Oggi Pizzeria is an Italian-owned restaurant that aims to reproduce the essence of Southern Italy in Guangzhou. To do this they have the skills of Chef Raffaele De Gregorio from the island of Capri who has created a menu that combines both Pizzeria and Trattoria.

Oggi has recently expanded into the Jian She Liu Ma Lu area with a new restaurant just off the main street. Their original restaurant is located in Ti Yu Lu and is large with a pleasant outdoor seating area. The new restaurant is much smaller and cosy, but is nicely situated away from the main road. Until recently it had a very nice outdoor area overlooking a public square, but local authorities seem to have stopped that.

This is a very popular place for locals eating lunch or dinner, and it is very much a canteen environment with an almost ruthless level of efficiency designed to serve lots of food to lots of people.

Set in the funky catacombs that are the Backstreet underneath Citic Plaza, Le Vila is a stylish modern café restaurant that aims to bridge the gap between quality and value for money, and this it does with enthusiasm.

If you've never been to the backstreet, it is a tunnel that goes under Citic Plaza, and can be found just outside the main shopping mall. The tunnel is full of small boutique shops, restaurants, a foreign-food supermarket, and lots of other interesting designer places. Le Vila can be found immediately upon entering one entrance, and is a large café with an 'outdoor' seating area (outdoor of the café) that is pleasantly surrounded with plants and water.

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• Guangzhou Museum (Zhenhai Tower)
• Sculpture of the Five Rams
• Guangzhou Museum Of Fine Arts
• Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Monument
• Ming Dynasty City Wall
• Square Cannon Site

Buongiorno is one of the latest batch of Western restaurants in Guangzhou, and has a prime location in the popular Jian She Liu Ma Lu area (just opposite the Garden Hotel). The restaurant is owned and staffed by Italians, and you are guaranteed to see the Italian owners running around the restaurant and ensuring everyone is happy during busy periods.

Sleepingwood Bar & Restaurant is a relaxed earthy place located a few buildings up from the Holiday Inn.

Unlike most other bars in Guangzhou, Sleepingwood is not on a main street, and has a garden where you can sit in peace without hassle from traffic or pedestrians. The decor is akin to most Western style bars, with lots of ornamentation and pictures, and the food is a Chinese/Western collage. Prices are decent and there is a good selection of food and beers.

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Another pub in the Huan Shi Dong Lu area is the Gold Mango, a relaxed pub with a friendly manager Tommy, who is always willing to talk. The pub itself is situated in a string of several other pubs, and seems to be a popular hang-out for older gentleman and younger ladies. Not especially a family setting.

A hugely popular bar with British (and other) expats, taking it's name from a London suburb. Located in the middle of the Huan Shi Dong Lu area it is fully equipped with pool and other bar games, as well as showing sporting events from around the world.

The restaurant ostensibly serves Latin-American styled food, although it borders on the generic American Italian. The prices are high and portions are small. Drinks, although available in a wide array of forms, are equally served in small quantities. Ask for a glass of wine and you’ll think yourself the butt of a joke; drink it fast otherwise the meagre serving will evaporate.

The Vietnamese Restaurant is a newly opened restaurant run by the same people as the Lemon House, but with a much more authentic Vietnamese styling.

The restaurant serves good quality Vietnamese food. It is not cheap, nor is it peaceful, and you may come away wondering what all the fuss is about.