The place
Having enjoyed notable popularity with their first location at Rockbund, Light & Salt’s second establishment is set in a stunning renovated house on Shaanxi Bei Lu.
In terms of looks, Light & Salt Daily’s décor team has outdone themselves, and we’d go so far as to say this is one of the best looking restaurants in the whole city.
The food
Looks can be deceiving however, since this place is experiencing grave problems in the kitchen. Bizarrely mushy foie gras terrine (RMB98) set the pace. A (literally) pale comparison to what this dish should be: a pure, unadulterated taste of foie gras.
A second appetizer of pan-roasted mussels (RMB127) proved equally disappointing. Large, old-tasting mussels, over-cooked to the point of stringiness and basking in a muddy brown sauce.
For mains, the ‘cheese pasta’ (RMB256, two people) stands out on the menu, prepared at the table by mixing the pasta inside a hollowed out cheese wheel and later topped with cream sauce, mushrooms and onsen egg.
Disappointingly, they’re using cheaper Gran Moravia from the Czech Republic rather than genuine Parmesan, which for RMB256 they really ought to be. They’re also mixing the plain pasta into the hollowed out cheese, meaning hardly any sticks to it. The result, a stubbornly bland dish that even a dousing of salt couldn’t rectify.
Desserts and cocktails provide little respite. Whisky sour (RMB55) with a whole stick of cinnamon (why?), and a watery Aperol spritz, concluded by an ostensibly toffee-free toffee sponge cake surrounded chia seeds (RMB47).
And lifeless ‘sea salt’ tiramisu (RMB55).
Food verdict: 0.5/3
Vibe
Despite all this, Light & Salt Daily is a busy restaurant. Full in fact, on our visit. Do these people have different taste in food or are we losing our minds? Both are possible, but one thing we know for sure is that Light & Salt Daily’s classy, relaxed atmosphere is by and large undermined by the standard of the food.
Vibe verdict: 0.5/1
Value for money
Even more tragically, Light & Salt Daily is not particularly cheap – our meal for two coming to almost RMB800. We won’t be back unless the food quality gets better.
Value for money: 0.5/1
TOTAL VERDICT: 1.5/5
Price: RMB200-400 per person
Who's going: young locals and expats
Good for: casual dinners, dates, global food
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