It's time for your monthly serving of new restaurants, bars and tasty gossip tidbits. This month we are doling out that juicy, juicy gossip, in “value meal” servings since Shanghai’s food & beverage scene is super-sizing these days. Goodbye portion control.

Baxter The Club

Introducing Baxter The Club, an Italian-meets-Cantonese bistro situated in the Milan-based brand Baxter furniture showroom on Yongyuan Lu, backed by Hong Kong chef and restaurateur Josh Ng (previously of INT.). The venue celebrates cross-cultural creativity with dishes like creamy burrata paired with pickled Chiu Chow olives or crispy Cantonese pigeon dribbled in yuzu sauce. There’s 50 seats spread across a main dining room, two private rooms, and an outdoor space with four tables. Baxter The Club is currently only open for dinner, but will soon expand into daytime hours as the weather cools.

Cucina di Dario

Led by the eponymous chef Dario, Cucina di Dario sees an upscale take on Italian fare, with a Chinese twist. Situated in a split-level property on Wuding Lu, Cucina di Dario is spread across a 10-seater, open kitchen dining room plus an upstairs terrace. Born in Wenzhou, but raised in northern Italy, Dario’s cooking philosophy is an amalgamation of these two dining destinations, at once adapting and respecting tradition. Customary Italian favorites, like risotto, tortellini, and tiramisu, make a showing, but with subtle Chinese riffs. The prix fixe set menu will set you back RMB1,580 for eight courses or RMB1,980 for ten.

Nouvo

Goodbye Diner and hello Nouvo, a French-leaning neo bistro on the corner of Wulumuqi Lu and Wuyuan Lu by Chase White (Bar Blanc) and Victor Aime (Le Baron). The name, a purposefully mistaken aka new spelling of the French word for "new,"  hints at what the menu is all about. Open for both lunch and dinner, expect a modern take on French classics, plus coffee, cocktails, a refreshing spritz menu, and easy drinking wines, available at all hours. As Nouvo is currently in soft opening, there are 13 items available, but this will soon expand to 25+ menu items.

Salted Garden

Salted Garden is a new modern Chinese fine dining resto in lifestyle hub PAC (read more about PAC in the February F&B News edition here), serving up two “omakase style” set menus at RMB500 and RMB700. Said menu is all about highlighting the different terrains and varying altitudes of China’s diverse landscapes, with an emphasis on hyper-seasonality. The predominantly female kitchen team is presenting a pan-Chinese innovative menu, combining elements from various regional gastronomic traditions into one contemporary Chinese cuisine.

Chef Ugo Rinaldo of NOUS

NOUS is a new French fine dining affair located at Rockbund just above La Bourriche, set to soft open in September. “We focus fully on ingredient sourcing which caters to a more minimalistic approach to cooking,” says Executive Chef and restaurant partner Ugo Rinaldo (previously of Phenix). Rather than formal and stiff, the vibe is approachable, with seating spread across a tasting menu-only chef’s table for six, a ten-seater private dining room with an a la carte menu, and a main dining room with seven tables, where food is offered up sharing style. Working alongside Rinaldo will be chef de cuisine Vivi Shang (previously of Phenix, Together, and Commune Social).

Oncue

Another high-end French new restaurant, Oncue by chef Johnston Teo (previously of The Pine and Lunar), has opened on Sichuan Bei Lu, with limited seating of just four tables a night. The streamlined menu includes various lux add-ons – caviar, uni, and the like – for those looking for that extra splurge, with the average price per person clocking in around RMB950. Think smoked king salmon, jumbo prawns with perilla sauce, expertly fried pork chop with ham and cheese, behemoth lamb chops, and quite possibly the priciest madeleines in town, coming in at RMB188 an order.

67 Pall Mall

Jumping further into the future, globally-recognized private members-only wine club 67 Pall Mall will be making its debut in Shanghai next year in the Grand Mansion at 7 Donghu Lu. The world’s first group of private member’s clubs founded by wine lovers and for wine lovers debuted in 2015 in London. Since then, it has expanded with locations in Verbier (Switzerland), Singapore, Hong Kong, and now Shanghai, with additional locations in Bordeaux (France), Beaune (France), and Melbourne also in the works. The club will feature numerous luxury spaces for oenophiles to sip and savor over 5,000 wines by the bottle (with an emphasis on Chinese wines in the Shanghai location, of course). The space will include a Grand Salone, a Greenhouse, and a few private rooms. Membership applications are now open through the 67 Pall Mall Official WeChat Account: 67 Pall Mall 陆柒铂茂.

Chihuahua

Chihuahua

This month, Chihuahua moved shop back to its original digs on Xinzha Lu. It’s still the same Mexican comida corrida (or “meal on the run”) you know and love – tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and plenty of aguas frescas – plus a handful of new menu items by chef Hugo Rodriguez, who consulted on the menu update in collaboration with owner Estefania Casas.

Asian Flush

Serial barman Allen Fang (previously of Dreamsicle) has opened Asian Flush on Ruijin Er Lu. Drinks go for RMB75-95, with a menu full of – you guessed it based on the bar’s name – culinary Asian ingredients, like pandan soda, durian distillate, white miso, Sichuan oolong, MSG saline solution, gochujang distillate, and the list goes on. The candy apple red velour sofas mirror the bedazzled red velvet ceiling, contrasted by medium wood counter and tabletops and leafy plants abound, inviting guests in for another round.

Mykonos Pop Up at LAGO in Bellagio 

Mykonos Pop Up at LAGO in Bellagio 

Event organizer and tech platform Unight (owned by Artur Engalychev) has taken over the outdoor patio of Italian restaurant LAGO on the sixth floor of the Bellagio hotel for a Mykonos-themed popup that will run until November 1. Meant to act as an escape from the city, the entire space is decked out in a Mediterranean theme, inspired by the Greek islands, like Santorini. Guests are invited to enjoy sunsets with Shanghai’s sprawling skyline as the backdrop, accompanied by rotating daily DJs (every Wednesday-Sunday), themed parties on Saturdays, and specials all week. Cocktails and finger food (designed by consulting chef Conrad Van den Heever) also fit the same Mediterranean island vibes. Tickets start at RMB100 and can be booked through Unight’s WeChat Mini Program or by emailing info@unight.cn.

Malaya 19th

Mikkeller

Onto the closures, this month we bid adieu to hip hop club La Suite, Malay resto Malaya 19th, both locations of café and lunch spot Bread ETC., Viva Portuguese Restaurant, and Danish beer bar Mikkeller, which has now been replaced by another beer bar, Junto.