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East Nanjing Road, Shanghai

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Restaurants in Shanghai

As with most things in Shanghai, the wonderfully eclectic food scene reflects Shanghai's tendency to looking beyond the city's limits for its inspiration. You'll find some fabulous Shanghainese food of course (which is generally sweeter than food from the rest of China), but local kitchens share the streets, avenues and food malls with restaurants specialising in food from other Chinese provinces as well as from abroad.

The Shanghai restaurants below have been grouped into three pricing categories:
Expensive (over ¥300)
Moderate (¥100 to ¥300)
Cheap (up to ¥100)
These Shanghai restaurant prices are for an average three-course meal and for a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent; they do not include tax or tip unless stated otherwise.

Jean Georges

Price: Expensive

Enfant terrible Jean-Georges Vongerichten has wowed diners from Chicago to Hong Kong with his upscale Vong brand. Now he has opened a sublimely designed, high-class restaurant in Shanghai, which serves new French cuisine. The dining room is chic and sensual and the food is sensational; an undoubted revolution in Shanghai cuisine.

Address: Three on the Bund, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu (entrance on Guangdong Lu), Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6321 7733.
http://www.threeonthebund.com

M on the Bund

Price: Expensive

Opened in the late 1990s, M on the Bund remains a Shanghai pioneer - and the first upscale restaurant located along the Bund. Australian-owned, and sister to Hong Kong's M at the Fringe, the cuisine melds Mediterranean and Australian styles. The stylish atmosphere, unbeatable terrace views of the Bund and the night-time Pudong skyline and a good wine menu make this Shanghai's number one venue to impress visitors.

Address: 7th floor, 5 The Bund (corner of Guandong Lu), Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6350 9988.
http://www.m-onthebund.com/mbund

Element Fresh

Price: Moderate

Resident expat haven for great salads, pasta, juices and comfort food as well as one of the most popular Sunday brunches in Shanghai. Clean, spacious and with a nice terrace for summer eating, Element Fresh serves good-sized portions and the waiting staff are extremely attentive. Now expanding across the city, this small chain has seven other Shanghai branches.

Address: Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu (by Xikang Lu), Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6279 8682.
http://www.elementfresh.com

Kommune

Price: Moderate

The smell of bacon, eggs and tomato frying on an open grill attracts punters to this Shanghai courtyard restaurant on Sundays when home-style breakfasts are served all day – hash browns included. The barbecue also cranks up on Wednesday evenings. On sunny days it's best to get here early. Kommune also serves a hearty lunch menu including salads and ciabatta.

Address: 7 The Yard, Lane 210, Taikang Lu, Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6466 2416.

Guyi Hunan

Price: Cheap

If you like your Chinese food tongue-scaldingly hot, Guyi Hunan is a good bet. A vast menu and ubiquitous use of chilli make this one of the hottest regional restaurants in Shanghai. Most people opt for a personal hotpot and a gallon of lager. The food is well prepared, good value and always tasty. Expect to queue without a reservation on the weekends.

Address: 87 Fumin Lu (by Julu Lu), Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6249 5628.

Hongyi Plaza

Price: Cheap

Food malls can be found across Shanghai, but this one, close to the Bund, is a cut above, effortlessly slicing and dicing the competition with its star-studded restaurant line-up. Ones to look out for include: South Memory (6th floor), which specialises in spicy Hunanese dry pots; Charme (4th floor), a Taiwanese restaurant with superb shaved-ice desserts; Wagas (ground floor), Shanghai’s own Wi-Fi café chain; and Ajisen (basement), king of Japanese noodles.

Address: 299 East Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China

Noodle Bull

Price: Cheap

The sleek design and architectural ambience of this Taiwanese noodle restaurant in Shanghai belies its reasonable prices and down-to-earth fare. Diners can sidle up to one another at a communal table to chow down on a quick and easy bowl of hearty noodles doused in soup. This is a good option if you are on the move.

Address: 291 Fuming Lu (Puxi), Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6170 1299.

Fu 1039

Price: Expensive

Set in a three-storey 1913 villa, Fu 1039 is upmarket Shanghainese all the way, with an unusual old-fashioned charm in a city seemingly hell-bent on modern design. It's not easy to find, though. Follow Yuyuan Road west from the metro station for about 200m (656ft), then turn left down an alley. The unmarked entrance will be the first on your left.

Address: 1039 Yuyuan Road, Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6288 1179.

Baoluo Jiulou

Price: Moderate

Gather up a boisterous bunch of friends for a fun-filled meal at this typically chaotic and cavernous Shanghai institution, which has lines out the door late into the night. Try the excellent lion’s head meatballs, lotus-leaf roasted duck or the baoluo kaoman (baked eel).

Address: 271 Fumin Road, Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6279 2827.
http://www.baoluojiulou.com

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