4 hot new bars to try this weekend

Greetings drinkers of Shanghai, here are four new and newish bars for your perusal...

Those in the know will doubtless know already, but The Know Bar has opened on Yongjia Lu, just down the street from that string of bars of ill repute on Hengshan Lu. A sign outside pledges to serve you 'absinthe and beer' and to this end, they have a dozen absinthe cocktails and lots and lots of imported beers. There's nothing too special on the beer front, but a nice range all the same with prices from 50RMB. From the absinthe cocktails, we went for an absinthe Sazerac (60RMB), which sounds like it should be a cocktail death wish but actually came out nicely in the glass.

The atmosphere needs some work - there's a big screen which on our visits has been showing a mixture of Shanghai SIPG in the Asian Champions League and nature documentaries, plus there's a moving image electric fire on one wall, which should be a nice scene setter come July - but it's an okay neighbourhood option.

Out the back of the same building, there's a few other spots worth a nose around too, including an art gallery and a fancy tea shop. It's certainly a step up from the neighbours and should fit in fairly well with the area's new look when the Yong Ping Li complex opens behind Garlic.

Just around the corner, wine delivery app BottlesXO have taken over the ground floor of patchy Western eatery Solo on Hengshan Lu (main photo). Opened last night, on the occasion of the app's first anniversary, the new spot is a vast improvement upon what went before, with a completely remodelled space featuring windows that open out onto the street, a small snack menu (served until late) and, of course, a reasonably priced range of quality wines and beers (with spirits hopefully coming soon).

Given the reputation of this area and neighbours such as Angel's Kiss Club, having a bright red XO in the window may see them attract some interesting clientele initially, but this should become a great spot for anyone living nearby.

Away from Hengshan Lu, the people behind The Nest have opened a new spot. The Cannery, located in a new complex on Yuyuan Lu just a few minutes' walk from Jiangsu Lu metro station, has the same afterwork fading into lively weekend evening vibe as its Rockbund cousin.

There's a good range of craft beers, with Baird's Wabi Sabi and Brewdog's Vagabond Session Ale among the offerings on tap (all 48RMB), plus some creative signature cocktails including a percorino negroni (88RMB), which as the name suggests comes with a strong nose of cheese which can get a bit much (the peanut butter-infused Old Fashioned, 78RMB, is a safer bet). Wines by the glass start from 58RMB.

Food-wise, the menu is concise but well executed. Appetisers include grilled octopus (78RMB), there's a 'cannery' of duck liver mousse served with butter soaked toast (48RMB) and a range of salads from 48RMB. Mains include a beer battered fish 'n' chips (98RMB for salmon, cod or haddock), grilled lobster (198-298RMB) and slow-cooked short ribs (398RMB). You can also expect a few specials on freshly flown in seafood such as oysters, larger lobsters, clams and more.

The cool kids are all over this one already, despite it only opening properly earlier this week, so you might want to book ahead.

Finally, the people behind excellent Yongkang Lu option Funkadeli opened The Parrot a few weeks ago, and it's worth checking out if you haven't already. It seems positioned as an overflow venue following chucking out time on YKL (it's just about staggering distance) and doesn't really get going until about 11ish - when we rocked up at 9.30pm one night, the barman greeted us with a 'good afternoon'.

You'll find it underneath Craft on Donghu Lu, where Tang dynasty-themed hostess bar Cinderella used to be. Can't believe that didn't work out.

They've been insisting on some expensive drinks packages at tables after 11pm on the weekends, but it's aimed more at getting people on the dancefloor anyway and things are less uptight once there's a reasonably-sized crowd in there.

The decor is stylishly fun, and normal drinks include tropical and twisted cocktails from 60RMB - the latter featuring a large Aperol-based Superspritz (60RMB) - wines by the glass from 50RMB and beers such as Estrella Damm on tap and in bottles from 40RMB. If you're hungry, there's also a range of pizzas (from 75RMB for a margherita) and tapas such as pulled pork tacos (90RMB for three).

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