Restaurant Review: Bar Centrale

By Betty Richardson

The Place
As residents of Jing’an’s Yanping and Wuding Lu can no doubt attest, their neighborhood has experienced a windfall of new bars and restaurants over the last year. Joining the likes of Hunter Gatherer, Revolucion Cocktail, Raw Bar & Grill, Fat Cow, Grinder and Ola is Bar Centrale, fittingly named for its position at the revamped area’s epicenter.
Owner Yuri Valazza, also of eateries Gemma and Piccolo, tells us this was exactly his intention, imagining Bar Centrale like one of the cheerfully utilitarian piazza eateries of Italy, to be relied upon for a meal, spritz or espresso at any time of day.

The Food
Just like its older siblings, Bar Centrale is a pureblooded Italian, backed up by the credentials of a wood-fire pizza oven and a slew of imported ingredients. They do, however, spare you the highbrow shtick in favor of basic, diner-like comforts, much of them cheese-based.

As a party firmly siding with the salty charms of anchovies, we kicked off with a baseball-sized pair of Bar Centrale’s ‘bombette’ (RMB38), baked dough balls filled with molten buffalo mozzarella and the briny fish. Paired with a cold Estrella, these ‘little bombs’ make a persuasive argument for partaking in Bar Centrale’s happy hour (beers, spritzes and wine RMB25-30 from 4-8pm).
The pizzas are not bad either, particularly since most of them come in at under RMB100. Our enormous pizza ‘Siciliana’ (RMB80) came to the table all crispy and dotted with more anchovies (we did warn you), green olives and red onions.
Let downs included the oh-so-promising house-made fresh ricotta ravioli (RMB88), which might have been tasty had they received a lick of seasoning somewhere along the line.We’d also skip the dry truffle fries (RMB48) next time. See the beef carpaccio (RMB88, pictured in header) with grilled artichokes and walnuts for a more exciting truffle-laden escapade.
Food verdict: 1.5/3

The Vibe
Like its pleasantly utilitarian modus operandi, Bar Centrale conjures a modern and comfortably functional atmosphere. It’s a place that doesn’t try particularly hard with the ristorante Italiano gimmicks, but has plenty of chill because of it. Neither busy nor empty, a cheerful team of chatty Italians and locals do most of the service. Vibe verdict: 0.5/1

Value for Money
There are plenty of places in Shanghai where you’ll find better Italian food than here, but in all honesty, probably not for the same price. We’ll come here again next time we’re looking for cheap and cheerful lunch and dinner, or as a pre-cursory happy hour to visiting this blossoming area’s cocktail and wine bars. Value for Money: 1/1

TOTAL VERDICT 3/5
Price: RMB100-200 per person
Who’s going: young locals and expats
Good for: casual dining, happy hour, wine, pizza

Bar Centrale, 135 Yanping Lu, by Wuding Lu.

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