798 Food and Cafes for a Gallery Day in Dashanzi

Eating at the 798 Art District: the Cafes Among the Beijing Factories

At 12:15 on a Saturday, the queue at 798 Noodle Bar hits the door. Get a bowl of noodles for 28 CNY and eat it inside the gallery zone. Or spend 88 CNY on a pour-over at a converted factory counter. Decide which one fits your next hour.

This page names the 15 places inside the 798 Art District where you can eat or drink without leaving the grounds. It separates quick coffee stops from sit-down meals, notes which tables sit in Bauhaus courtyards, and tells you what to skip. Every price is the 2024 rate published by the district visitor office.

Coffee Stops Between Galleries

Forty to fifty cafes operate inside the district gates. Most serve espresso for 35 to 45 CNY, the 2024 average. Skip them. Three are worth your time.

Voyage Coffee

Enter through North Gate 2 on Jiuxianqiao Road and walk to 798 West Street inside Ceramics Third Street. This is the most photographed cafe interior in the district. Espresso runs 28 to 35 CNY, pour-over 48 to 88 CNY. Outdoor seating wraps around a courtyard. Open 09:00 to 18:00 daily. Arrive before 10:00 to beat the photo crowd.

UCCA Cafe

Find it on the ground floor of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art. Coffee is 32 to 42 CNY, a slice of cake 48 to 58 CNY. The courtyard outside the cafe is a reliable place to rest your legs. Open 10:00 to 18:30 Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday, when most galleries are also shut. On a Monday, walk 300 meters south from North Gate 2 to Jenny Lou's supermarket on Jiuxianqiao Road for a grab and go meal.

Comptoirs de France Bakery

Want a coffee and a pastry for under 50 CNY total? This is the 798 branch of Comptoirs de France. A croissant is 15 to 18 CNY, coffee 25 to 35 CNY. Open 08:00 to 20:00 daily. The fastest in and out option in the district.

Sit Down Meals in Factory Spaces

Thirty to forty restaurants operate inside the district. Kitchens close at 21:00 to 21:30 district wide. Expect exposed brick, steel trusses, Mao era slogans, and industrial machinery in most converted factory spaces.

At Cafe

Eat inside a former factory canteen. Original Cultural Revolution era slogans remain on the walls. Coffee is 35 to 45 CNY, pasta 68 to 88 CNY. Outdoor seating available. Opened in 2003 as the district's first cafe, per district archives. Walk in only. Go for lunch between 12:00 and 13:30.

Time Zone 8

Occupies a former munitions factory mess hall. Order Western brunch, pizza, or pasta. The brunch set runs 88 to 128 CNY. Open 10:00 to 22:00 daily, one of two restaurants that stays open latest. Make this your fallback if you arrive at 21:00 and most places have closed.

Napa Wine Bar and Kitchen

Mediterranean menu. Main courses 128 to 268 CNY, a glass of wine 68 to 120 CNY. Outdoor courtyard seating. Open 11:30 to 22:00 daily. Reserve one to three days ahead for weekend dinner. Walk in works for weekday lunch. If Napa is full on a Saturday night, walk to Time Zone 8 on the same street.

Filling Station

A cafe and bar in a former gas station. Coffee 30 to 40 CNY, cocktails 65 to 85 CNY. Open 10:00 to 23:00 daily, the latest operating hours in the district. Go here for a post gallery drink.

Quick Meals and Low Cost Options

The cheapest meal inside the district gates runs 25 to 35 CNY from a noodle or dumpling shop. That price buys you a bowl at 798 Noodle Bar on 798 Road, open 10:30 to 20:00 daily, bowls 28 to 38 CNY. English menu rare here. Point at what the person next to you is eating.

Tribe, a vegetarian restaurant, serves bowls for 58 to 78 CNY. Open 10:00 to 21:00 daily. 798 Ice Cream Lab sells single scoop gelato for 25 to 35 CNY. 798 Craft Beer Bar in the 751 D Park area pours pints for 45 to 65 CNY. Open 14:00 to 23:00 daily.

After 21:30

Leave through North Gate 2. On Jiuxianqiao Road between the north gate and the Dashanzi intersection you find street food stalls. Jianbing runs 8 to 12 CNY, a bowl of noodles 15 to 25 CNY, dumplings 20 to 35 CNY. Cash accepted at stalls. Many restaurants inside the district are moving cashless, so carry WeChat Pay or Alipay.

What to Skip and What to Book

TRB Forbidden City had a 798 branch. Verify the current name before walking there; the address may now operate under a different restaurant. Do not plan on fine dining here without confirming.

For a proper meal, book at Napa on weekends. For coffee, arrive at Voyage before 10:00. For speed, go to Comptoirs de France or 798 Noodle Bar. For late night, choose Filling Station or Time Zone 8.

Food delivery into the district is allowed. Riders meet you at the security booth near North Gate 2. Average delivery time from outside restaurants is 30 to 45 minutes. If every restaurant inside has a wait and you cannot face street food, order delivery to the gate.