World City Guide

Restaurants

Introduction
Here is a selection of some of the best restaurants in Shanghai. The selected restaurants have been divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations, and they are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments. The restaurants have also been classified into four different pricing categories:

$ (up to US$12)
$$ (US$12 to US$24)
$$$ (US$ 25 to US$49)
$$$$ (over US$50)

The prices quoted are for an average three-course meal for one person and for a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent; they do not include VAT or service charge, unless stated otherwise.

Gastronomic

Jean-Georges
Enfant terrible Jean-George Vongerichten has wowed diners from Chicago to Hong Kong with his upscale Vong brand. Now he has opened a high-class restaurant, sublimely designed by Michael Graves, which serves new French cuisine. Opened pre-Pourcel twins, it was an undoubted revolution in Shanghai cuisine, the dining room is chic and sensual and the food is sensational.

Three on the Bund
3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu (entrance on Guangdong Lu)
Tel: (21) 6321 7733.
Website: www.threeonthebund.com
Price range: $$$$

M on the Bund
Now five years’ old, M remains a Shanghai pioneer – and the first upscale restaurant located along the Bund. Australian-owned, and sister to Hong Kong’s M at the Fringe, the cuisine melds Mediterranean and Australian styles. The stylish atmosphere, unbeatable terrace views of the Bund and the nighttime Pudong skyline and a good wine menu make this Shanghai’s no 1 venue to impress visitors. Pre-dinner drinks at the adjoining Glamour Bar are, frankly, de rigeur.

7/F, No 5 The Bund (corner of Guandong Lu)
Tel: (21) 6350 9988.
Website: www.m-onthebund.com
Price range: $$$

Sens et Bund
Shanghai’s first three-star Michelin star restaurant was opened in November 2004 by France’s superchef Pourcel twins. It forms part of the new upscale restaurant, bar and retail complex, Bund 18 – and has already drawn favourable comparisons with the its sister restaurant in Montpellier. Upscale French dining is a sumptuous setting.

Bund 18, Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu
Tel: (21)6323 7066.
Website: www.bund18.com
Price range: $$$$

Business

Ashoka
Innovative Indian dishes served in a classy second-floor restaurant in a shopping mall opposite the JW Marriott hotel. Despite its inauspicious location, this is certainly the best Indian restaurant in town. It attracts a mixed clientele, all of whom appreciate a menu that offers a little more than chicken tikka massala and meat madras. Also affords great views of People’s Square.

3/F Ciro’s Plaza
388 Nanjing Xi Lu (by Huangpi Bei Lu)
Tel: (21) 6334 5989.
Price range: $$

Simply Thai
Intimate and unpretentious the setting maybe, but it serves the best Thai food in Shanghai, period. Nestled on the up-and-coming Dongping Lu, which has something of an NYC ‘village’ feel, Simply Thai is well located near several bars for pre- or post-dinner drinks. That said, it would be a mistake not to linger awhile and enjoy the rich flavours and generous portions.

5C Dongping Lu (by Hengshan Lu)
Tel: (21) 6445 9551.
Website: www.simplythai-sh.com
Price range: $$

T8
Blending both Asian and mediterranean flavours and interior design styles, T8 scores well on both style and substance. One of Xintiandi’s most-noted dining experiences, it is popular with a business clientele that enjoys eclectic food and fine wines. The food and the ambience neatly captures the essence of both 1930s and early-21st century Shanghai.

North Block, Xintiandi
Tel: (21) 6355 8999.
Website: www.ghmhotels.com/japanese/T8
Price range: $$$

Trendy

Azul/Viva
New-latino cuisine blended with Mediterranean and Asian flavours. It sounds surreal, but it really works. Located on two floors, both restaurants serve the same eclectic mix of tapas and main courses, to-die-for desserts and good wines. Though all dishes are carefully prepared and the Moorish-influenced interiors are super-chic, prices are well below comparable restaurants in more established locations, such as the Bund.

18 Dongping Lu (by Hengshan Lu)
Tel: (21) 6433 1172.
Price range: $$$

Element Fresh
Resident expat haven for great salads, pasta, juices and comfort food as well as the most popular Sunday brunch in town. Clean, spacious and with a nice terrace for summer eating, Element Fresh serves good-sized portions and the waiting staff are extremely attentive.

Shanghai Centre
1376 Nanjing Xi Lu (by Xikang Lu)
Tel: (21) 6279 8682.
Price range: $$

Shintori
The unmarked grey façade is confusing (look for the house number plaque), but once inside you cannot fail to be wowed by the fabulous warehouse-chic décor and beautiful use of space. This place would not seem out of place in NYC’s Meat Packing district. Serves imaginative Japanese cuisine to a hip and stylish clientele.

803 Julu Lu (by Fumin Lu)
Tel: (21) 5404 5252.
Price range: $$$

Budget

Guyi Hunan
If you like your Chinese food tongue-scaldingly hot, Guyi is a good bet. A vast menu and ubiquitous use of chilli, make this one of the hottest regional restaurants in town. Most people opt for a personal hotpot – and a gallon of lager. The food is well-prepared, good value and always tasty. Expect to queue without a reservation on the weekends.

89 Fumin Lu (by Julu Lu)
Tel: (21) 6249 5628.
Price range: $

Hot Pot King
Spicy and meaty Sichuan hotpots are the speciality here, and the King does them better than anywhere else in Shanghai. There are three venues across town, all of which are extremely popular and serve until the early hours. The setting is pretty cool and service excellent. Not one for non-meat eaters though.

1416 Huaihai Lu (by Fuxing Lu)
Tel: (21) 6473 6380.
Price range: $

Nan Xiang
Probably the best place to savour Shanghai’s favourite food, xiao long bao (soup dumplings). These filling snacks consist of a flour dumpling shell filled with meat and soup. First-timers need to watch out for a) burning their mouth and b) spurting soup down themselves. Also serves Shanghainese dishes and noodles.

Yuyuan Gardens, 85 YuYuan Lu
Tel: (21) 6355 4206.
Price range: $

Personal Recommendations

Da Marco
A long-standing favourite for Shanghai’s pizza and pasta buffs. Bucks the Shanghai trend for elaborately styled dining space in favour of a home-style Italian trattoria, and instead concentrates on its flavours. Excellent breads, wines and pastas are the house specialities and the bill won’t sting your wallet too heavily.

62 Yandang Lu (by Nanchang Lu)
Tel: (21) 6385 5998.
Price range: $$

KABB
Smart-yet-friendly bar and grill which welcomes after-work diners, tourists and business visitors in equal measure. Gently lit interior and open terrace in summer provide a balanced eating environment. The eclectic menu, ranging from burgers to pasta and Tex-Mex to stir-fry, is neither particularly cheap nor earth-shattering, but the unthreatening ambience is perfect for unwinding, people watching or staring into the eyes of the one you love.

5 North Block, Xintiandi
Tel: (21) 3307 0798.
Price range: $$

Vegeatery
A recent addition to Shanghai’s burgeoning Chinese meat-free scene, Vegeatery manages to combine good food with stylish surroundings. The excellent value lunch buffet is complemented by a large evening menu, helpful staff and a bright, airy dining space. Though located on the second floor of a shopping mall, it rises well above the usual ‘food court’ cliché.

3/F Central Plaza
381 Huaihai Zhong Lu (by Madang Lu)
Tel: (21) 6391 5589.
Price range: $