Here are all the new restaurant and bar openings we featured in our May 2017 issue.
Restaurants
Hooked
From its surfboard signage, Maui-inspired floral baby blue and white color scheme and wooden communal tables and benches, Hooked gives the impression that it belongs on a beach next to the ocean, and its seafood-centric menu reinforces the summery vibes.
Featuring the ultimate British comfort food fish and chips, the ever-so-trendy poke bowls and every bro’s favorite drink – craft beer – it’s hard to imagine that Hooked won’t be a hit.
Price: RMB200-250 per person
Who’s going: Yongkang Lu refugees
Good for: seafood lovers, fried food-inclined, beer
Read the full review here. See listing here.
Pera Turkish Cuisine
From the folks who established Shanghai staple Pasha comes Pera, installed inside the very much fully-fledged Found 158 complex, now packing crowds that rival the busy Turkish streets from which the restaurant takes its name.
The match seems a congruous one. Pera’s approach to dining isn’t new-fangled, and when the weather’s nice you can easily pass the time sitting outside in the shade watching the inhabitants of Found 158 go about their business.
Price: RMB150-250 per person
Who’s going: Turkish expats, Found 158 wanderers
Good for: Turkish food, groups, casual dining
Read the full review here. See listing here.
Where? Supperclub
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it’s clear that Where Supperclub is a project carried out in earnest, with a big budget and lofty ambitions to boot.
We’ll get the obvious out of the way, the place is a lot like The Nest in both vibe and appearance – unsurprising given it was designed by the same people. Like the aforementioned, it hopes to become the hot dine, drink and low-key club venue du jour for Shanghai’s beautiful and damned.
Price: RMB300-400 per person
Who’s going: mainly locals
Good for: groups, cocktails, dinner that turns into partying
Read the full review here. See listing here.
Sanada Shokudou
The first iteration of this place was a cult hit with Shanghai’s Japanese expats, though changing tides forced a move to new digs just above Ramen David. Perhaps due to its erstwhile popularity, walking into Sanada is a more mysterious experience than it ought to be. With no signage save for a small glowing logo affixed to the wall, follow a paneled wood corridor to the second floor where an enormous wooden door stands imposingly next to a linen banner that wouldn’t look out of place in a cult. Inside this enormous door is another weeny Alice in Wonderland door, which you must squat down to enter through.
The weirdness ends there – inside is a bright, busy and functional-looking restaurant serving affordable home-style Japanese food to many Japanese diners.
Price: RMB100-200 per person
Who’s going: Japanese business types
Good for: home-style food, comfort food, groups, casual dining
See listing here.
Bars
The Magnolia Room
In the world of experimental cocktails, today’s mixologists must think up ever more alarming gimmicks and trinkets with which to adorn their drinks. Mack Ross is a man who rides this wave, but has carved out his own niche by serving edible tricks that complement his cocktails.
Having first tested the water with Tour, situated on the first floor, The Magnolia Room also goes with the drink plus ‘amuse bouche’ formula, though unlike the youthful vibes upstairs, The Magnolia Room has more the air of a 40s war bunker. We can imagine Winston Churchill sitting here making plans to thwart the Nazis over a few of Ross’ stronger drinks, of which there are several.
Price: RMB80-95/drink
Who’s going: mixed bunch of locals and expats
Good for: flying under the radar, craft cocktails, small groups, dates
See listing here.
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