Inside CÉ LA VI Shanghai - New on The Bund
The latest addition on The Bund is CÉ LA VI Shanghai, a bar/club/restaurant located on the eight floor of the House of Roosevelt. (Now in soft opening.)
CÉ LA VI is a multi-city lifestyle brand acquired in 2015 by luxury goods brand LVMH, and has locations in St. Tropez, Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, and Taipei (opened April 2019).
Its defining formula involves an iconic rooftop location coupled with modern Asian cuisine, cocktails, and rave-worthy parties.
Now Open
Inside CÉ LA VI Shanghai
The club is to the left of the main bar.
The club has its own bar, VIP lounges, private room with KTV, and a semi-private space.
Semi-private whisky lounge.
The club side has its own terrace.
It’s pretty massive.
The restaurant is to the right of the main bar.
It extends back.
And this is the terrace connected to the dining area.
The Food
Food at CÉ LA VI Shanghai
Food served is modern Asian. Executive chef Oscar Toro leads the kitchen. Joining Toro for the opening phase are two chef consultants—luminary pastry chef (and ex-CÉ LA VI corporate pastry chef) Jason Licker and CÉ LA VI Asia executive chef Brian Chan.
At first glance, the menu looks exciting—mix and match east-meets-west flavors like burrata with vegetarian XO sauce, ceviche with jicama and lemongrass, oysters with tamarind, and gochujang BBQ chicken next to a papaya salad. There's a lot going on, and it'll take time to fine-tune and tie it all together.
I went before soft opening, and I expect a few changes have since been implemented.
Here’s what I tried:
Cocktails are ¥98, wine by the glass starts from ¥98.
Tuna & Uni Cohiba (¥138) with hijiki (a type of sea vegetable), avocado mousse, and ponzu. (Not very wallet-friendly.)
Wagyu beef tartare M9 (¥188) with scallion youtiao, black bean aioli, and Sichuan capers. (Not very wallet-friendly.)
Crispy Skin Duck Breast (¥188) with duck stuffed wontons, gailan vegetables, and pineapple hoisin sauce.
Iberico Pork Pluma (¥228) with Sichuan roasted grapes, pickled greens, and charsiu glaze. A highlight and must-order. 10/10.
Bamboo Shoot Barigoule (¥98) side dish with lapcheong (wax sausage) and crispy quinoa. Fat, meaty chunks of bamboo shoots. Also a must-order. The Asian in me wants rice with this dish.
Snapper Ikan Bakar (¥328) with sambal matah (Balinese shallot and lemongrass relish) and calamansi.
Yuzu Cheesecake (¥98) with yuzu cream and brown butter cake.
Molten Black Sesame Tart (¥98) warm black sesame tart, salty miso ice cream, and almond crumble.
In Summary
Bling on the Bund
Let’s be real. It’s the perfect destination for those looking to entertain and be entertained—the Bund view, the historical heritage building, and the ice cold champagne to go with the club’s table minimum spend.
Tourists will flock for drinks and the view, and people looking to sample the modern Asian food before a night of partying will find convenience in the restaurant’s offerings. There’s also talk about brunch.
It’s like Bar Rouge, but bigger with two terraces. It’s like M1NT, but with a bolder restaurant menu and minus the pomp of VIP membership. CÉ LA VI's twist on Bund-side nightlife will attract it’s own clientele, but will it take customers away from the two venues mentioned above? Yep.
In the end, will it do well? The Bund runs on bottle service. Yeah, it’ll do well.
CÉ LA VI Shanghai
Address: 8/F, 27 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Beijing Dong Lu 中山东一路27号8层, 近北京东路
Tel: 63335877
Hours: 6pm-late
Read More:
ALDI Opens Fifth Store in Xuhui
The Shanghai Scoop (October 2019)
Book Now for 50% Off Your Bill at STYX!