Customers at Botany enjoy intriguing cocktails with a city view.

On first hearing about Botany, it would be easy to dismiss it as yet another speakeasy－h(huán)ow many does Beijing have now? Like the best ones, however, Botany is inviting and comfortable, though you might not call it homey unless your postal code is rather posh.

The bartending duo, Zou and JC, welcome guests with the easy familiarity of house-party hosts. Press the doorbell (no sliding bookcase, no password here) and you get drinks that are subtle, layered and uniformly terrific, almost all priced at 85 yuan ($13).

They are served with freshly made snacks such as foie-gras crackers, dainty pancakes with minced pork and chives, and Spanish ham tarte flambe.

And while Zou has polish from years in Singapore and running bars at Maison Boulud, TRB and Domus in Beijing, the Hubei native's natural good cheer seems to blossom in his own space and place, where he can deliver something quite special.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Botany

Apt 1209, Building 2, Yongli International Building, Chaoyang district. 010-6463-6091.