation flow matters more than culinary format, a larger room restaurant may serve you better.
No dress code is confirmed in our data. At Black Pearl level, smart casual is a safe default , think the kind of outfit you would wear to a serious restaurant in Tokyo or Hong Kong. Overly casual attire (sportswear, flip-flops) is likely to feel out of place. When in doubt, lean towards neat rather than formal.
No confirmed menu data is available. At a counter tempura restaurant of this calibre, the kitchen-led sequence is the default format , ordering à la carte item by item is generally not how the experience is designed to work. Follow the set menu or omakase structure if offered. If you have dietary restrictions or strong preferences, communicate them at the time of booking, not on arrival.
Counter-format tempura restaurants are among the leading formats for solo dining , you are seated facing the kitchen, the meal has a clear rhythm, and there is no awkwardness in the single-diner setup. If solo dining is your plan, the counter at Xuewei is likely the most engaging seat in the room. Confirm when booking that a solo counter seat is available on your chosen date.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xuewei | Tempura | Easy | |
| Jing | French Contemporary | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) | Taizhou | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang) | Chao Zhou | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Lamdre | Vegetarian | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Jingji | Beijing Cuisine | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
How Xuewei stacks up against the competition.
Booking is rated Easy, so you are unlikely to need weeks of lead time the way you would at a Michelin-starred omakase in Tokyo. That said, counter-format restaurants in Beijing fill up on weekends, so aim for at least a week out to avoid disappointment. Check availability directly via the Shichahai address or a hotel concierge, as no online booking link is confirmed in our data.
Xuewei earned a Black Pearl 1 Diamond in 2025 and back-to-back recognition from Opinionated About Dining's Asia rankings in 2023 and 2024, which tells you this is a kitchen being taken seriously by credentialed critics. The format is tempura, meaning sequential battered-and-fried courses — precision is the point, not volume or variety. Come hungry but not starving; pacing at this level is deliberate.
Counter-format tempura restaurants typically seat small parties well, but groups larger than four can be awkward given the sequential service rhythm. No private dining information is confirmed in our data. If you are organising a group of six or more, check the venue's official channels to confirm capacity before committing.
For Chinese fine dining with serious credentials, Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) and Lamdre are the clearest comparisons in Beijing. Jing covers a broader international menu if tempura as a format doesn't appeal. Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang) and Jingji offer different regional Chinese directions if you want to stay in the awards-tier bracket without the Japanese-cuisine focus.
Yes, with caveats. The Black Pearl 1 Diamond recognition and OAD Asia ranking give it the credibility for a birthday or anniversary dinner, and the Shichahai lakeside address adds a setting that is genuinely hard to replicate in Beijing. The caveat: no price range is confirmed in our data, so verify cost expectations before booking if budget is a factor for your occasion.
No dress code is confirmed in our data. Counter-format Japanese restaurants at this award level in Asia typically expect neat, presentable dress without requiring formal attire — think business casual rather than black tie. Avoid beachwear or sportswear given the venue's recognition tier.
No specific menu items are confirmed in our data, so treat this as a counter-format kitchen where you follow the chef's sequence rather than building your own order. At a Black Pearl-recognised tempura restaurant, the progression of proteins and vegetables is the meal — asking for substitutions or skipping courses works against the format.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
