Shanghai restaurants
 

I am starting this thread because I recently opined in this thread that Jean Gorges is not worth visiting. I'm guessing that many of us who do business in Shanghai share my opinion (overcooked duck for y300, no thanks!).

But, I felt somewhat guilty about slamming Jean Gorges without introducing alternatives.

Part of the problem is that I don't care for fancy places in Shanghai (e.g. M on the Bund is a logical alternate for Jean Georges, but I also dislike it).

I prefer to eat at normal restaurants which serve nice food.

Moving on, let's get things started:

Lapis Thai
I really love their restaurants (I think they have around 3 branches in Shanghai). Whenever I bring people there, they are usually dubious at first, but their tune changes once they start eating. It's honestly better than almost anything I've had in Bangkok, and their preparation of seafood reminds me of the fresh fish you get on the beaches in Samui or Phuket.

Suntory Lounge
Since I've been plugging this place since the dawn of time, I might as well do so in this thread. Awesome views, fish flown in from Tsukiji daily, and amazing beef. It would be impossible to dislike that place. By the way, lunch is a lot cheaper than dinner.

Cantina Agave
I'm guessing that most of you guys aren't coming to China in order to eat Mexican food, but if you have a craving for it, Agave is not perfect, but pretty solid.

Da Marco
Da Marco offers pretty solid Italian food at reasonable prices.

Abbey Road
Very nice setting in the French Concession with outdoor seating.

That's all for now, but check out City Weekend and ExploreShanghai whenever you are in town. Their reviews are usually on the mark.

See also:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...gs-thread.html

Shanghai restaurants
 

Cuivre on Huai Hai road near the shanghai library is a favorite of mine for French food that is much more reasonably priced than the Bund places.

Da Marco is always solid for Italian

Bubbas Hongqiao for American sports bar food and Texas BBQ

Vedas for Indian

Chinese food of all varieties are available all over town and people's taste in Chinese is so divergent so it's hard to rate the best.

Japanese is best in Gubei but there are also too many to name there as well.

Chiang Mai on Kangding Road is my favorite Thai.

In terms of quality, Shanghai has the best non-Chinese food on the Mainland. It's also the priciest. Guangzhou has by far the best Chinese food. Beijing is a culinary disaster :-)

Home Plate BBQ, The Tree, Made in China, Middle 8th, Nobu (extremely expensive, though), Sorabol... all far better than any establishments in Shanghai in their respective categories.

My favorites:

DinTaiFung
Wonderful dim sum and Shanghaiese xiaolongbao at moderate prices. Several locations.

Lingo
Two or three course French food for 100-150rmb. Nice wine selection for about 35 rmb/glass. Across from JW Marriott

Le Creperie
Brittany buckwheat crepes (gallettes) for main course, and lots of dessert crepes. Off Hengshan Lu. Also Hong Kong and HCMC.

Whenever I'm visiting our Shanghai office my colleagues always insist on Japanese food, and always the same places again and again! :rolleyes: I look forward to trying some of the restaurants suggested in this thread soon.

Anyway among those Japanese restaurants the one I liked best was He Ming Niu Chang Shao Kao Dian (和萌牛肠烧烤) near the corner of Xianxia Lu and Anlong Lu. It serves good yakiniku and service is also good. If you visit them on Sept.29 or Oct.29 and bring the coupon shown on the link below, you can get half price off (valid till October 2013):
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/shanghai/jp/cs09913/map.htm
(trivia: 2 is "ni" and 9 is "ku" in Japanese, so 29 is "ni-ku", which sounds like the word for "meat", so every 29th is Meat Day)

For something lighter I like going to New York Style Steak and Burger or Blue Frog for a nice simple hamburger or two.

Before we move on to Hooter's and Big Bamboo (both of which, I love), I'm posting this Time Out list for general guidance:

http://www.timeoutshanghai.com/Searc...type=4&ctype=1

Already said most of this on the other post but:

Jean George's (8 course tasting menu with wine pairing) outstanding 5/5

Dinthaifung: 2/5. I told the wife never to eat there with me again after the first go. Wife and her friends loved it though

Top of park Hyatt: 4/5

Rosevelts steakhouse: 4/5 but far too pricey ($150 for a good cut). Park Hyatt instead

Morton's steakhouse: 3/5. Too pricey. Park Hyatt instead.

M on the bund: 2/5 maybe 3/5. Overrated.

Forgot the name of it but the Brazilian/argentinian/whatever steakhouse chain was awesome. 4/5 for meat eaters.

My favorite three casual places:
Blue frog: 3/5

Simply Thai: 3/5

Element fresh: 3/5 :)

Many others I've forgotten. Lots of good 3/5 upscale places I've forgotten the name of in French concession and in that little area with California pizza kitchen, the alchemist, etc.

Xintiandi restaurants are overrated and overpriced. I've never been pleasantly surprised there. However you need to do haagendaas there at least once. The deserts served there are unique compared to all other haagendaas I've been to.

For context, I'm a boy from a tiny farming town in the Midwest that ate nothing but homemade beef dishes and the odd chicken for 18 years or so.

I'd rather go hungry than eat fish (though I love lobster and shrimp) and whatever that lamb aftertaste is called really puts me off to most lamb dishes without a powerful sauce. (Though if you are ever in Detroit there is a place called the lark with an outstanding lamb dish).

In any event, shanghai is a gastro-paradise for quality and variety compared to Seoul, Bangkok, Dubai, Melbourne, zurich, tashkent, Hanoi, and various other places I've been put by my company.

Oh, and I prefer maya to cantina agave. :)

Thanks for sharing your lists. I also like lost heaven. We went to the one in the French concession on a sat night and it was all western but we went to the one on the bund and it was mostly Chinese. We also like Lynn on nanjing road east especially with a group for sharing.

We are planning another visit in the next month or so so so new places to try. Thanks.

Most of my Chinese friends share your opinion, but not for the obvious reasons. They regard Maya to be a "classy" place that they can brag about on Weixin, and Cantina to be a filling station for poor expats. It really is like comparing a sit down restaurant to Baja Fresh. But, whenever Baja Fresh has better food than the sit down restaurant, that's where I go. For me, the salsa bar alone sets Cantina apart from everyone else.... but, I do enjoy Sunday brunch at Maya.

agree with lost heaven on the bund. one of my favourites. atmosphere is great, food is ok too.

cantina is good for happy hour!

As I nowadays mostly stay in Lujiazui while in Shanghai, just head downstairs at the SWFC for Japanese food. The Izakaya on B1 floor are quite ok, as are the noodle joints.

Downstairs at the food court I think only the curry place is left from Japanese shores, sushi and yakitori do not seem to fit Chinese tastes. Most Chinese office workers did not eat sushi before at lunchtime, preferring fish stews, so it is likely a cultural issue.

For other restaurants, Daning Shopping mall in Zhabei has all I need, especially the Xinjiang style place upstairs from RT mart and next to the Four Points by Sheraton hotel. Several "real" Shanghainese joints in nearby streets and frequented by locally born residents.

Apart from that, tend to do Xintiandi lunches at the Cigar & Jazz bar still.

Events and invitations are another matter but these are restaurants I choose myself.

Can't be bothered to navigate Honqgiao streets for good Japanese and Korean places anymore. Suzhou has great Korean eateries in nice scenery in SIP and only 30minutes by train from Shanghai.

I'm thinking of Mercato one night and Lost Heaven on the Bund another night.

Need a suggestion for a stylish but casual place in the French Concession for a Friday lunch.

Le Petit Franck on Wukang Road.

I've been to several of the high end places on The Bund. All pretentious, overpriced and underwhelming.