New Shanghai Bars and Restaurants: January 2018

By That's Shanghai, January 3, 2018

Here are all the new restaurant and bar openings we featured in our January 2018 issue.

Restaurants

Terroir Parisien

Yannick Alléno: venerated custodian of French haute cuisine, recipient of six Michelin Stars and now patron to a third branch of bistro concept Terroir Parisien, situated in one of the rebuilt 'heritage' buildings of newly opened outdoor shopping complex Raffles City Changning. With a palate formed by experience in Parisian bistros owned by his family, Alléno knows better than most the secret ingredients that make this kind of restaurant so appealing. Strange then, that the remarkably cold and drab interiors of Terroir Parisien Shanghai have all the invitation of a highway service station.

Verdict: 2.5/5

Price: RMB350-500 per person
Who’s going: a smattering of locals and French expats
Good for: hiding from humanity

Read the full review here. See listing for Terroir Parisien.

Xime

Skipping the serious and esoteric side of Japanese cuisine in favor of the kitsch and casual, Xime is a contemporary izakaya that’s tearing up the restaurant rulebook. Its proprietor is British-born Sam Norris – whose previous efforts included Wishbone, and who counts experience in the kitchens of London’s upmarket restaurant Nobu. Xime’s chef is Kobe-native Jun Nishio. The word ‘Xime’ has two meanings – on the one hand it’s a traditional Japanese seal symbol, but in the context of noodles it means ‘tasty until the last drop,’ a fitting name since udon and soba dishes feature prominently.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Price: RMB70-200 per person
Who’s going: locals and expats
Good for: casual sushi, noodles, groups

Read the full review here. See listing for Xime.

Oha

Sharing plates and gastrolounges were the MVP’s of Shanghai dining for the past couple of years, but a seismic change is underfoot, judging by a flurry of ‘contemporary izakaya’ restaurants that have opened. Like last month’s hot ticket, Jeju Izakaya, Oha is also a bar-side eatery, owned by the same folks as Bar No 3. It’s defined by an ever-shifting menu of small plates focusing on local ingredients, a beverage program on equal footing with the kitchen, and most definitively, a bar-like setting.

Verdict: 4/5

Price: RMB200-350 per person
Who's going: mainly locals
Good for: cocktails, those avoiding overeating

Read the full review here. See listing for Oha.

Bars

Laundry Co.

In an age where speakeasies are starting to outnumber conventional, out-of-the-closet cocktail bars, we’ll forgive your groan upon hearing that Shanghai’s newest one is surreptitiously hidden behind a Laundromat. It’s called Laundry Co. (no relation to Liquid Laundry), and comes from the minds behind Barber Shop, which, you guessed it, does not offer haircuts.