Restaurant Review: The Cannery

By Betty Richardson

The Place
Of all the restaurants and bars that opened last year, the place that stole the show was arguably The Nest. Or should that be ‘changed the game?’ The Nest found a unique way of tapping exactly into what upwardly mobile locals want from a late night venue: a buzzy and exclusive atmosphere; food that can be shared; plenty of seating and most importantly – no awkward obligations to dance.
We can see why proprietor Mark Klingspon stuck to a similar formula for his next venture, The Cannery. Though this time around, Klingspon went for something a little closer to his heart, channeling the food and drink culture of his native West Coast Canada into The Cannery. Think lots of seafood, with plenty of whisky and rye to wash it down with.

The Food
Seafood comes in many different forms at The Cannery; you’ll find steamers of clams, mussels and Dungeness crab, oysters, grilled lobsters, fish and chips, poke, and even a few Mediterranean-leaning dishes too.

Surprisingly, little of it comes from a can, though the restaurant does have a working canning facility and may start introducing some artisanal canned products onto the menu. There’s also a fire pit in an enclosed courtyard that will smoke whole flayed salmon, though sadly this hasn’t seen much action during the miserable weather of the annual plum rain season.

Nevertheless, what’s available now is tasty and unfussy. Standouts include a glazed and smoked tuna jaw (RMB98), though this often sells out due to its popularity. We also loved the ruggedness of the charcoal-grilled lobster with lashings of butter (RMB198), something no lobster should be served without.
From the Mediterranean corner, grilled octopus with watercress, preserved lemon and lentils (RMB108) is a dish that shows the softer side of head chef Freddy Raoult’s cooking.
As does the fragrant and light dill brined halibut with summer faro salad (RMB78). However, on one of our visits some dishes (particularly the pokes) were heavy-handed with the flaked salt.
For all this talk of fish, meat gets a significant look in from The Cannery’s diners (“And please… eat more fish,” urges a line on the menu). But who can resist the appeal of duck liver mousse with grilled toast for RMB48? The Cannery’s is not notable for its uniqueness, but it’s done right and we want it again.
Coffee and steak might not seem like an auspicious pairing, but admittedly, the 'prairie-grilled' porterhouse with West Coast blend coffee rub (RMB888) is downright delicious. Obviously not one for strident traditionalists, the bitterness of the coffee plays nicely with the fattiness of the porterhouse cut. It comes sliced, so we’re guessing you’ll have to share it with your fellow diners.

Do save room for desserts. Mini donuts with a limey cream cheese dip were exquisite and served hot – we hope they’ll continue to keep serving them this way.
There are others too, including a chocolate and vanilla ice cream number, but we’ll leave the secret ingredient in that one to you. Ok, it’s bacon.
Food verdict: 2/3

The Vibe
Significantly more chilled out than The Nest, The Cannery succeeds as a cool but not too cool place to eat, drink and be relatively merry. We say that because all things considered, it’s less of a nightlife destination than its older sibling on the Bund.

Here, you can sip draft beer (fruity Kentucky Peach Barrel Wheat is my favorite, sue me) rather sweet cocktails by former Starling mixologist Michael Chen; or a first rate selection of whisky and rye – all of which are available by glass starting from RMB48.
Vibe verdict: 1/1

Value for Money
A step down in price from The Nest, The Cannery gets it right in many ways, and coming with a group will allow you to get the best out of this place in terms of bang for buck.
Value for money: 1/1

TOTAL VERDICT: 4/5
Price: RMB200-400 per person
Who’s going: young locals and expats
Good for: groups, seafood, whisky

The Cannery, 1107 Yuyuan Lu, by Jiangsu Lu.

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