Anyone remember The Flair Chivas? Jerry Sun, now manager of Pepper at Chaoyang Park west gate, certainly does. TFC had a good, two-year run sharing real estate with Club Mix. "That was a real bar," Sun says nostalgically. TFC was swallowed by Mix in 2004. It's not just a blip of history, it's a trend: the death of the Beijing bar, wiped out by the DJ, exterminated by the longing for high-end lounges. Bars take time to gestate, lounges are full of design.

Pepper scores well here. In the dark, pocket-like second floor space, everything is ovular...ovulating? The bar, at least, undulates. Hugging the outside are private tables screened by beaded curtains, no minimum charge. A DJ kicks out hip hop and pop house.

Cocktails are the house specialty, with emphasis on themed martinis. The mojito (RMB40) was tasty, the flirt martini (made with champagne, RMB50) wonderfully fizzy. Every weekend around 11pm, the bartenders put on a cocktail show with the promise of flames and a free round. The third floor is a jazz bar, done up in subdued beiges. Go here if you actually want to carry on a conversation. In the summer months there's a terrace. They need a music consultant, but, whatever, the crowds will come, for the cocktail show alone.

Pepper Bar
Location: Chaoyang Park West Gate
Tel: 010-65920788/65069588