Shanghainese restaurants in Shànghǎi
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A
1221
No one has a bad thing to say about this smart expat favourite and rightly so, as it has never let its standards dip over the years. Meat dishes start at Y42 for the beef and dough strips (yóutiáo), and the plentiful eel, shrimp and squid dishes are around twice that. Other tempting fare includes the roast duck (Y108) and braised pork (Y68). The pan-fried sticky rice and sweet bean paste (from the dim-sum menu) makes a good dessert. It’s also worth ordering the eight-fragrance tea just to watch it served spectacularly out of 60cm-long spouts. Reserve.
reviewed
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B
Lynn
Newfangled dim sum and Shanghai-meets-Cantonese cuisine in a splendidly stylish setting. Adventurous standouts mix with traditional dishes: look for eggplant with minced pork, chicken with sesame pockets and deep-fried ribs with honey and garlic. Sundays bring an all-you-can-eat brunch for Y78. Reserve a table.
reviewed
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C
Bǎoluó Jiǔlóu
Gather up a boisterous bunch of friends for a fun-filled meal at this typically chaotic and cavernous Shànghǎi institution, which has lines out the door late into the night. Try the excellent lion's head meatballs, lotus-leaf roasted duck or the bǎoluó kǎomàn (保罗烤鳗; baked eel).
reviewed
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D
Bai’s Restaurant
This family-run restaurant has only a handful of tables and the food is deservedly popular, so book ahead. Try a few of Bai’s fried savoury pork ribs and tiger-skin chillies.
reviewed
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E
Lánxīn Cāntīng
The best Shanghainese kitchens are the hole-in-the-walls along Jinxian Rd. These aren’t design-heavy restaurants started by savvy investors or international superchefs, they’re unpretentious and family-run – the last of a dying breed. Dishes to savour include the classic hóngshāo ròu ( 红烧肉; braised pork; Y30), the delectable gānshāo chāngyú ( 干烧鲳鱼; quick-fried Pomfret fish; Y50-65) and even the xiǎopái luóbo tāng ( 小排萝卜汤; spare-rib-and-radish soup; Y20). For total immersion, order a bottle of warm huáng jiǔ ( 黄酒; traditional Chinese wine; Y30). If the wait is too long, Hǎijīnzī ( 海金滋; 240 Jinxian Rd) at the western end of …
reviewed
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F
Wáng Bǎohé Jiǔjiā
Over 250 years old, this restaurant is a Shànghǎi institution. Its fame rests on its extravagant selection of crab dishes and its popularity reaches an apex during hairy-crab season (October to December). Most diners opt for one of the all-crabs-must-die banquets (Y350 to Y880), but if you’re new to hairy crab, you might want to give it a try elsewhere before shelling out for an eight-course meal – it’s debatable as to whether this place is still top-rate. Be sure to reserve.
reviewed
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Shanghai Uncle
This restaurant is what Shànghǎi is all about: 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 Yangzi sole, a gingery-sweet smoked fish (Y36) – but the pine-seed pork ribs in a soy, Worcester and red wine sauce (Y88) and crispy duck with sticky-rice stuffing (Y108) are excellent too.
reviewed
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Shanghai Uncle
This restaurant is what Shànghǎi is all about: 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 Yangzi sole, a gingery-sweet smoked fish (Y36) – but the pine-seed pork ribs in a soy, Worcester and red wine sauce (Y88) and crispy duck with sticky-rice stuffing (Y108) are excellent too.
reviewed
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G
Shanghai Uncle
This restaurant is what Shànghǎi is all about: 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 Yangzi sole, a gingery-sweet smoked fish (Y36) – but the pine-seed pork ribs in a soy, Worcester and red wine sauce (Y88) and crispy duck with sticky-rice stuffing (Y108) are excellent too.
reviewed
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H
Whampoa Club
This nouveau Shanghainese joint has a ‘wow’ interior, replete with gilded chairs, pastel-tinted room dividers and a ceiling-to-floor crystal chandelier. But while no one argues over the decor, not everyone agrees on the food. It’s audacious – almond and cocoa fried ribs (Y88), chrysanthemum and duck soup (Y48), chocolate curry ice cream (Y28) – but the kitchen can be inconsistent for such a high-class restaurant. Book ahead.
reviewed
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Cheng Cheng’s Art Salon
Squeezed in alongside Donghu Road’s heavy hitters, Cheng Cheng distinguishes itself with a funky, colourful interior full of antique furnishings and large oil paintings (for sale). The food is mostly Shanghainese, with a few Sìchuān favourites thrown in to keep risk-averse lǎowài (foreigners) happy. There’s talk of Beijing-opera performances in the evenings, but they’ve yet to materialise. There’s a smaller, cafe-style branch on Nanchang Rd.
