Take one 200-square-metre terrace (complete with wood decking, potted plants and lounging guests), add a cityscape view (complete with building sites, cranes and a hypnotic display of lights) and mix with an impressive selection of bargain booze. The result: one of the best outdoor drinking spots in Beijing.

Despite this, Top Club is still seen by many as "just another bar" -- probably testament to the lounge below the rooftop terrace that is referred to in the establishment's name. With its red lighting and black walls, this dark, seedy little room downstairs looks as if it was modelled on a pimp's hideaway and has likely deterred most right-minded drinkers from going any further.

The good news is that the lounge is no longer part of the joint. Top Club's trio of owners-an American, a German and a Chinese guy-finally woke up to see the lounge's incredible power for putting off punters and are giving it a facelift. The result, they promise, will be an airy, "tropical-themed" space for customers to indulge in new Cajun-style food and cocktails served from a "huge" bar.

Whatever the end result, it's sure to be better than what was, and if it can lure people into Top Club and upstairs to the rooftop terrace, then all the better. When the winter comes, heaters will be installed and the roofed sections temporarily closed off to keep out the cold. If that fails, the vast selection of drinks -- from 50-yuan Martinis (two-for-one between 8pm and 11pm) to Erdinger Dunkel beer (45 yuan) and numerous vodkas and whiskeys to a bottle of Moet Brut (500 yuan), should keep the cold at bay.

Disk-spinning DJs keep the hips wiggling with a mix of dance, house and hip-hop throughout the week and the owners promise big name acts, such as Ben Mono, who played at the club last year, in the next few months. For drinking, dancing and a seriously underrated terrace, Top Club is the place to go.

Top Club and Lounge
Location: 4/F Tongli Studios, Sanlitun Beilu (next to Bar Blu), Chaoyang District Tel: 010-64131019