Bars & Drinking
First things first, Dogtown will be closed basically from right now until the weather warms up in spring. Definitely not closed forever.
Following a slight lull in openings, a new cocktail bar, Candor, joins the crowd on Shaanxi Nan Lu, a project by Aaron Feder and partner Melody Chen. Plush carnival themed interiors on the inside, an extensive cocktail list and a pole installed in the middle of the bar... sounds like a recipe for debauchery!
Meanwhile the brains behind Kung Fu Komedy finally have their own club (not klub?!) to rule from. In the same building as Kartel on Julu and Xiangyang Bei Lu, the place is pretty compact but has its own bar from which punters can be heckled.
Speaking of Kartel, they've just made good use of their rooftop with Le Refuge, a new Alpine chalet inspired bar and terrace. They've got all kinds of winter appropriate luxuries like mulled wine, cheese raclette, space heaters...
Another new speakeasy bar has also recently opened at 615 Yongjia Lu. Named Barber Shop, the bar serves cocktails and whisky, and is accessed by secret doorway from the front, which is a barber shop, by the way. Sadly no acapella quartets (yet...).
Popular former French Concession bar Arcade has reopened after renovations for a supersonic, true to theme feel, namely a host of illuminating neon lights. Somewhat surprisingly, they’ve also teamed up with Pie Society every Wednesday for a pie promotion. Pac-Man would approve.
Speaking of outside bars, Morton’s Steakhouse in Pudong’s IFC Mall recently unveiled their fancy Sky Bar after several years of red tape. The place offers top-notch views of Lujiazui, but you’ll have to wait until spring to enjoy them.
Another new bar that opened recently is Dope Shīfù, a trendy little establishment up in North Jing'an. In addition to well-priced booze they also have a surprisingly decent (and cheap) food menu. Read our review of that right here.
Further casual drinking can also be found at new bar/man cave That One Place. Very good, cheap cocktails, conversation and a rotating food menu throughout the week. Review of that one here.
Food & Restaurants
Remember Madison? Of course you do. The place closed several months back to relocate to a new spot on Huaihai Lu. That doesn't seem to have happened so far, and several former Madison staff have broken off to start a new restaurant of their own. Headed up by ex-sous chef Andy Xu, Reunion Bar & Kitchen is now open on Yongjia Lu. They also have plans to revive a version of Madison's extremely popular brunch.
There’s been lots of goings on at Tianzifang, a place whose reputation for dining formerly extended to little more than fecal-themed restaurant More Than Toilet. That’s set to change with East Eatery, the latest project from Stefan Stiller, which serves a serious menu of stuffed baos, noodles and more. See also Rangoli's Indian Buffet for more good new eats in Tianzifang.
Yongkang Lu also has another feather in its cap in the form of succinctly named Nom Nom Eat, Drink & Be Merry Café. Bright and sunny-feeling inside, they have good croissants, decent coffee and not much else.
We have reservations about ‘announcing’ this one, but we have it on reasonable authority that Hawaiian restaurant Alan Wong’s is opening on December 17. No, really, we mean it this time. The place has been delayed for almost a year, to the point that we thought the pineapple-studded dream was dead.
Definitely opened in the Shanghai Centre, however, is Saigon Mama, a new Vietnamese place nestled in, um, the car park entrance of the Shanghai Centre (commercial rent really is sky high, folks!). Read our review of that here.
Over at beauteous French villa eatery Bistro 321 Le Bec, plans for a glamorous new oyster bar are underway. Renovations are still ongoing, but expect it to open 'in the near future.' Nice and specific, that one.
The VOL group has also been busy too, they've just opened one of their first outings into Chinese cuisine. Named 'From A Chinese Cookbook' the restaurant is situated in the Cool Docks area and headed up by acclaimed Chinese chef Jereme Leung, formerly of Three on the Bund's Whampoa Club and Shanghai Tang Café.
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