Four of Shanghai's Most Relaxing Cafes【沪上咖啡店精选】
Cafés and coffee culture are a booming business in Shanghai and it seems that new ones are popping up on almost every street corner in the city. A number of local, independently operated coffee houses make up some of our favorite places for meeting friends, hanging out after picking up the kids from school, or dropping by for a quick spot of lunch and a chat with your friends. Here are our top picks for your daily dose of caffeine.
Cafe on Air
Café on Air is a quiet retreat from the busy Huaihai Lu. The Muji-esque minimal design creates a zen atmosphere perfect for after school catch-ups with friends, business meetings, or an afternoon of journaling. Plus, there are plentyof charging outlets conveniently placed near the tables making it a most suitable working space.
Enough about the ambience, though. This place serves some serious coffee. Clear evidence are the bags of beans from LA-based coffee company, Blue Bottle, sitting on the counter - a most exciting rare sight for any coffee lover in Shanghai.
Drinks are priced at RMB25 for an Americano, RMB28 for a mocha and RMB38 for single origin drip. If you’re not a coffee drinker, there are always delectable pies warmed to order, coconut water, and tea infusions.
> Lane 650, 634 Huaihai Zhong Lu, by Ruijin Er Lu. Nearest metro: Shaanxi Nan Lu,10 mins. Open daily, 10am-6.30pm (6333 2195)
Paras Coffee
Paras is a friendly, but trendy, café set in a loft-style space decorated with kaleidoscopic tiles.They serve very good coffee and a selection of brunch-appropriate dishes like smoked salmon eggs Benedict (RMB55), best suited for weekend catchups and casual lunches.
More importantly, serious coffee lovers will be glad to find excellent single-origin brews dripped via Chemex (RMB38) and dark, unctuous espresso shots pulled by well-trained baristas. A pink LED sign reading “Hello Good Day” decorates a wall behind the bar; it’s slightly gimmicky and unnecessary - because any day consisting of quality brew is a good day in our books.
> 55 Shaanxi Nan Lu, by Xinle Lu. Nearest metro: Shaanxi Nan Lu, 10 mins. Open Mon-Fri, 8.30am-8.30pm; weekends and holidays 10.30am-8.30pm.
(6433 9796)
DNA Café
Like a lot of new restaurants popping up in Shanghai, DNA Café might be more bark than bite, but aesthetically, the setting is show-stopping. Spacious and open, the gorgeous space lets in an abundance of natural light to sun feed the flowers that populate throughout, making it a perfect place to while away an afternoon with a good book.
Coffee is ever so slightly pricey (RMB40 for a cappuccino), but if you're coming to DNA Café, you're probably not just here for the caffeine. In addition to being a café, DNA also hopes to establish itself as an exhibition hall, pop-up design space and bookshop...now, if only they could get their hands on some actual books.
All this is acceptable if you're looking for a beautiful space to meet, hang out, read or study, DNA's strength lies in its beautiful environment.
> No. 5 The Cool Docks, 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu, by Maojiayuan Lu. Nearest metro: Xiaonanmen, 15 mins. Open daily, 11am-7pm (131 6618 3888)
Jarajam
Nestled in a tiny spot on Wuyuan Lu, Jarajam is a chic, family-run café owned by a two Shanghainese sisters and designed by one of their husbands, the owner of interior design firm Nei Space. Despite its size, the place has a lot to offer and sells arange of coffees, homebrewed tea concoctions, fresh juices and daily housemade baked goods.
They've a good selection of homebrewed tea concoctions, which seems to be something of a passion project for co-owner and floor manager Lita, who keeps her collection of imported herbs and ingredients pride of place in the café. For eats, there's a selection of cakes,muffins, tarts, patisserie and quiches baked daily by the other half of Jarajam's sister duo.
> 108 Wuyuan Lu, by Wulumuqi Lu. Nearest metro: Changshu Lu,5 mins. Open, Tues-Fri: 8am-6pm, Sat-Sun: 10.30am-6.30pm (5403 8151)
Find more recommended Cafés online, click 'read more' below.
