The pub-brewed Northern Peace, described as an amber-coloured ale, sold briskly, prompting Yorke to continue experimenting. All are likely to pair well with the traditional English fare on offer such as steak and ale pie, scampi with tartare sauce, cottage pie, bangers (sausages) and mash and, of course, Britain's most popular dish, Indian-style curry.

The Vine Leaf has been heralded as the city's first gastropub, but Yorke downplays any gastronomic expectations, insisting he is just trying to produce simple dishes well, using fresh ingredients. That formula already worked effectively at his previous operation, the neighbouring Vineyard Cafe, which has a broader-based Western menu featuring burgers, pizzas, sandwiches and baked potatoes and serves around 200 people a day.

Yorke, 36, who studied Chinese and speaks the language fluently, is something of an accidental restaurateur, after previous careers as a software instructor, kung fu teacher, disc jockey and record company promoter. After answering a call for help at a restaurant run by a pal of his wife, Xu Duan, he discovered a natural talent for putting together menus, supervising chefs and organising staff.

'The food was dire, so we worked hard on the menu and turned it around,' he says. 'I expanded the pizza menu and added burgers and lasagne and baked potatoes. We thought we might as well carry on in the business now that we had got the ball rolling, so we looked around for our own premises. 'We settled on Wudaoying hutong for the Vineyard Cafe, which is fairly convenient to get to. Everyone thought we were mad and predicted we'd fail. But we were relatively young and prepared to work hard on the business.'

It was such a success that Yorke was confident the Vine Leaf - targeted more towards expatriates than the predominantly local clientele at the Vineyard Cafe - would thrive. Most of the self-styled English pubs in the city serve bland, American-style fare rather than traditional dishes.

Perfecting pub grub has become something of a mission for Yorke. He has spent long hours in the kitchen working on the recipe for piccalilli, a bright yellow Western version of Indian pickles.

Chutney, a sweet relish that accompanies ploughman's lunches, sandwiches or curries, is made with whichever seasonal fruits are available in Beijing. An apple and walnut variety has proved to be a hit.

English residents of the city have been known to make a special trip to where the restaurant is located, just west of the Lama Temple, just to sample the Vine Leaf's take on the traditional Scotch egg. This does not generally find many takers outside England - a lump of breadcrumbed sausage meat wrapped round a boiled egg, apparently invented in famed upper-crust London shop Fortnum & Mason in the 18th century.

Yorke is still experimenting with his pork pie recipe after earlier attempts to make a pastry mould for the jellied-pork filling proved unsuccessful. He is not a man who takes the easy option.

'Everything is handmade,' he says 'The pies are all made in house, and all the pastry is made here. We stay true to the traditional methods of production; nothing is frozen. I get my sausages made for me by a butcher, but unfortunately you are not going to get good English-style back bacon here in China; people whinge about the lack of it.'

The proprietor is not anticipating a massive influx of local Chinese to sample the dishes, though people in the capital have become generally more willing these days to experiment with different cuisines and flavours. The Scotch eggs, pork pies and ploughman's lunches are targeted at a niche English expatriate audience.

'Chinese don't really know the foods, or the background to them,' he says. 'But some do like them.'