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Malone's American Cafe
This American-style bar/grill has been around since the mid-90s and is still popular with those in search of beer and a wide range of decent burgers (there are 31 of them on offer with fries and coleslaw). There are also wraps, a range of Tex-Mex and China's only Philly cheesesteak. Big-screen sports, a pool table and live music of the Filipino cover-band variety (from ) add to the frat-boy vibe.
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Marco Polo
With branches handily located all over Shanghai, Marco Polo is an excellent source of fresh bread, cakes and pastry snacks. The Xinhua Road branch (6282 6624; 208 Xinhua Rd) has an attached café.
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Méilóngzhèn Jiǔjiā
Perhaps Shanghai's most famous local restaurant, this fantastic old building has been churning out food since the 1930s. The rooms once housed the Shanghai Communist Party headquarters but are now bedecked in woodcarvings, huge palace lamps and photos of foreign dignitaries. The menu mixes Sìchuān and Shanghainese tastes and ranges from the pricey (the crab; around Y150 ) to the more reasonable, such as the Y45 fried fish slices. English menu.
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Mesa
Mesa is a good spot for fine dining in a casual atmosphere. The former factory has been renovated just enough to be en vogue, but touches like exposed steel support beams remind you to leave the tie at home. The menu appears to have roots somewhere in France, but has since found a distinctive Australasian niche. The mega-popular weekend brunches (from around Y80 ) are kid-friendly too. Upstairs is the swish bar Manifesto. Reserve.
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Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
Despite being Shanghai's most famous dumpling restaurant, this place is overrated and overpriced. Hordes of tourists, both domestic and foreign, descend on the place and you won't even get near it on weekends. If you do get a table, the service is perfunctory and you can find equally tasty and cheaper xiǎolóngbāo (steamed dumplings) at street stalls around the city. The takeaway deal is better, but the queue snakes half-way around the Bazaar.
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Nepali Kitchen
Reminisce about that Himalayan trek over a plate of Tibetan momos (meat or vegetable dumplings) or a chicken choila amid prayer flags in this homey place. For a more laid-back meal, take your shoes off and recline on traditional cushions, surrounded by colourful thangkas and paper lamps. Prices are higher than the Annapurna Circuit, but then you're not just eating dhal bhat . Both the set lunch and dinner are a good bet.
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On 56
The spectacular Grand Hyatt offers a stylish selection of Western and Asian restaurants, all of which come with super 56th-floor views. Cucina has wonderful Italian dishes from Campania and breads and pizzas fresh from the oven. Grill offers fine imported meats and seafood. The Japanese Kobachi features sushi, sashimi and yakimori . Canton is the flagship and features Cantonese food and afternoon dim sum.
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Ooedo
Ooedo is one of the nicest Japanese restaurants in Shanghai, with little touches like the kimono-clad wait staff and open sushi bar setting it apart from many competitors. There are sashimi sets for around Y150 , but nearly everyone opts for the Y200 all-you-can-eat sushi, tempura and sake buffet.
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Pamir Restaurant
Excellent lamb kebabs, nan bread and Central Asian noodles (try the suoman - fried noodle squares with tomatoes and green peppers) make for a refreshing change of tastes at this no-frills Uighur restaurant. Wash it down with a bottle of Xinjiang Black Beer or a pot of kok chai (green tea).
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People 6
Number 6 is more of a dining option than its sibling People 7, with café-style window seating or upstairs dining with a bird's-eye view down on to the bar. But the menu is a similar mix of reasonably priced Asian fusion cuisine. The tables and moody low lighting make it a good place for an intimate dinner. There's a nice bamboo-lined approach down a winding path, before you reach the Star Trek -like door.
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Pǐnchuān
The telltale blend of chillies and peppercorns is best summed up in two words: là (spicy) and má (numbing). Experience the tongue tingling yourself in this multicoloured villa: try Chef Lu's chicken special, málà (chicken in red pepper) or stone-boiled beef, prepared by cooking strips of beef on stir-fried pebbles. The duck with sticky rice will soothe your tastebuds. English menu. Reserve.
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Punjabi
The set lunch/dinner deals are the main reason to search out the Punjabi. The set dinner (around Y85 ) with all-you-can-drink Tsingtao beer makes this a decent place to start the evening. The set lunch (around Y49 ), including two curries, dhal, raita and dessert, is also a good deal. Despite the pukka Hindi music, the large hall is better suited to groups than couples. There are other branches in Pudong and Gubei.
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Quánjùdé
This branch of the famous Peking duck restaurant chain offers more than 100 dishes made from every conceivable part of a duck's anatomy. The big draw, of course, is the juicy roasted duck served with pancakes, scallions and plum sauce. Half of one with the trimmings costs around Y69 . The deluxe is rounded off with a soup, essential for digestion if you've stuffed yourself. The brave should order fried scorpions with liver, another speciality.
