Shanghai Cafe Review: Pâte

By Betty Richardson, May 22, 2017

The Place

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few months, you probably know that the sudden departure of a prominent patisserie chain has left something of a gap in the market for newcomers. Newcomers like Pâte, a patisserie shop and café serving up some seriously minimalist Melbourne café vibes from a corner of Fuxing Soho, just a croissant’s throw from Xintiandi.

The Food

In theme with keeping it simple, Pâte serves a menu of gorgeous cakes, viennoisserie and patisserie, priced from RMB25-45.

Some of them have an Aussie twist – as seen in the Lamington cake. This unique dessert starts off with a Victoria sponge with jam and cream filling, but is then dipped in chocolate and rolled in dried coconut. We loved its fun retro-ness.

More traditional French desserts are also to be found. The kouign amann, a Breton specialty enjoying a resurgence in the patisserie world, is deliciously caramelized and crunchy; its delicately puffed folds are basically a vehicle to transport butter to your mouth. You’ll want to pair this with a strong coffee, probably black.

Another highlight is the strawberry tart, piled with beautiful fresh fruit and thyme-infused cream onto a thin and buttery biscuit base.

Same with the lemon meringue tart.

Matcha lovers out there may also enjoy Pâte’s offerings. Though both the matcha tart and latte were a little sweet for us, we could taste green tea powder of good quality.

Food verdict: 2/3

The Vibe

Pâte is a place we can definitely see ourselves coming back to. The place lends itself to quiet afternoons spent over a laptop, a place to grab dessert or meet people over coffee. More than anything perhaps, we love the head-clearing properties the minimalist atmosphere provides.