Salute to Salud

Tucked away at the far end of Nanlouguxiang, one of the city's most sanitized hutong, and past the trendy shops selling knick-knacks and fuzzy hats, and past the bistros and eateries, sits a bar decorated in burnished oranges and bright yellows, conjuring an feeling of southern Europe.

This is Salud. Weekdays, the crowds don't really roll in till 9, though the bar opens at 3pm. Weekends are busy.

Ambience is Mediterranean and terminally rustic, which begins as charming with the scrubbed and varnished plank tables, and distilled wines behind the bar, but begins to grate with the overly abused sofas, and flaking plasterwork.