Craving roast lamb, Kumiss (liquor fermented from mare’s milk), and suutei tsai milk tea, but don’t have time to make a short trip to Inner Mongolia? Then these Mongolian Restaurants in Beijing will make you feel as if you were there.
Named 99 Yurts, this Mongolian restaurant literally has 99 yurts as VIP rooms on open land in north Beijing. Its signature dish is roast whole lamb, a traditional Mongolian dish that the noble men regaled on their distinguished guests on special days in the past. Following the tradition, the roast whole lamb at 99 Yurts is served with a Mongolian singing and dancing performance.
A true foodie in China must know that the Chinese provincial governments’ Beijing offices are the fool-proof choice for the best local cuisines, and so this also holds true for Mongolian food. Here, you can try their famous lamb shaomai and “Meat Cooked with Spring and Eaten with Hand” while appreciating the performance of Khoomei, a classic Mongolian throat singing skill.
The restaurant located in a hutong alley is a budget Mongolian diner, where you can try the traditional Mongolian milk tea hotpot, pastry with filling, and other milk-flavored food at a cheerfully cheap price.
Dining at the boldly decorated Mongolian Camp along with the traditional Mongolian singing and dancing performances arranged by the restaurant, it almost feels like you are in the middle of the vast grassland in Mongolia. The roast lamb there is perfectly cooked to be tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Rumor has it that you may even see living goats outside the yurts.
The small diner inside a residential compound is a hidden gem for Mongolian food. Opened by a Beijing guy who married to a Inner Mongolian lady, the restaurant’s signature dishes Shaomai and Lamb Chops are recognized by customers as “even more authentic than in Inner Mongolia.” The small family business has generous service, providing salted vegetable appetizers and salted milk tea for free.
Tangdou Xiansheng Shaomai and Lamb Chops | Courtesy of the restaurant
This is a fairly high-end Mongolian restaurant. Different from other restaurants where dishes are supposed to be shared, the dishes here are served individually. Many guests are attracted to the restaurant also for its wild architectural design – especially the tornado-like pillars in the hall.
Located in the Phoenix Mountain Tourist Resort, the restaurant is where you can enjoy delicious Mongolian food while appreciating the natural mountainous view of west Beijing. Other than the signature dishes of roast lamb and rainbow trout cooked two ways, its mixed seasonal vegetables dish is also on the guests’ bucket list.
Located near the Minzu University of China, a university known for its ethnic diversity, the budget restaurant was opened by Chinese Mongols. Many nearby students who fancy authentic Mongolian food have become its regular guests.
The buffet at the Inner Mongolia Hotel will let you try a range of Mongolian food, plus fruit and suutei tsai milk tea for a budget price. The buffet is provided three times a day, so the restaurant is a good choice for people who want to have Mongolian yogurt for their breakfast.
Strictly speaking, this is not a restaurant, but a home delivery catering service. Once you order on their official WeChat account (ID: 来一头烤全羊) or by phone, a whole lamb will be delivered to your home in three hours accompanied by a chef, who will then roast your lamb on-site while explaining to you the roasting process. It is said that the lamb is transported from northwest China, where the lamb is of top quality, and is marinated for a whole day to make sure to bring out its full flavor.
