Ceviche is a casual little Peruvian restaurant on Fuxing Road, and yes, they serve ceviche among many things. I debated for awhile whether or not to write this review because that would involve disclosing the fact that Ceviche is actually one of my foolproof restaurants in Shanghai.
Dos Locos, while overpriced, will fill the Chipotle void for those who seek it. Although I don’t eat burritos on the regular (slash ever), the burrito ingredients seem to be fresh and clean so I do recommend this for those who are looking for something similar to Chipotle back in America. But be warned, the bill will not be light for this fast food joint (this is Shanghai after all).
This restaurant is named Cyclo because… I guess there are cyclos in Vietnam. Anyway, it is commonly acknowledged that Vietnamese options in Shanghai are limited and the addition of Cyclo essentially just doubled that list.
I ate half the Scarpetta menu in one sitting. True story. If you are going with a party of 10 or above, don’t even bother reading this. Just go. Give them a price range per person (don’t be cheap) and the restaurant will handle your dishes; they will all be good and you will all be very full.
The Boulevard’s concept is a speakeasy so you are not supposed to be able to find it at first sight (it is behind the bookshelf door on the 7th floor). Inside, the restaurant is dimly lit and very nicely decorated. The identity crisis starts here; is it a bar or is it a restaurant? It is not good at being either. The food is average and drinks taste weak.
All-you-can-eat dim sum for RMB¥108 per person (including tea and service charge). This place is really for those looking for quantity, not quality.
Dinner at CHAR encompasses the whole fine dining experience. The steak is one thing and you also get a nice bund view, some fancy knives, and your lobster bisque poured out of a teapot. I really like the atmosphere here because it is a little further down the bund so you don’t really get a mainstream crowd like at Jean Georges or Mr and Mrs Bund, which get a bit noisy at times.
VIA Modern Slow Cook is a new restaurant serving up–you guessed it–slow cooked food. What does that mean? The food at VIA (except for salads) is slow cooked in its own juices for hours ahead of time, making everything super soft and tender. We tried to add up the total number of hours that it took to cook our meal but our crazy Asian math skills couldn’t keep up.