3 must-try drinks at the W Shanghai's classy cocktail bars
The killer views, modern beats and chic design at the W Shanghai's three distinctive cocktails bars have together turned the hotel into one of the city’s hottest spots for a nighttime drink. Here are three tipples you should try.
Tom Yum... It Is Not!
85RMB, WOOBAR
The ultra-modern WOOBAR has the vibes of a chic nightclub with the drinks of a top-notch cocktail bar – courtesy of Chief Mixologist Dylan Lam, who concocts avant-garde elixirs inside a rad range of drinking vessels.
The Tom Yum... It Is Not! is a sour and spicy mix of roasted garlic-infused vodka, lime syrup, kaffir lime and chilli tincture that resembles a boozy Thai-style leche de tigre that’s too good to waste on even the finest ceviche.
Weekend bookings recommended.
You've Got the Beet
85RMB, WET BAR
The W’s appropriately-named poolside bar and fly terrace lounge is a massive space decked out in ways that scream contemporary design, with a stunning backdrop of both the Pudong skyline and the full span of the Bund.
All the drinks served here are pool-side appropriate – icy, fruity and fresh – and smartly served in various (reusable) plastic cups so that no one's swimming in a pool full of broken glass when things get rowdy. The dark purple-hued You've Got the Beet is a refreshing tipple with rich dark chocolate infused tequila and subtle bursts of beetroot and blueberry sweetened with agave.
Weekend bookings recommended.
Spirits on the Huangpu River
98RMB, Liquid at YEN
Located above the W’s Chinese fine dining restaurant YEN, Liquid is the place to go for a pre-dinner tipple. The quiet and stylish drinking den is an ode to the 1920s Shanghai speakeasy, low lit with brushed gold finishings, black marble floors and a Jazz Era atmosphere.
Each drink bears a story from Shanghai’s history matched with a particular flavour profile, and all are beautifully presented. From The Sorcerer section of the menu – characterised by 'surprising, theatrical and experimental' flavours – Spirits on the Huangpu River comes with two black skull potion bottles so you can add droplets of Sichuan chilli oil and aged soy sauce to a glass of gin, Lillet blanc, vermouth and cherry blossom tonic.
W Shanghai, The Bund 66 Lvshun Lu, near Dongchangzhi Lu.