CHARCOHOL: Stellar Cocktails & Charcoal Grilling

CHARCOHOL is a gastrolounge in Shanghai that serves craft cocktails and global cuisine inspired by the charcoal grill.

The Space

Gastrolounge in the heart of Shanghai

It's quite new—opened in November 2019—and is located in Fengshengli, a lifestyle development rife with restaurants, bars, and cafes, right by the West Nanjing Road metro.

The cocktail bar takes center stage, seating 11 around the counter with a view of the kitchen. The dining room is spacious, seating a total of 75 people in the main room and atrium sections.

CHARCOHOL also commands an expansive terrace, sharing it with coffee car Number. The outdoor seating wraps around the building and extends to the back.

Dining room

Atrium seating

Group table

The Drinks

Award Winning Bartender Cross Yu

Drinks are courtesy of Cross Yu, a talented mixologist with showman flair to rival the city’s hardiest performers. Shanghai born and bred, the world-class bartender has been in the circuit for nearly two decades. He was recently honored with the prestigious title of Bartender of the Year and presented the Founders Award by DRiNK Magazine Asia at the DMBA 2019.

Cross Yu

There are 16 signature cocktails at CHARCOHOL, all beautiful and stylish, with a spectrum of flavor profiles to woo every varying palate. Each cocktail is ¥88. Cross employs a few crafty methods to amp up his spirits, fashioning fat and butter-washed bourbons and clarified milk punches for his drinks. 

Chocolate Raspberry Punch – Tastes like you’re drinking a clear raspberry and chocolate milkshake with bubbles. Made with gin, raspberry puree, chocolate “milk punch”, topped with champagne.

Pink Mary Me – A twist on the Bloody Mary, made with cheese-infused rum, cherry tomato, basil syrup, and grenadine.

I have two favorite cocktails, which lean towards my preference of “sour, not sweet, and savory.” These are the Black & Co and Pickle Bramble.

The Black & Co is made with tequila, hazelnut syrup, and lemon juice, colored black with squid ink, and foamed with egg white. A dusting of rose sea salt gives it the savory profile. The Pickle Bramble is similar in that it’s savory, but with an earthy aroma from beetroot juice. The gin base is completely masked, elevated by lemon juice, pickling juice, and litsea oil.

Black & Co (image provided)

Pickle Bramble

The Food

Global Cuisine from the Charcoal Grill

The food is inspired by the charcoal grill and borrows from American, Asian, and French cuisines, set to grilling, fermentation, and smoking. It’s a full menu with ample selection for a hearty dinner, followed by a late-night menu of bar-appropriate snacks.

Mini Crab Cake

Starters double as bar snacks, which include Louisiana-style Mini Crab Cake (¥58) made with jumbo lump crab and shrimp, a spreadable chicken liver parfait (¥78), and hunger-sating guabao with smoked iberico pork belly (¥68/two).

Excellent baos. Juicy slices of pork belly with yuzu chili aioli, coriander, and smoked peanuts.

Venison Tartare (¥119) with scallion purée, juniper berry mayo, house honey mustard, and rehydrated blueberries.

Baby Napa Cabbage (¥49) is charred whole, then hollowed out and recooked with buttery truffle cream. Super umami, excellent dish. (One of my favorites.)

Black & White Scallops (¥68/piece) dusted in nori and onion ash and cooked in brown butter vinaigrette.

Smoked Salad with Burrata (¥78). The smoky theme carries throughout, including a musky scent on the crisp salad.

Maple & Applewood Smoked Chicken (¥139) – A favorite and must-order. The chicken is brined for 18 hours and then hot smoked for two hours, allowing the smoky aroma to permeate the tender flesh.

*A highlight*

Allium-Glazed Atlantic Cod (¥169), inspired by the traditional Shanghainese  scallion fish head dish. Buttery fish perfumed with chives served with char-sautéed green peas.

Flavor of the Earth (¥68) with root vegetable ice cream and sweet pear jelly.

Love For Bacon (¥68) with bacon ice cream and dehydrated persimmon.

In Summary

World Class Cocktails & Inventive Menu

The cocktails are unmistakably world-class.

As for the food, most is relatively new in comparison to what’s around town. Signature dishes like the whole-grilled baby napa cabbage, maple & applewood smoked chicken, and black & white scallops are original, inventive and memorable.

Favorite dishes: Venison tartare, guabao, baby napa cabbage, smoked chicken, cod.

Favorite drinks: Pickle Bramble, Black & Co.

March Madness

CHARCOHOL is rolling out an early spring cocktail special — buy-one-get-one cocktails — for the entire month of March.

Six signature cocktails are on for March Madness (¥88/cocktail), buy-one-get-one from 2pm to 10pm, daily.

They also have a beautiful terrace for those who wish to imbibe during the day.

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CHARCOHOL
Address: 1/F, Fengshengli, No. 18, 245 Maoming Bei Lu, near Nanjing Xi Lu 茂名北路245弄18号1楼, 近南京西路
Tel: [phone]
Hours: M-F 2pm-12am,S-S 12pm-12am

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