Beijing Hutong Coffee: 5 Cafés Worth Leaving the Main Road For

You walk through a working pharmacy, climb the stairs, and step onto a terrace facing the White Pagoda. The cup sleeve reads “中药治病，咖啡续命” — herbs treat the illness, coffee keeps you alive. It is a very Beijing joke, and the view is the reason to come.

Where: Above the Baitasi pharmacy, third-floor terrace (白塔寺药店楼上)

Photos supplied with the original guide.

A low-key entrance opens into a wabi-sabi room with plants and a fourth-floor tiled roof. The view is old Beijing: grey roofs, city gates, no glass towers. It is easy to walk past — look for a small door, not a big sign.

Where: Nanhuoshan Hutong, Xicheng (西城区南火扇胡同)

Photos supplied with the original guide.

A third-floor terrace looks directly at the golden roof of Yonghe Temple. Wudaoying is calmer than Nanluoguxiang; on a good day you can hear pigeon whistles and the lane feels like a village.

Where: Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng (东城区五道营胡同)

Photos supplied with the original guide.

The rooftop looks over the lake. At blue hour the water shifts from gold to blue, and the whole of Shichahai feels briefly quiet. Order something cold and stay for the transition.

Where: Near Shichahai (什刹海旁)

Photos supplied with the original guide.

One of the names that built Beijing’s specialty coffee scene. The Dongsi room mixes industrial fittings with hutong textures, and the Dirty is a good first step into milk-and-coffee balance. If you only have time for one coffee, make it this one.

Where: Dongsi branch, with another branch at Qianmen (东四店 / 前门店)

Photos supplied with the original guide.