Previously I ranked The Korean Meat and Seafood BBQ Restaurant – 5th Ring road Beijing as the best North Korean restaurant in Beijing, if nothing else than for its flirtatious staff. Well that place has now closed, so we came to check out Pyongyang OK Ryu Guan and to see if it is the new king of the big smoke, or just hype.
Why did my old favorite close and why is the new one king? Well we have it on good authority that China are being difficult with visa for North Korean staff. One expects this is linked to the current push and shove between Russia and China over being BFF’s with North Korea.
And as for why Pyongyang OK Ryu Guan is now envouge, well we were taken there by North Koreans where we were wined and dined in a private area of the hotel.
Table of Contents
The Pyongyang Restaurant Chain
North Korean restaurants are something of an institution in China, and Beijing has historically had a particularly good selection. Part restaurant, part cultural showcase and, depending on the evening, part entertainment venue. For most people too, it is pretty much the only insight they get into North Korea.
At its height, the Pyongyang restaurant network had more than 100 establishments across China, although sanctions, Covid and changing regulations have seen many close. Beijing once had more than a dozen North Korean restaurants. And even though China pretty much doesn’t give two shits about sanctions, many have now closed. Other cities though like Dandong and Yanji still have a shit ton.
The food is generally traditional North Korean fare, with Pyongyang cold noodles, grilled meat, kimchi and various soups being the main attractions. Most also have the famously cute Korean waitresses who sing, dance and in some cases really go the “extra mile”.
Here are five Beijing establishments worth knowing about, starting with worst to best.
5. Pyongyang Okryugwan – Beijing
Chinese: 玉流宫
Korean: 옥류관
8 Huguang Middle Street, Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区望京湖光中街8号
This is the subject of this whole blog………
4. Pyongyang Unbangwan – Beijing
Chinese: 平壤银畔馆
Korean: 평양은반관
Near the North Korean Embassy, Ritan Beilu, Jianguomenwai, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区建国门外日坛北路附近
This is one I would particularly like to revisit, not least because of its location close to the North Korean Embassy. It has been changed and remanded a number of times, but what makes this great is there’s no performances. This is about good well priced real North Korean food.
I have not confirmed if the address is still valid.
3. Pyongyang Haedanghwa – Beijing
Chinese: 平壤海棠花
Korean: 평양해당화
2nd Floor, Kuntai Mansion, 12 Chaoyangmenwai Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区朝阳门外大街12号昆泰商城2楼
Haedanghwa was another of Beijing’s better-known North Korean restaurants and was particularly associated with visiting North Korean diplomats. Like the other establishments, the menu centred on traditional Korean dishes, with the added attraction of the North Korean restaurant experience.
2. Pyongyang Guan – Beijing
Chinese: 平壤馆
Korean: 평양관
Huakang Hotel, 78 Maizidian Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区麦子店街78号华康宾馆
Pyongyang Guan was known as a relatively affordable option compared with some of the more expensive North Korean restaurants in the capital.
The menu included cold noodles, grilled pork belly, bibimbap and other traditional dishes. Apparently has entertainment, but I am going on recommendation here.
1. Silver Bank Pyongyang Restaurant
Chinese: 银畔馆朝鲜料理
Korean: 은반관
4th Floor, Zhongfu Mansion, 99 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区建国路99号中服大厦4楼
Silver Bank was among the more upmarket North Korean dining establishments in Beijing. It offered private dining rooms and the sort of entertainment that became a trademark of the overseas Pyongyang restaurant network.
Not cheap at all, with a room, just a room costing RMB 600, which is just shy of $100.
A note on the list: These are five well known North Korean restaurants in Beijing. The problem though is that they constantly change. For example I used to like Uriban BBQ and their cute staff. Well apparently they’ve all gone back to the DPRK, mostly to Sinuiju.
Pyongyang Okryugwan – Beijing
Pyongyang OK Ryu Guan, which is also known as Pyongyang Okryugwan – Beijing, because it is associated with the infamous kryu-gwan (옥류관), also spelt Okryugwan or Okryu Restaurant. This known as Pyongyang’s best restaurant for cold noodles. It was opened by President Kim Il-Sung way back in 1960 and has been improved in diplomacy.
During the 2000 inter-Korean summit, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung visited the restaurant. Roh Moo-hyun visited in 2007, and Moon Jae-in visited in 2018. In 2018 Moon and Kim Jpong-Un even shared a meal of Pyongyang Cold Noodles.
“The Beijing branch reportedly opened in 2003, in Wangjing, an area with a substantial Korean population. It became one of the better-known North Korean restaurants operating outside the DPRK”.
So, that is the party line. Unofficially it has reportedly closed a few times. Now obviously it is open, but I certainly would not call it one of the better North Korean restaurants in Beijing. I will get to that later though.
The Pyongyang OK Ryu Guan is also linked somehow to the Lavande Hotel, with me assuming it is owned by a Korean-Chinese who has close links to DPR Korea. This means that the restaurant is basically split in two, with the public side being full of patrons, with there being a stage a show and everything.
We though were in the private area that you get to via the second floor of the hotel. We were the only ones so duly got treated to a private showing. Lots of singing dancing and of course karaoke.
The Food at Pyongyang OK Ryu Guan
We had a whole heap of Korean dishes, such as sushi and BBQ beef, kimchi and finally we went the whole none yards and had Pyongyang Cold noodles. And we drank, boy did we drink! Basically we drank the restaurant dry as by midnight they had zero Taedonggang beer, OR North Korean soju. Not gonna I was pretty drunk at the end.
Now lets talk about the food! Honestly it was not all that great, particularly in comparison to its cousin in Pyongyang. The only exception to this was the cold noodles, which with the mustard and vinegar were ace. The drinks were great too, as was the entertainment – particularly allowing me to sing Korean songs. Overall though the food was sub-par and it cost RMB 5000, or about $700. Granted there were 8 of us, but still! Really not great value.
The best North Korean restaurant in Beijing? No it really is not at all.
And the Lavande Hotel?
Basically the restaurant used to be bigger, now it has been repurposed to a hotel as well, which occupies the 3rd and 4th floor. The first flood is the public hotel, while the 2nd is the private dining area we went to.
The hotel itself is a bit shit to be honest and very overpriced. We paid like RMB $600, which is about $85 for a small room. Beijing is expensive, but this one hurt particularly a lot.
Where is the Pyongyang OK Ryu Guan?
Pyongyang Okryugwan / Lavande Hotel
8 Huguang Middle Street
Wangjing, Chaoyang District
Beijing, China
北京市朝阳区望京湖光中街8号
玉流馆楼上3-4层
Hotel: Lavande Hotel (丽枫酒店)
Reservation telephone: +86 20 8600 9099
Hotel enquiry / front desk: +86 10 5667 6177
About 25-30 minutes by cab from Beijing Capital Airport, other than that not too much going on.
Click to see my hypothetical North Korea Tours with YPT!