reviewed
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I
Grape Restaurant
This long-standing expat fave from the 1980s has probably seen better days, but the Grape still serves up reliable and inexpensive Shanghainese in its bright premises beside the old Russian Orthodox church. Try the delicious yóutiáo chǎoniúròu ( 油条炒牛肉; dough sticks with beef; Y22), or any of the crab dishes – you won’t find them any cheaper than here.
reviewed
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J
Chinoise Story
A curvaceous beauty set in the Jinjiang Hotel complex, the Chinoise Story is a study in style, where art deco architecture meets Philippe Starck design. Shanghainese cuisine gets a reworking here and the dishes are every bit as stunning as the four dining areas: the wasabi smoked salmon is presented as rose petals (Y48) and even common fare like the lion’s head meatball (Y36) is given a touch of class.
reviewed
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Xiǎo Nán Guó
Even with the smart banquet halls and classy presentation, this is still one of Shànghǎi’s more affordable (and delicious) chains. First-rate dishes include pork trotters braised for six hours (Y48–88), the crab clay-pot with glass noodles, deep-fried snake and the usual run of Shanghainese dumplings and noodles (Y12–38). It’s a good place for group meals. It’s also known as Shanghai Spring.
reviewed
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K
Xiǎo Nán Guó
Even with the smart banquet halls and classy presentation, this is still one of Shànghǎi’s more affordable (and delicious) chains. First-rate dishes include pork trotters braised for six hours (Y48–88), the crab clay-pot with glass noodles, deep-fried snake and the usual run of Shanghainese dumplings and noodles (Y12–38). It’s a good place for group meals. It’s also known as Shanghai Spring.
reviewed
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L
Xiǎo Nán Guó
Even with the smart banquet halls and classy presentation, this is still one of Shànghǎi’s more affordable (and delicious) chains. First-rate dishes include pork trotters braised for six hours (Y48–88), the crab clay-pot with glass noodles, deep-fried snake and the usual run of Shanghainese dumplings and noodles (Y12–38). It’s a good place for group meals. It’s also known as Shanghai Spring.
reviewed
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Lùlu Jiǔjiā
Lùlu is fancy Shanghainese without the overbearing attitude – it’s more popular with families and the ladies who lunch crowd than urban hipsters – and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. With over 20 aquariums on display, you’d be foolish not to try at least one of the braised seafood specialities, though steer clear of the fish heads. Reserve.
reviewed
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Lùlu Jiǔjiā
Lùlu is fancy Shanghainese without the overbearing attitude – it’s more popular with families and the ladies who lunch crowd than urban hipsters – and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. With over 20 aquariums on display, you’d be foolish not to try at least one of the braised seafood specialities, though steer clear of the fish heads. Reserve.
reviewed
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Lùlu Jiǔjiā
Lùlu is fancy Shanghainese without the overbearing attitude – it’s more popular with families and the ladies who lunch crowd than urban hipsters – and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. With over 20 aquariums on display, you’d be foolish not to try at least one of the braised seafood specialities, though steer clear of the fish heads. Reserve.
reviewed
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M
Ye Olde Station Restaurant
You can’t miss this oddly named restaurant when sifting through Xujiahui’s Jesuit treasures. Formerly a convent, the lovely building, with its upstairs chapel intact, sits alongside other period gems (as well as two railway carriages parked out the back). The food here is not exactly pulse-raising, but the venue is unforgettable.
reviewed
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N
Fu 1039
Set in a three-storey 1913 villa, Fu attains an old-fashioned charm uncommon in design-driven Shanghai. The succulent smoked fish starter and stewed pork in soy sauce are recommended, with the sweet-and-sour Mandarin fish coming in close behind. The entrance, down an alley and on the left, is unmarked. Little English is spoken.
reviewed
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Jíshì Jiǔlóu
Jíshì specialises in packing lots of people into tight spaces, so if you tend to gesture wildly when you talk, watch out with those chopsticks. This is Shanghainese home cooking at its best: crab dumplings, Grandma’s braised pork and plenty of fish (carp cream soup Y28), drunken shrimp (Y10) and eel.
reviewed
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O
Jíshì Jiǔlóu
Jíshì specialises in packing lots of people into tight spaces, so if you tend to gesture wildly when you talk, watch out with those chopsticks. This is Shanghainese home cooking at its best: crab dumplings, Grandma’s braised pork and plenty of fish (carp cream soup Y28), drunken shrimp (Y10) and eel.
reviewed
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P
Jishi Jiulou
For Shanghainese home cooking at its best, try out this jam-packed restaurant. Popular choices include crab dumplings, Grandma’s braised pork, and plenty of fish, drunken shrimp and eel. This is the original; branches around town go by the name Xinjishi ( 新吉士 ). Reserve.
reviewed
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Q
Ye Shanghai
Ye offers sophisticated, unchallenging (ie few internal organs are on the menu) Shanghainese cuisine in classy 1930s-style surroundings. The drunken chicken and smoked fish are an excellent overture to mouthwatering main dishes, such as the crispy duck with pancakes. Reserve a table.
reviewed
