Changzhou's Best Western Bars & Restaurants
| Europe Bar & Restaurant |  |
| Contact: Olaf/Zeyad on 139 1393 1455 / 149 1455 6787 | |
| Address: Europe Bar & Restaurant @ 12-16 You Dian Lu (邮电路), Changzhou, Jiangsu, China | |
| Opening Times: Daily from 5pm till late | Special Offers: Half price tap beer daily 5-7pm |
Situated just a short walk from the city centre, this place has the look and feel of a typical – slightly rundown - European pub. The restaurant downstairs has recently completely reinvented their menu thanks to the Palestinian chef and co-owner Zeyad. Starters including Caesar salad and the beef burgundy are around 30 RMB a pop. The mains including the amazing chicken Caesar wrap, the steak sandwich and the fillet start from around 40/60 RMB.
The bar upstairs is one of Changzhou’s best-loved hangouts with foreigners there every single evening. Olaf, the Danish owner, meets and greets everyone that visits, and always offers a warm welcome. The atmosphere most nights here is hard to beat with free pool, a dart board and happy hours daily from 7-9pm with 15 RMB (half-price) pints. Every Sunday is fun day with Jaeger Bombs at 20 RMB each.
| Blank Space (with Live Music Every Night) |  |
| Contact: Linda on 139 5122 8181 | |
| Address: Blank Space in Canal 5 @ Yun He Wu Hao (运河五号), Changzhou, Jiangsu, China | |
| Opening Times: Daily from 1pm - 1am (band from 9pm) | Special Offers: Occassionally buy 2 beers, get 1 free |
Styled like an art-deco loft space, this trendy and spacious lounge bar has live music seven nights of the week. Their in-house six-piece jazz band comprises westerners and locals (on sax, trombone, keys, drums, bass and guitar). They create a small-cosy-gig kind of sound and guarantee for a great atmosphere every time by cleverly bashing out modern covers with a retro-funk and jazz vibe.
Blank Space offers a wide selection of drinks but at 50 RMB a pint you should take a bit of cash with you (also no foreign credit cards are accepted here). They also serve great coffee and its one of the few places in the city to find imported flavoured cider. They have table service but you pay when you order which is a bit odd if you ask me. There's no food on offer here though (as far as I know) and they don't have western toilets either, so be warned!
| Summer Restaurant |  |
| Contact: Eric on 1182-0502-9595 | |
| Address: Summer Restaurant @ Lai Meng Dou Hui 2, Bei Qu 7-126, Injoy, Changzhou (莱蒙都会二期北区7-126 - 屈臣氏斜对面） | |
| Opening Times: Daily from 10.30am - 11pm | Special Offers: BOGOF after 8pm daily (25 RMB each) |
Much more of a restaurant than a bar, Summer has a fantastic menu with a good selection of imported beers (including Budweiser and Corona). Meals range from approx 50-80 RMB per head with the steaks upwards of 100 RMB. My personal fave is the American-style chicken in BBQ sauce.
Weekends around lunchtime are crazy busy, so sometimes you might have to wait around for a table. In the evenings, depending on how many people you go with, the service levels can be a little slow - but for small groups it can be ideal. This place also doesn't accept foreign credit cards.
They do, however, have regular Western-themed holidays such as St Paddy’s Day and Halloween being especially popular. Keep an eye out for the Hot Dog Eating Contests and the like too...
| Candles Restaurant & Bar |  |
| Contact: Johnny on 0519 8513 3211 | |
| Address: Candles Resturant & Bar @ 398 Tongjiang Lu (通江路汉江路中创大厦), Changzhou, Jiangsu, China | |
| Opening Times: Daily from 11am till late | Special Offers: None, but do have cold jaeger on tap! |
Situated in the XinBei (new north) area of the city near the Traders hotel, this place is great for food and larger groups to wine and dine. Again – for me - a bit more restaurant than late-night drinking spot, but try telling that to some of the regulars.
The food is of great quality and fairly reasonably priced, a fillet mignon with veg and trimmings is less than 100 RMB, and the ____is also worth tring too.
A firm favourite with the ex-pats, they offer free pool and probably the best selection of tap beer in the city. They also have chilled jaegermeister so things could get messy. They also have several flat-screen TVs showing all the major sports games every night of the week.
| Whatever Bar |  |
| Contact: Lynn on 150 6112 6698 | |
| Address: Whatever Bar @ Xinbeiqu, Tong Jiang Lu, 113 Shi Dai Guang Chang (新北区 通江路 时代广场 113号 随变音乐酒吧)
Changzhou, Jiangsu, China | |
| Opening Times: Daily from 4pm till late | Special Offers: Fri = Ladies Night (1 free drink girls) |
To be found hidden away near Candles up in XinBei, this bar’s a secret jewel in the city’s nightlife. With a good western food menu and some very friendly management it’s also known for a welcoming atmosphere.
They have free pool and an electronic dart-board thing, plus Tiger and Heineken on tap and good selection of wines/beers chilling in the fridge. You can also find regular live musicians and bands performing and keep an eye out around the holidays, these guys like to go overboard when there's an excuse to party.
They also do some pretty great food, the baked potato skins with mincemeat and the chicken tortias rocked my world. Pints of Heineken and Ashahi (I think) are on tap there at less than 30 RMB each.
These are my personal faves in no particular order - ahem. A couple more bars worthy of a mention are King Bird Bar (regular comedy nights courtesy of Sharnghai's Kung Fu Comedy) and Bro's Wings (home to a ludicrous selection of bottled IPAs). Other than I was there for over a year and these places did it for me. I'd be interested to know if there's any I've left off....
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