The beer is expensive for Mongolian standards and in all fairness is downright rubbish. The company that owns the bar, brews a beer under the same name, which is remarakably sour and tasteless. When compared to some of the other local beers like APU and Chinggis it pales in comparison.

However, during my time living in Mongolia I found Khanbrau useful as a meeting place at the start of the evening rather than a regular drinking haunt. It's central location (right by Sukhabbatar Square in the center of UB) means it is an ideal place for meeting up with friends. On top of this the food it serves - which is predominantly western - is pretty good and is a welcome change from the mutton based Mongolian diet.

What Khanbrau does have to offer that most other bars in UB don't is live music. The main room features a small stage which on weekends is often filled by aspiring Mongolian bands - not all of them are always that good. Behind the stage the bar also has a bizarre mural dedicated to the ageing western rockers Smokie. Even though their appeal may well be diminishing in the west Smokie are still big news in Mongolia, thanks mainly to the fact that they were the first band from the west to play in Ulaan Baatar after the collapse of Communism. It never failed to surprise me whenever I talked music with my Mongolian friends, who were all adamant that Smokie were true living legends.