Tapas Eatery Pirata Returns with Vengeance on Dongping Lu
By Betty Richardson
Good news: Captain Ling Huang and her band of swashbuckling tapas pirates are afloat again, once more waving the flag for toast-based cuisine and gourmet tinned seafood at their beloved Latin eatery Pirata.
After being forced to close last year following noise complaints from neighbors, we doubt they'll have any with their new location on Dongping Lu – it's right next door to Sasha's, a behemoth bar that is to quiet drinking as Red Bull is to insomnia.
We high tailed over last night and found what must have been half the chefs in Shanghai chowing down on old favorites like foie gras toasts with pistachio-studded mortadella (above), sardinas santona (below) baked duck rice et al, along with some intriguing new additions...
Cod fish roe on toast with piparras (zingy preserved peppers from Spain's Basque County.)
Beef tartare with uni(!)
An expanded selection of juicy steamed clams from Dalian. Boss lemon and cilantro flavor seen below:
And a new rice dish with pork and clams. Yep, we pretty much ate our weight in clams.
In sum, new Pirata is just as good as old Pirata, and is totally worth checking out if you're into tapas with the occasional kinky twist.
Pirata, 9 Dongping Lu, by Hengshan Lu 东平路9号，近衡山路
For more Food & Drink news, click "Read more" below.