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上海日趋流行和成熟的咖啡文化为这座城市带来许多商机，似乎每天都能在街角发现一家新的咖啡店。今天，《城市家》将为您介绍几家环境别致又品味地道的咖啡馆，为您与朋友见面聊天，或是放松心情提供些参考。
Cafe on Air
这家咖啡店坐落在喧闹的淮海路上，简单利落的Muji式装修风格却让它成了一处闹中取静的好地方，特别适合下课后与朋友小聚，工作会谈或是一个下午待在那儿写写东西。值得一提的是，他们每张桌子旁边都有电源插座，所以在这儿办公也是非常方便的。
除了舒适的环境，这家咖啡店的咖啡品味也是非常地道的。从他们货架上可以发现不少洛杉矶公司Blue Bottle进口的咖啡豆，这对在上海的咖啡爱好者来说的确是件罕见的好事。
他们一杯美式咖啡25元，一杯摩卡28元，一份单品咖啡38元。如果你对咖啡不感冒，店内还有热腾腾的派，椰子水和各类茶品。
地址：淮海路中634号,近瑞金二路 （淮海路650弄进入，从陕西南路地铁站步行约10分钟）
营业时间：上午10点—下午6点半
（6333 2195）
Paras Coffee
Paras是个舒适又时髦的咖啡馆，上下两层的空间都以花式繁复地板条铺就。除了美味的咖啡，他们还提供早午餐系列，例如烟熏三文鱼配煎鸡蛋（55元）。作为周末小聚和休闲午餐的场所，再适合不过了。
对于咖啡爱好者来说，重点还是在于专业的咖啡师们用Chemex滤泡壶冲泡出的完美单品咖啡（38元）还有浓厚的压缩咖啡。吧台后的墙面上一直有粉色的LED灯打出“Hello Good Day”的欢迎字样，其实这样的噱头大可不必，因为一杯好咖啡就足以开启美好的一天了。
地址：陕西南路55号,近新乐路 （从陕西南路地铁站步行约10分钟）
营业时间：周一至周五，上午8点半—晚上8点半；双休日及节假日，上午10点半—晚上8点半
(6433 9796)
DNA Café
和不少上海新出现的餐厅一样，这座咖啡馆的客流量还没有和名气相匹配，但就店内设计而言，觉得值得一去。充分利用敞开且宽阔的空间，他们任由店内的藤蔓植物汲取阳光，肆意生长，任谁都想在坐在这样一个绿意浓浓的环境中看上一本好书，消磨下午时光。
这儿的咖啡可能有些偏贵（一杯卡布奇诺40元），但如果选择来了，那么肯定品咖啡肯定不是你的主要目的。除了定位成一个咖啡馆，DNA似乎也期待成为一个艺术馆，一个设计集市，一家书店……现在看来，他们只差书了。
颜值高，环境好！单凭这两点，就非常适合和朋友们小聚谈天，学习看书或是消磨时光。
地址：中山南路505弄老码头5号, 近毛家园路 （从小南门地铁站步行约15分钟）
营业时间：上午11点—晚上7点
(131 6618 3888)
Jarajam
这家由一对本地姐妹花经营的小咖啡馆“藏”在五原路上，虽然不起眼但是很潮。室内设计是有其中一位的丈夫操刀的，而他也是本土一家设计公司（Neispace）的设计师。虽然店面不大，但从咖啡、混合茶品到新鲜果汁和自家烘焙的餐品，一应俱全。
他们供应的混合茶品是自己烹调的，这也是合伙人之一——Lita热衷的事情，她还把自己的进口草本和各种调料放置在咖啡馆最显眼的地方。说道吃，他们有不同口味的蛋糕，麦芬，馅饼和其他糕点，这些都是出自另一位姐妹花之手。
地址：五原路108号, 近乌鲁木齐路（从常熟路地铁站步行约5分钟）
营业时间：周二—周四，上午8点—下午6点；双休日：上午10点半—下午6点半
（5403 8151）
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