[Shanghai Girl Eats] Table No. 1 by Jason Atherton (Brunch)
Table No. 1 by Jason Atherton | Dianping
Address: No. 1-3 Maojiayuan Lu near Waima Lu / 毛家园路1-3号(近外马路)
Date visited: 2015.08 for brunch
Price: RMB150-200 per person + 10% service charge
Will return: Yes
Brunch at The Waterhouse just got a facelift from Chef Christopher Pitts, who has in recent days turned Table No. 1 into one of my most frequented spots (see lunch and dinner reviews). Another great brunch addition to Shanghai.
Please note there is a 10% service charge.
Scones with clotted cream and house strawberry jam (RMB48)
Recommend: yes
I love a good scone but I love a good clotted cream even more and this is legit! The scones come with a jar of clotted cream layered with strawberry jam. I try to scoop both together out of the jar to spread on the scone.
My only beef with this scone is that it has raisins and I hate raisins so I have to pick them out.
Eggs on toast (RMB48), which start with a base of 2 poached eggs on toasted sourdough. From there, you can add any one or multiples of the following:
+ house bacon (RMB38)
+ vine blushed tomatoes (RMB18)
+ forest mushroom (RMB25)
+ organic spinach (RMB20)
+ mashed avocado (RMB38)
Recommend: yes
We chose avocado mash and bacon, which brought the dish to RMB124. The avocado mash is just the right amount of soft and moist — definitely a necessary addition to the toast. I know, it is pricey as avocado is notoriously expensive in Shanghai and restaurants all blackmail us for it. But I will try to justify this one because dishes here are meant to be shared and this portion can be for 2+ people as there are two poached eggs to go around. Poke it and soak it.
Benedicts (RMB78-128)
Recommend: yes
I always say it’s not brunch without Eggs Benedict and Chef Chris has ensured there are multiple versions of poached eggs and hollandaise on english muffins. Choices include beef tongue and parma ham (RMB118), smoked salmon (RMB108 shown below), sautéed spinach (RMB78), and chef’s choice with Wagyu brisket, house bacon, and pickled lime (RMB128). Can’t go wrong with any of these though my personal favorite is hands down the brisket benedict.
Steak and fried egg with roasted tomatoes (RMB188)
Recommend: yes
Steak & egg at Table No. 1 is full out thick slabs of beef, not some thinly sliced sad excuse for steak.
Blueberry pancakes with poached apricots (RMB58) + seared foie gras (RMB30 extra)
Recommend: yes
This is probably my favorite on the brunch menu. You can bling out your pancake or French toast with seared foie gras for an extra RMB30 so you can have sweet and savory at the same time. This is very similar to the pan seared foie gras, duck ham, corn blini, strawberry jam (RMB128) on the lunch/dinner menu. Delicious.
French toast with orange marmalade (RMB58)
Recommend: yes
A fine French toast, which you can also add a piece of seared foie gras to for an extra RMB30 though we did not try that option. It always comes down to picking pancakes or French toast as the sweet portion of brunch — go with the pancakes here.
[…] chef is like a unicorn sighting. Digression: another place that can do this is Table No. 1 [1][2]– Executive Chef Christopher Pitts’ long-time staff have their dishes […]