Discover the Cut above the rest

It is a totally enjoyable experience dining at The Cut, a contemporary grill on the second floor of the Fairmont Hotel Beijing. Both hotel and restaurant target the luxury-loving crowd, but they do offer commensurate good service. A waitress politely ushers diners to the table before the manager comes forward to take orders and recommend drinks.

Leather-backed chairs are comfortable, and there is plenty of space between tables. Apart from the privacy, there is also a pleasant view out of the windows. In the evening, diners are entertained by a three-person band offering a repertoire of light music.

A long cooking counter faces the rest of the room and diners can also watch their meal being prepared as part of the entertainment.

Chef Marcus Routbard recommended the pan-seared foie gras with a fig paste that serves both to cleanse and color the palate. Crab and coconut bisque, another good pairing, creates music in the mouth. The pan-seared scallop is tender, large and juicy - a truly fresh treat.

The restaurant offers three grades of beef - grain-fed beef aged 150 days or 250 days, as well as Wagyu

beef. According to the chef, The Cut is the first in Beijing to use Stockyard beef.

"It is good variety. If a couple comes to order beef of two different grades, they can easily tell the difference," Routbard says.

The 340-gram rib-eye Wagyu is juicy and full of natural flavor and with a marbling of 4 to 5. You can still see the marbling when the steak comes to table. The cost: 590 yuan ($90).

The filet mignon, served as either a 200-gram or 290-gram filet, is even more tender.

You can also try the rack of lamb, which has a nice balance of tenderness and flavor.

Chef Routbard makes it a point to go to every table to chat with diners and ask them what they think about the food.

And if you are looking for the perfect match in wines, manager Faisal Majeeth is the man to go to.

There were not many diners on the evening we ate at The Cut, but the quality of food and service definitely deserves much better patronage.