Office towers and old lanes around Jing'an Temple and Nanjing West Road, with hotel restaurants, cocktail bars and busy lunch counters.
Blossom inside Plaza 66 in Jing'an serves casual Chaoshan and Cantonese dishes, the affordable sister of Michelin two-star Amazing Chinese Cuisine.
OrderOrder the steamed East Sea grouper with pickled mustard greens and the Chiu Chow beef offal pot.
TipThe Chiu Chow preserved radish fried rice and the crab with sweet potato noodles round out a full Teochew spread.
Rongjia Noodles Soup with Yellow Croaker in Jing'an, Shanghai holds a Bib Gourmand for yellow croaker in a milky fish-bone broth over springy wheat noodles.
OrderOrder the yellow croaker noodle soup, its broth simmered from fish bones until milky and rich.
TipIt is a sister shop to one-Michelin-starred Xin Rong Ji, which supplies the premium yellow croaker used here.
Jingmei Wuxi Noodles on Yanping Road in Jing'an, Shanghai holds a Bib Gourmand for sweet-leaning Wuxi noodles in a small, cramped dining room.
OrderOrder the Wuxi braised pork rib noodles, dressed with soy sauce and scallion oil and dried shrimp.
TipAlso try the chili and soy-braised pork bone noodles or the Taihu three white dumplings filled with egg and shrimp.
Bao Li Xuan inside Bvlgari Hotel Shanghai holds two Michelin stars for Cantonese classics and Shanghainese dishes in a restored Jing'an landmark.
OrderOrder the soy sauce-marinated chicken and the steamed rice rolls with crispy shrimp dim sum.
TipThe cellar beneath the dining room stocks yellow wine and baijiu alongside vintages for pairing with the Cantonese sauces.
Fu 1088 in Jing'an, Shanghai holds one Michelin star for Shanghainese cooking inside a restored 1920s Spanish-style villa with sixteen private rooms.
OrderOrder the soy-marinated cod, the glazed pork belly, and the crab roe xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).
TipSixteen private rooms fill the villa, sized for two people up to twenty, so it books out fast for group dinners.
Seventh Son on Weihai Road holds one Michelin star for Cantonese dim sum, crispy skinned chicken and roasted pork in Jing'an District, Shanghai.
OrderOrder the dim sum alongside the crispy skinned chicken and roasted pork that made the room's name.
TipIt relocated from Jing'an Kerry Centre to 500 Weihai Road in January 2025; look for R2-01 on the second floor.
Fabula in Jing'an holds one Michelin star for a six-seat, Wednesday to Sunday tasting menu that owners Zee, Charles and Ricky call Neo-Sino-French.
OrderNine courses for about ¥1,280, mixing Ningbo and Guangdong flavours with French technique.
TipBook months ahead by WeChat or Xiaohongshu; there is no walk-in seating and only six counter seats a night.
Il Ristorante Niko Romito on the 47th floor of the Bvlgari Hotel Shanghai holds one Michelin star for Italian fine dining above the city skyline.
OrderFine dining Italian cooking curated in partnership with three-Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito of Reale.
TipWeekend brunch runs alongside the regular lunch and dinner service; book the window seats for the skyline view.
Legend Taste on Kangding Road in Shanghai is a no-frills Yunnan restaurant serving southern minority dishes like black chicken salad from a covered terrace.
OrderBlack chicken salad with lemon chili and the wild vegetable pancake.
TipThe terrace out front is the more relaxed seat; the dining room inside is cozy and can feel tight.
Smokin' Hog on Wuding Road in Shanghai smokes Texas-style brisket and ribs, a project a husband-and-wife team grew from pop-ups into a brick-and-mortar.
OrderThe Texas-style brisket and the smoked pork ribs.
TipThe brisket smokes low for 16 to 18 hours and a 9 kg raw cut cooks down to about 3 kg, so order it first.
