During an eight-year stay in France, studying economics and management before undertaking work, Owner and Chef Gao Zhenzhe of Club 50 used cooking as a way to overcome homesickness. Over time, it became a skill. “I never thought it would be my career,” Gao said.

During his time in Paris, he achieved the Diplôme de Pâtisserie, a certificate issued to masters of French pastry. Gao then decided to study wine, obtaining a Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 award in wine and spirits. In between, he worked at well-known restaurants such as Pierre Hermé and Ladurée in Paris.

Upon returning to his hometown Beijing, instead of finding an economy or management-related job, he dove straight into the wine industry, becoming a sommelier in the hopes of educating people about what was available at home and abroad.

On March 1, 2016, his dream of having a restaurant came true, opening his venue and allowing him to experiment with food and wine pairings. To the 34-year-old Gao, Club 50 means “a gift to myself in 16 years, when I will turn 50 years old.” Apart from family-style French cuisine, he also likes to use seasonal ingredients to make creative dishes, often cooking with lobster, seafood, Japanese traditional soba, tajine, and couscous, as well as Shanghainese elements like garlic, croaker (a type of fish), and customer-tailored catering.

Cafe 50 features four salads: grilled salmon salad (RMB 68), Caesar salad (RMB 78), Caesar salad with grilled lamb fillet (RMB 78), and coconut papaya salad with fresh shrimp (RMB 78). They also serve beef – sous-vide New Zealand lamb tendon (450g, RMB 145), Australian beef ribs (600g, RMB 168), grilled Australian Angus filet steak (220g, RMB 198), ribeye steak (250g, RMB 228), sirloin steak (250g, RMB 228), and seafood grill (RMB 188).

For dessert, there’s Madeleine honey cake with lemon sorbet (RMB 48), satine cheesecake (RMB 48), and red velvet cake (RMB 68) – Gao pairs each with a different wine. The 13 wines on the wine list have also been carefully selected by Gao to match the seasonal menu. 

Club 50
Taiyanggong Beijie (in the same yard as Mongolian BBQ), Chaoyang (5745 8918)
朝阳区太阳宫北街欢乐牧人碳烤大营院内

More stories by this author here.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos: Zhenzhe Gao, Tracy Wang