Be There or Be Square Cafe, Beijing

Despite the off-putting name, this is actually quite a decent café-type place. Large menu, with English translations. We ate there twice, the first time we ordered two meals and something from the snack menu as a side order - portion size made this a mistake. Side order from snack menu sufficed as a meal in itself on a subsequent visit. Other food sampled was a spicy vegetarian hotpot (very nice), spicy chicken hotpot and a chicken rice dish. There were also ‘Western’ items such as spaghetti bolognaise available on the menu. Definitely worth stopping off to refuel cheaply while out sight seeing or shopping. Clean and with friendly staff. We sat in the smaller non-smoking section - the smoking section looked very, well, smokey! Located in the Oriental Plaza, 10 mins from Tiananmen but I understand it’s a chain so there may be others in Beijing. Entering from the front of Oriental Plaza, take the stairs to the basement and then walk the length - Be There or Be Square is right at the back (if entering from other doors, just check on the indoor maps - its in the basement).