Shanghai Restaurant Review: Wutagei Yakitori 宴

The place

We have our fair share of problems in Shanghai, but finding good Japanese restaurants ain't one. We're blessed with a number of very fine Japanese eateries – some excellent – bolstered by a community of Japanese expats with whom we share the city. (More on our love affair with Japanese food here, here and here.)

Anyhow, back to Wutagei, a newly opened yakitori grill on Nanyang Lu, just behind Nanjing Xi Lu's Shanghai Centre. Instantly recognizable as a Japanese restaurant from the outside, the interiors are still flush with the smell of construction. 

The food

Strictly speaking, the term 'yakitori' refers to 'grilled chicken,' but nowadays it applies more broadly to skewered, grilled food in general. As such, Wutagei offers a bunch of various meats – chicken and otherwise – cooked over a charcoal grill and served on skewers. 

Unlike your standard yakitori den, Wutegei also has Western dishes for mains. Furthermore, this place feels a little more upscale than a normal yakitori-ya. Elegant wine glasses are placed on all the tables, with bottled Aqua Panna offered instead of the standard complimentary cups of tea. 

We kicked things off with a starter of spicy garlic prawns with fried rice cakes (RMB68) – reasonably tasty but a little oily, and the shrimps a touch over-cooked. Not a 'must-order.' 

Next fried rice balls with cheese and fresh tomato sauce (RMB38), these were far tastier, but as you can see there's absolutely fuck all cheese in there. Don't toy with me when it comes to cheese, Wutagei. 

Finally onto the yakitori. We'll admit – we had our doubts that Wutagei would be able to pull off decent yakitori, a cuisine that typically lends itself to more casual, 'down 'n' dirty' types of restaurants. Nevertheless, Wutagei's were good.

We like our yakitori on the more traditional side, i.e. chicken and offal cuts. However, Wutagei offers a number of more contemporary skewers too, such as bell peppers, salmon, mushrooms, chicken meatballs, miso eggplant and so forth. 

Highlights for us included chicken leg with juicy charred leeks, chicken cartilage (RMB15 each) and beef tongue (RMB38 each).

Perfectly crisp chicken skin with cracked black pepper (RMB15 each) was one of our favorites for sure, and went perfectly with our flagons of chilled Asahi beer. 

Chicken hearts, liver and gizzards (RMB15), another favorite of the evening – offaly good!

The foie gras (RMB58) had a nice flavor with the plummy red sauce it was served with, but could have used being sliced a little thicker to retain texture. 

For mains we tried roasted miso codfish with sweet butter and ginger sauce (RMB148). Very nicely cooked fish in an excellently buttery sauce, with a subtle note of sweet ginger in the aftertaste, but really no need for salad or random tomatoes on the side. For RMB148 a dish, all the elements need to work together harmoniously rather than being a last minute addition to bulk the plate up. 

Desserts were OK, but nothing mind-blowing. Caramel mousse with caramelized apple (RMB38) didn't taste homemade. Neither did the chopped fruit salad on the side resemble a caramelized apple. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pear compote with white wine and ice cream (RMB38). Lots of potential for rich, fruity and wine-y flavors in a simple and easy-to-make dish like fruit compote that Wutagei didn't fulfill. We suspect the kitchen is capable of doing a lot better, but it's currently treating desserts as an afterthought. Whether or not that counts as a cardinal sin depends on how sweet your tooth is. 

Food verdict: 2/3

Vibe

Wutagei strikes as a restaurant that will be more becoming when full. It's a large space to fill, and when we come again we'll endeavor to sit at the bar on the ground floor next to the charcoal grill. In addition to the main dining room upstairs, there's also a private room with seating for around 20. Service is reasonably prompt, organized, and non-distracting from the eating at hand. Ultimately, the vibe here is neither vibrantly exciting nor unpleasant. 

Vibe verdict: 0.5/1

Value for money

It's pretty tricky to assess the value for money aspect at Wutagei, and we suspect that as a concept it will not be without its detractors – 'high-end chuar' springs to mind. If it's just yakitori you're after, then there are cheaper and more authentic options around town that by and large fulfill the yakitori experience. On the other hand, if you're coming for more formal dining then Wutagei is able to oblige. 

Value for money: 0.5/1

TOTAL VERDICT: 3/5

Price: RMB170-250 per person

Who's going: local clientele, for now

Good for: yakitori, Japanese food, medium groups

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