Around Town: 4 New Restaurants, Hot Deals & New Menus
First off, take advantage of three end-of-summer deals from Cuivre, Bambino, and Biggi's!
Introducing four new restaurants: The C. Steak House, El Pescador, Bijou, and Brownstone House. Plus, seasonal menus from The Pine and Gui Hua Lou.
Deals
Cuivre
📍 50 Wuyuan Lu 五原路50号甲
📞 15317268976
🕒 Mon, 10am-5pm; Tue-Sun, 10am-5pm, 6pm-10:30pm
French restaurant Cuivre has some stellar summer deals, this time they're doing 40% off a whole 1.4kg beef shank and a fully-loaded seafood platter. Plus: buy-one-get-one bottles of rosé.
The 48-hour slow-cooked beef shank is a 1.4kg bone-in shank served with black truffle jus and truffle mashed potatoes. The seafood platter comes with three French oysters, half a Boston lobster, chilled prawns, and snails. Click here to read more.
The Deal(s): 40% off signature summer dishes!
Beef Shank (¥418, originally ¥688)
Seafood Platter (¥358, originally ¥588)
valid until September 16, 2023.
Scan the QR code to book and claim the deal.
Deals
Bambino
📍 600 Shaanxi Bei Lu 陕西北路600号
📞 13166296689
🕒 Tue-Sun, 11:30am-10pm; closed Monday
💬 WeChat: "Bambino_600"
Italian osteria Bambino is now open all-day, serving up some epic pizzas by-the-slice for lunch and a whole new dinner menu with show-stopping pastas.
Highlights include the Nina's Nduja pizza and the house-made Spaghetti alla Chitarra loaded with prawns, fried capers, anchovies, and olives. Click here to read more.
The Deal: Get 20% off your bill!
valid until September 30, 2023.
Scan the QR code to book and claim the deal.
Deals
Biggi's
Biggi's is an online grocer that offers premium seafood and chef-made meals. From sushi-grade yellowfin tuna to wild Icelandic cod, get seafood from all over the world, direct from source at Biggi's. Click here to read more.
The Deal: 10% off when you shop at Biggi's!
valid until September 12, 2023.
Scan the QR code to claim your discount & shop!
New Restaurants
The C. Steak House
📍 5/F, 88 Bei Suzhou Lu 北苏州路88号中美信托大厦南裙楼5楼
📞 18021020836
🕒 Daily, 11:30am-1:30pm, 2pm-4pm (afternoon tea), 5:30pm-9:30pm
The C. Steak House is a French steakhouse north of Suzhou Creek. The steakhouse was previously on the Bund and relocated this July.
→ →
The interiors are gorgeous with exposed grey brick walls, herringbone wood floors, and plenty of natural light. Apart from the unique Suzhou Creek view, the interiors are a near-complete replica of New York’s Le Coucou, down to the tasteful modern chandeliers. Private rooms available.
Black truffle foie gras cake, from ¥1,068 for a 4-inch cake.
Changbaishan black truffles, dried apricots, pistachios, mixed tomato raspberry jam.
Signature Hand Made Pasta – Utterly divine.
Recommended → →
It’s an upmarket French steakhouse serving refined appetizers, rich pastas, and wood-fired steaks. Two dishes really stood out: the black truffle foie gras cake (from ¥1,068 for 4-inch), which is to die for, and the hand-made pasta (¥398) with lobster, mussels, octopus, and crab broth.
All steaks are cooked over a wood-fired grill and start at ¥498 for a 200g M3+ fillet. Dry-aged steaks aplenty. Prices subject to 10% service charge.
Scallop carpaccio (¥188) – Maine scallops with caviar and shellfish dressing.
Uni & Egg (¥188) – Fresh sea urchin with soft-boiled egg and sea urchin sauce.
Dry-Aged M5+ Ribeye (¥898/450g)
Pan-fried black cod (¥398) with caviar and mussels butter sauce.
→ →
New Restaurants
El Pescador Seafood Bistro
📍 2/F, Bldg 6, Columbia Circle, 1262 Yan’an Xi Lu 延安西路1262号6号楼2层204
📞 52585218
🕒 Mon-Fri, 5pm-10:30pm; Sat-Sun, 11am-10:30pm
→ →
El Pescador is a bistro that’s all about seafood, located on the second floor of the “pool building” in Columbia Circle. It’s one of five restaurant brands within the Lenbach group.
The space is beautiful. Ocean-themed murals and mosaics with a blue and white color scheme against warm leather and wood tones. The indoor-outdoor seating area also overlooks the pool, so you can people watch without being bothered by the crowd.
Soupy Stewed Rice with Lobster (¥420)
Lobster Wellington (¥680)
Signature Wagyu & Geoduck Tartare (¥150)
Hand-line caught fish; seasonal.
→ →
It’s a seafood-forward menu with a couple non-seafood supporting dishes like salads, wood-fired pigeon, and steaks. The menu is courtesy of consultant chef Aitor Olabegoya. Expect dishes like blue lobster ceviche (¥350), homemade squid sausage (¥80), hand-line caught whole fish, josper-grilled seafood like scampi (¥160), octopus stuffed with goat cheese (¥158), and bluefin tuna (¥680), and sea urchin pasta (¥238).