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Ruzzi
A bright orange-and-blue café with wi-fi access, Ruzzi makes for a good cheap lunch option. The Italian-themed food includes pasta, pizza and salads. The pizzas (including an option for Peking duck topping) get better marks than the pasta.
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Sens & Bund
It probably won't make your list if you're in town for no more than a couple of days, but this outpost of the celebrated Pourcel twins' culinary empire is popular with visiting businessmen and moneyed locals. French chefs Jacques and Laurent remain true to form in Shanghai, combining local ingredients with time-tested southern French techniques. The seared foie gras and turbot with vanilla scented potato and baby artichokes will hit the spot.
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Shanghai Uncle
This is Shanghai in a nutshell: brash, bustling and just a little tacky. The owner is the son of a New York Times food critic and the dishes mix Western and Asian influences with Shanghainese cooking to surprising and succulent effect. The seafood dishes are particularly good - a steamed Yangtze sole, a gingery-sweet smoked fish - as are the pine-seed pork ribs in a soy, Worcester and red wine sauce and crispy duck with sticky rice stuffing.
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Shintori Null Ii
The warehouse industrial-chic interior here resembles a set from a Peter Greenway film, from the eye-catching open kitchen, which looks like it should house Hannibal Lector, to the sleek staff running around like an army of ninjas. The menu is equally witty; try the cold noodles, which come in a bowl made of real ice. The green tea tiramisu is a classic Shanghai fusion dish. Reserve.
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Shǔ Dì Làzi Yú Guǎn
Most celebrity-owned restaurants in China are temples of style over substance. Not this place, which is the brainchild of a famous Sìchuān actor. Both the prices and décor are decidedly downmarket, but there's nothing cut-rate about the food. An intriguing mix of Sìchuān and northeastern classics with a dash of Shanghainese flavour, they're consistently tasty. Try the fried shredded beef with preserved chillies or the spicy fish. English menu.
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Simply Thai
Justifiably popular and ever-expanding chain of Thai restaurants serving reasonably priced classic dishes such as green and red curries and Tom Yum Soup and quirky ones like the Thai-style straw mushroom salad with mango. This branch has a nice tree-shaded patio, perfect for alfresco dining in the warmer months. They deliver, too.
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Sōngyuèlóu
Shanghai's oldest veggie restaurant, dating back to 1910, this place offers a far cheaper and more authentic dining experience than most of the tourist-saturated restaurants in the area. There's the usual mix of tofu masquerading as chicken and pork, as well as a good range of soups.
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South Beauty
This elegant Sìchuān-Cantonese hybrid facing the Bund offers a little something for everyone. For spice, try the spicy beef; for milder fare, the half-roasted duck infused with tea should please. Reserve a seat in front of the glass-paned kitchen, and the secrets of Chinese haute cuisine might be yours before the night is out. There's another branch in the French Concession (6445 2581; 28 Taojiang R). English menu.
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Southern Barbarian
There's nothing remotely barbaric about the food here. Fine, MSG-free Yunnan cuisine is served by friendly staff in a laid-back atmosphere. The barbecued freshwater snapper with a cumin and peppercorn glaze is a sublime explosion of flavours, the spicy beef with crispy fried mint leaves is almost as good. But leave room for the chicken wings, covered in an addictive secret sauce. They also serve bottled Belgian beers. English menu. Reserve.
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Spice Market
Spice Market is a Who's of Asian dishes, from pad thai to nasi goreng , along with more interesting fare like the grilled whole fish with chilli, dry shrimps and coconut stuffing. Thai dishes are authentically fiery, with sweet tamarind sauce to cool the mouth, and there are lots of lime, coconut and satay tastes. The décor is divided into traditional Thai, Singapore and Malay seating.
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T8
T8 is designed to seduce, which it does exceptionally well. The renovated grey-brick shíkùmén (stone-gate house) is the perfect setting for the dark, warm interior decorated with antique Chinese cabinets, carved wooden screens and the striking feng shui-driven entrance. The menu is 'modern Mediterranean with Asian influences' - T8's signature dish is Sìchuān high pie with yellow coriander bisque. Shanghai's celebs love this place. Reserve.
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Tairyo
All-you-can-eat deals are popular in Shanghai, but nothing compares to Tairyo's teppanyaki steak house. The cooks here may lack the savoir-flair of true teppanyaki chefs, but the branches keep opening (there are now 11) and no one seems to complain. Don't limit yourself to the grill; there's also excellent sashimi and pitchers of sake - all included in the buffet - so start working up an appetite. Another branch at 15 Dongping Rd; 6445 4734.
