Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Shanghai for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Shanghai for grown-ups.
Bar Leone Shanghai pours Italian aperitivo classics from a two-floor Sinan Mansions space, the Shanghai outpost of a Hong Kong original bar.
DrinkBlack Truffle Godfather, aged six months with Yunnan black truffle
FoodItalian aperitivo and bar bites, including a mortadella focaccia
TipThe ground floor Bar di Passo suits a quick aperitivo; head upstairs to the living-room floor for the aged Vecchi & Rari drinks.
Bar Rock is a Tibetan-run cocktail bar in Shanghai from the OHA Group, its menu built around highland barley and Tibetan Buddhist practice stages.
DrinkCocktails built on foraged Tibetan ingredients: highland barley, sea buckthorn, tsampa
FoodNo kitchen; drinks only
TipShoes come off at the door; the carpeted floor seating suits a slower, no-rush session.
Bar S-Otto hides in the basement of Atelier No. 3 on Fumin Road, an omakase-style Shanghai speakeasy pouring eight classics and eight signatures.
DrinkA tight list of eight classics and eight signatures, each ¥88
FoodDrinks only, omakase-style bar counter
TipLook for the hidden door inside Atelier No. 3 and take the stairs down; a private room is kept for whisky.
Full House by Bar Choice pours West Lake Longjing tea cocktails near the Bund in Shanghai, a Hangzhou teahouse look built inside BFC's north block.
DrinkWest Lake Longjing tea cocktails across four flavour profiles
FoodZhejiang-inspired bar snacks, including Longjing tea-infused prawns
TipAbout 60 percent of the drinks use Longjing tea; in fine weather the leafy terrace seats 10 to 15.
Coa Shanghai spreads four agave-spirit floors across a Fuxing Middle Road lane house, the mainland outpost of Hong Kong's Coa reopened in 2024.
DrinkMezcal and tequila flights across four floors: Taqueria, Cantina, Salon, Mezcaleria
FoodTacos and Mexican small plates on the Taqueria and Cantina floors
TipExpect a queue at the door; each floor runs its own menu, and you need not climb through the first three to reach the Mezcaleria.
Pony Up pours easy-drinking cocktail twists on Jinxian Road in Shanghai, a small, buzzy neighbourhood bar ranked No. 19 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026.
DrinkJurassic Gone Wrong: gin, rose beancurd, cacao, pecan, camellia and vermouth
FoodPatty melts on milk toast, corn dogs, and fries with furikake and wasabi mayo
TipCome for the corn dogs and patty melts as much as the cocktails; the bar food earns its own order.
The Union Trading Company has poured seasonal cocktails in Shanghai since 2014, first on Fenyang Road, now on Hengshan Road; a past Asia's 50 Best Bars pick.
DrinkCocktails from the Snapshot of the Time menu, spanning 19th-century classics to contemporary minimalism
FoodAmerican-style bar food from chef Austin Hu
TipAsk about the Snapshot of the Time menu; each drink is tied to a specific bartender's own story.
Laizhou Bar pours cocktails made with its parent distillery's own spirits on Fumin Road in Shanghai, next to a Sichuan-leaning fusion kitchen.
DrinkCocktails made with the distillery's own Ling-Lie vodka and Jiao-Yu gin
FoodSichuan food with a fusion twist, including dan dan noodle pasta
TipThe dog-friendly front terrace is the better seat on a warm evening than the sprawling main hall.
Swirl on Middle Fuxing Road in Shanghai swirls wine together with spirits into winetails, sharing a wall with sister cocktail bar Speak Low.
DrinkWinetails, wine-based cocktails swirled rather than shaken, from ¥90 to ¥125
FoodA small snacks menu alongside the wine cocktails
TipStart with the lighter-bodied cocktails on the menu before working up to the full-bodied pours later on.
Gallows Humor on South Shaanxi Road in Shanghai is an all-black, minimalist cocktail bar from the same founders behind neighboring bar Paal.
DrinkPlayful cocktails built around unusual ingredients like blue cheese and century egg
TipCome with an open mind about ingredients; the menu leans into odd pairings like century egg and clam juice.
Alma Luna, on North Xiangyang Road in Shanghai, pours bartender Yao Lu's own take on classic Cuban cocktails behind a bright yellow front door.
DrinkMiami Vice, a two-in-one pina colada and strawberry daiquiri
FoodCuban-leaning bites like chicharron, croquettes and a Cubano sandwich
TipOrder the Cubano sandwich alongside a cocktail; the kitchen leans into comfort food more than sharing plates.
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