Deda Western Restaurant on West Nanjing Road in Shanghai opened in 1897 in Hongkou and here in 2007, serving the Haipai pork chop, borscht and potato salad.
OrderFried pork chop with Worcestershire-style sauce, borscht, and potato salad, Deda's old three.
TipMost diners are Shanghainese regulars there for nostalgia; the room by the Nanjing Road window doubles as a coffee house with a cake shop.
Le Café Louis Vuitton on the third deck of The Louis, the ship-shaped LV venue in Shanghai, serves lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in set sessions.
DrinkAfternoon tea set aboard The Louis
TipBook through the My LV WeChat mini-program; a 10 percent service charge applies, and The Louis runs for two years from June 2025.
Kaisiling on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai has sold its whipped chestnut cake since a 1928 copycat of a Tianjin cafe opened at this address.
Worth the queueChestnut cake (tossed cream)
TipBeyond the chestnut cake the case holds eclairs, cream horns and millefeuille; this is the original site, now in a newer building.
BasdBan on Yuyuan Road in Shanghai bakes its popular croissants inside a design forward stainless steel and concrete storefront with a dog friendly patio.
Worth the queueCroissant
TipSeasonal specials rotate often, but regulars keep returning for the plain, flaky croissant.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai inside Taikoo Hui roasts green beans on site and pipes them through copper tubes to three coffee bars here.
BrewsEspresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
TipThe longest of the three coffee bars runs 26.9 metres; there is also a Teavana tea bar and a Princi bakery on site.
Le Bouchon stocks over 1,000 wine labels in a four-metre cellar wall on Wuding West Road, a Shanghai wine bistro run by a pair of established sommeliers.
PourAn extensive by-the-glass selection that rotates regularly
WineOver 1,000 labels heavy on Burgundy and Champagne, stored in a four-metre cellar wall
FoodFrench classic bistro dishes with Chinese snack-food detours
TipAsk for the by-the-glass list rather than the bottle menu if you want to try more than one style.
Auntie Huang Guotie on Wanhangdu Road in Shanghai has pan-fried potstickers since 1997, making its own dough wrappers for a crispy, porky bite.
TryPork guotie with house-made wrappers
TipRaw, uncooked guotie are sold to go if you would rather fry a batch at home.
A Da Scallion Pancakes near the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, famous since a BBC feature, reopened here in April 2025 with handmade cong you bing.
TryHandmade scallion pancake
TipExpect a wait of 30 minutes to two hours; A Da and his son still cook every pancake to order.
Goose Island Brewhouse on Maoming North Road in Jing'an is the Chicago brewer's first stand-alone brewhouse in Shanghai, brewing its beer on site.
TipAsk which taps are brewed on-site versus imported; the two are mixed on the same board.
Terrakota in a glasshouse extension on Yanping Road in Shanghai serves a Mediterranean weekend brunch set every Saturday and Sunday at noon.
OrderThe Fish Sausage with Truffle Potato Foam or the Octopus Meloso Rice for sharing.
TipLast order for brunch is 2:30pm; the free-flow package runs two hours and is worth it with a group.
Loushang Hotpot on Nanhui Road in Shanghai simmers a Cantonese yellow broth from fish maw, chicken and abalone, serving live seafood until 04:00.
OrderGolden chicken soup hotpot with live seafood and the claypot rice.
TipLive tanks hold geoduck, conch and king crab, so ask staff to help pick what looks freshest that night.
Private tour · 4 hours
Start your Shanghai trip calmly with Tony, an English-speaking Shanghai local host. Get practical help with Alipay, WeChat, local transport, food, and a flexible city route.
Experience a 5D dining experience on the Shanghai Bund. Enjoy a 7-course meal led by Panda Chef Cheng, with 270° panoramic projections, AR tables, and 360° surround sound.
Water activity · 4 hours
Discover Shanghai on a night tour with a river cruise and food tasting. Stroll along Suzhou Creek, explore shikumen lanes, and taste local snacks before cruising the H...
