There’s a lot of chatter about La Stazione, the hotly anticipated restaurant designed as a homage to an old Italian station and headed by the folks behind Goodfellas, MVP and Sushi Abuse. Having been tipped to open in November, Stazione was delayed until quite recently, victim to the customary setbacks which often befall newly opening restaurants in this city. We’ll admit – we were excited to try out this place out, having waited so long. Now that it’s finally open, we can say that Stazione totally delivers on some, but not all, of its promise.
Inside, we absolutely love the station theme. It boasts tasteful art deco accents, a two-story waterfall of champagne glasses and old-world furniture contributing to a fantastic atmosphere that’s at once relaxed, romantic and fun. It’s exactly the place you’d want to spend your Friday evening, eating dinner and drinking cocktails before a night out on the town.
Said cocktails veer towards the murderously strong. Our negroni (RMB58) was amongst the booziest in recent memory – a perfect aperitivo to whet the appetite. Joint-owner and sometimes-bartender Carl Wikander is determinedly passionate about mixology - ask to see his negroni tattoo if you don’t believe us. And don’t even get us started on the friendly and relaxed wait staff, the majority of whom seem genuinely happy to be there and, dare we say it, having a good time.
That said, this is a restaurant - and in the food department, we’re sorry to say that Stazione loses us. The menu focuses on ubiquitous Italian classics such as arancini, lobster linguine, various pizzas and meaty entrees like tenderloin steak with grilled vegetables, below.
It’s clear Stazione is using good quality ingredients - particularly cheeses, prosciutto, fresh salmon and the like - but these all suffer the same strange fate of being underseasoned. After several courses, we yearned for some bolder flavors.
The highlight was a generously portioned lobster atop a bed of red pesto-doused linguine (RMB198, below), the underseasoned sauce salvaged by a handful of incredibly sweet and flavorsome cherry tomatoes.
Fortunately, underseasoned food is among the more solvable problems a restaurant can encounter. Perhaps somebody in senior management has a more sensitive palate than most, but to our minds the kitchen really could do with taking a few more risks. We’re not saying to go all out on the spice offensive, but a kick of boldness would do justice to the hip and lively atmosphere Stazione has already got figured out.
Stazione is worthy of a visit, and affordably priced too. What’s more, on weekends the place stays open late, very late. Sometimes until 3-4am. With a few improvements to the food, this place has the potential to be a future Shanghai classic.
Price: RMB200 per person
Who’s going: Mixed bunch of locals and expats
Good for: Drinks, casual dinner, big groups, dates, live music
> See a listing for La Stazione.
See more Shanghai restaurant reviews.
0 User Comments