New Restaurants
Bijou
📍 50 Wuyuan Lu 五原路50号甲
📞 15317268976
🕒 Mon, 10am-5pm; Tue-Sun, 10am-5pm, 6pm-10:30pm
Bijou is an all-day restaurant on Wuyuan Lu, brought to you by the group behind Bistro 11. It’s located in a two-storey lanehouse on Wuyuan Lu, the space formerly Bird. Bijou has spruced up the interiors, and the first floor is now much more spacious—gone are the bar seats. The second-floor terrace is tidier and is just as cozy.
→ →
Food is mostly western with an Asian twist. They serve a daily brunch menu and dinner with specials. Brunch fare is standard and simple with toasts topped with onsen eggs, burgers, and crepes. There aren’t any eggs benedicts, but there’s an eye-popper “Southeast Asian-style roasted octopus burger” (¥128) that stands out.
Southeast Asian-style roasted octopus burger (¥128)
Fried Chicken (¥58) with spicy mayonnaise.
Braised Yellow Croaker (¥88) with rice cake and truffle.
Sweet crepes from ¥68.
→ →
Dinner is more neo bistro with drink-friendly small plates like fried chicken and hearty mains like roasted lamb and rump cap.
New Restaurants
BROWNSTONE HOUSE
📍 Bldg 7, 160 Daduhe Lu 大渡河路160号7号楼
📞 52920186
🕒 Tue-Sun, 5pm-9:30pm
→ →
Brownstone House is an upmarket Spanish restaurant from the Brownstone group, a premium flagship of sorts, located in Putuo district. Housed in a shikumen complex, the interiors are flashy, adorned with a myriad of antique chandeliers and art. It's a place of grandeur. Multiple private rooms available.
Carabinero Paella (¥398)
Smoked Yellow Tail (¥158)
Blue Fin Tuna Cheek (¥198)
→ →
On the menu are Spanish-inspired dishes with an emphasis on Josper grilled seafood and meats, courtesy of chef Aitor (again) and company. Expect dishes like wagyu carpaccio (¥78), seafood croquetas (¥88), grilled carabinero pasta (¥138), josper-fired blue fin tuna cheek (¥198), M7 tomahawk (¥2,288), and whole suckling pig (¥1,588).
Seasonal Menu
The Pine
📍 333 Changle Lu 长乐路333号
📞 17765177375
🕒 Daily, 12pm-2pm, 6pm-10pm; closed Tuesdays
→ →
The Pine is an elegant fine dining restaurant that serves “Chinese-style French cuisine”. The restaurant has been around for some years, but recently relocated to a garden villa on Changle Lu, reopening with new chef Julia Yu at the helm. The Pine is part of the Light & Salt group.
Scallop, orange, wasabe creme, citrus ice
Housed in a charming villa, dining rooms are spread out across multiple floors. The space is elegant with feminine characteristics accented with pink-orange velvet walls, retro patterned chairs, and soft-glowing fixtures.
Amuse Bouche
Gougères with caramelized onion and eggplant.
Oyster two ways
Wild rice shoots, parmigiano, mushrooms, herbed chicken consomme.
→ →
The food is “Chinese-style French cuisine”. It’s basically a bit of both worlds, Western in appearance with some obvious Chinese ingredients and play on flavor. It’s good, well balanced, and I’d recommend it.
Blue lobster with yellow wine and fennel bulb.
Red horse head sashimi with shepherd’s purse, clam stock, and crunchy water chestnut.
Hiding underneath are noodles colored with shepherd's purse, cooked to firm with a bite.
Kumquot dessert with gardenia and extra virgin olive oil.
→ →
There are two tasting menus, Prestige (¥1,597) and Gourmet (¥1,697); 10% service charge applies. The current menu will be served until the end of September; menus change seasonally.
Seasonal Menu
Gui Hua Lou 桂花楼
📍 1/F, 33 Fucheng Lu, Pudong Shangri-La 富城路33号浦东香格里拉大酒店浦江楼1楼
📞 28286888
🕒 Daily, 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10pm
Assorted appetizers
Chinese restaurant Gui Hua Lou at the Pudong Shangri-La recently launched a new seasonal menu created by chef Gao Xiao Sheng.
Crystal dumpling stuffed with yellow croaker and crab meat & roe.
Huaiyang cuisine on the horizon featuring stir-fried snow crab with bird’s nest, dumplings with yellow croaker and crab, braised beef, and lily bulb with taro.
Beancurd soup with matsutake mushrooms and fish maw
Stir-fried prawn with shrimp roe
Stir-fried snow crab meat with bird's nest
Braised beef
→ →
Gui Hua Lou now has a 9-course set menu to share available on the WeChat shop. It's ¥880 per person, minimum two people. Available for lunch and dinner until October 31, 2023.
Read More:
China Bans Japanese Seafood, Impact on Restaurants
Beef, Seafood & Rosé at Cuivre
Tap that LIKE & WOW and share the love!