If you hail from France, live in Beijing and haven't heard of Caf de la Poste, then pause for a minute to wallow in shame and quickly make amends.

In fact that goes for anyone who enjoys casting an eye over a quality wine list and a choice of seven types of steak. The caf has recently moved to its new home near the Lama Temple after being chopped in two by the demolition men of Nanluoguxiang only a few months after it first opened. Unfazed, the owner Yan, who owned a similar type of bistro for five years somewhere between Paris and Normandy, shrugged off the zero-compensation policy and reopened his wallet.

The focus of the establishment is the culinary cubicle in the middle of the dining area labelled "Cuisine." This is the starting point for a French-style Cornish pasty with an almond sauce for 29 yuan and steak tartare a true rarity in Beijing for 65 yuan.

On the far wall is a picture of a bull showing off effeminate eyelashes in front of a Manhattan skyline. Appropriately seductive for the extensive steak menu that does not exceed the 78-yuan mark. The remaining dcor of note is very French and very Beijing. One wall sports brasserie-style blackboards, while another is covered in art gallery adverts, and near the entrance is a series of shots of a leopard-skin bicycle seat.

Caf de la Poste is not all about eating. The banane flambe is dowsed in an incredibly generous amount of whisky, and a jar of the snake wine lurks in the corner. Apparently, the snake drowns to death in the alcohol, releasing amphetamines, which mix willingly with ginseng. It verges on hallucinogenic and, according to Yan, "It is very good for your health."

And it's legal. Yan has further grand plans. He has bought the shop next door to turn it into a delicatessen and he is bringing authentic tapas to Salud, a bar back in his old stomping ground of Nanluoguxiang.

Caf de la Poste (closed Mondays)
Location: 58 Yonghegong Dajie, Dongcheng
Tel: 010-64027047