Fennel

Fennel is a bar on the fourth floor of the Xilou building at 100 Cuihu North Road in Kunming, Yunnan province, China, in the Green Lake district. Cuihu, meaning Green Lake, is the leafy park-and-lake area at the heart of the old city, ringed by university buildings, cafes, guesthouses and restaurants, and Cuihu North Road is one of its main frontages. Being on an upper floor, the bar is a destination venue rather than a walk-in street bar, so the crowd tends to be people who have sought it out: university staff and students, expatriates, creative professionals and travellers staying in the lakeside neighbourhood. Most patrons are in their twenties to forties. Dress is casual to smart casual, and no strict door policy is published. The atmosphere is typically calm and conversational, a place to sit with friends over drinks instead of a high-energy dance venue. Music is generally background playlists at a volume that allows talking, though the specific style and any live programming are not published in the sources consulted. The drinks programme is likely to include beer, wine, spirits and cocktails typical of a mid-range Kunming bar, but no signature drink is documented, so visitors should check the menu on arrival. Prices are in the mid-range for the city. Opening hours are not published, so confirm locally; bars of this type in Kunming commonly open in the evening and stay open until after midnight, with Friday and Saturday the busiest. No cover charge is published and none is expected. Reservations are usually unnecessary for small groups, but a message ahead is sensible for larger parties on weekends. Bottle service is not a documented feature. The Green Lake location makes it easy to combine a visit with an evening walk around the lake or dinner at one of the many restaurants nearby, and taxis and ride-hailing cars serve the area throughout the night.