Author's Note: Shanghai Love has closed since the original date of this article's publication

The Place 

What started out as a craft beer brewery known as Shanghai Love has evolved over the last five years into a beverage brand with a full lineup of spirits, mixed drinks and bottled bevvies.

And then even further into a lifestyle brand encompassing large-scale beer festivals, charity events.

And then – most recently – a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Fengsheng Li, where White Castle used to be. 

However, unlike your typical taproom sporting pub grub, owner Kia Parsai is interested in approachable yet upscale dining, centering around Asian tapas designed by consulting chef Michael Janczewski (Juke, Canton Disco). 

The restaurant also embodies the ‘support local’ motto, offering only Chinese beers and wines, and ingredients sourced mainly from China, Japan and Southeast Asia. 

The cocktail menu, curated by Shanghai Love's own Sean Shao (previously of Atelier, Taste Buds), follows in the same vein, with each drink highlighting a key Asian product or flavor profile. Plus, no surprise here, the 12 Shanghai Love beers on tap are brewed locally.

The other 12 taps showcase brews from around the country, plus a smattering of Shanghai Love signature draft cocktails. We were pleasantly surprised to also discover a respectable sake program, poured in a sosogi-koboshi style, aka overflowing into the box on which the glass sits, like one would expect at a bustling Tokyo-based izakaya. 

The red-hued lounge’s focal point is the 360-bar, with mostly counter seating for roughly 40 people along the bar itself, window, kitchen counter and tables.

Geometric floor tiling in black and white allow the brand’s crimson logo to pop, accented by Cherrywood and warm lighting. It all feels very laid-back, like a neighborhood bar, until the food arrives. 

The Food

The cuisine is not fusion; each dish stands on its own as either Thai, Vietnamese, Korean or Chinese, forming a cohesive pan-Asian tapas menu with a focus on quality execution.

For a ‘beer bar,’ the food is delicate, fresh and markedly light, conducive to building a full meal experience by sampling a fair portion of the menu at once.

Sashimi isn’t top of mind at a beer bar, but when dining at Shanghai Love, it’s worth changing that mindset, as their unconventional raw bar selections rival those at high-end, modern Japanese joints.

This is not the kind of sashimi you end up sloshing around in wasabi-laden soy sauce – like dunking a mop into a bucket. 

Instead, each presentation is paired with thoughtful textural components, like crunchy bamboo rounds and juicy mandarin segments folded inside thickly-sliced Salmon (RMB88); a whipped oroshi (purée) of apple and daikon anchoring pleats of Yellowtail (RMB78); or vinegar-soaked dill sprinkled atop a petal-like display of Scallops (RMB118).

As each dish glistens with its own punchy jus, we found ourselves bypassing chopsticks for a spoon to scoop entire mouthfuls. 

If you’re gonna get wet, might as well go swimming – or diving in this case – for the rotating selection of Oysters (RMB88/2, RMB398/12), offered in both cold and warm, with red shiso vinaigrette and lime as the former or flash-grilled with konbu-ginger and chives as the latter.

Unctuous and sweet, these mollusks are like being dumped by an ocean wave, each slurp further bestowing these creatures of the deep with their much-deserved aphrodisiac reputation. 

Rosy pink minced Wagyu Beef Tartare (RMB128) is tossed with fish sauce and toasted rice powder, emulating Laotian larb in both its refreshing flavor profile and straightforward presentation that lasers in on showcasing the specimen of beef on hand. 

If it’s a greasy burger and fries you’re after, that ship sailed with the closing of White Castle. But, as an ode to the fast food chain, the menu bestows on us a souped-up alternative – one that sits at the unexpected cross section of indulgent and trashy – the Tribute to White Castle (RMB98).

Wagyu M5 Sirloin is breaded and fried katsu-style, slathered in a tamarind glaze, flanked by creamy cabbage slaw and nestled inside a plush milk bun.

It is excess at its finest, a worthy accolade to burgers of the world. 

Prawn Scotch Egg (RMB68)

While fried offerings do find their way onto the table, they don’t do so in a way that undermines the underlying brightness that runs throughout the meal.

The taught skin on the Chicken Mid-Wings (RMB78) puckers and crisps, charring to a rich dark brown to reveal the most succulent meat underneath – brightened by a liberal lashing of citrus, toasted peanuts and a slow-burning buzz of chili garlic crisp.

A tempura-esque, seaweed-speckled Shanghai Love beer batter coats the Red Snapper (RMB78), like a Shanghainese take on fish’n’chips, served with a treacly black garlic dip. 

There are also heftier options: chili-glazed Iberico Pork Ribs (RMB128), with meat that slinks off a completely clean bone; herb-rubbed Lemongrass Butter Chicken (RMB128), enhanced by a gasp of scorched lemon; and seared Beef Shortrib (RMB188), juxtaposed against a raw herb salad.

All arrive grill-marked with a lingering smoky char – a signature Southeast Asian flavor profile that expertly balances sweet, salty, sour and spice threads throughout. 

Drag a chopstick across the onsen egg’s thin outer coating and watch the climactic explosion of velvety yolk dribble down the side of the Uni Chirashi (RMB118) bowl.

Buttery slabs of imported sea urchin encircle said yolk, along with salmon belly tartare, nori jam and crunchy toasted rice flakes – that are best enjoyed shambolically jumbled together then shoveled in mountainous scoops directly into your face. 

Other carb-centric plates include twisting ropes of Pork and Cabbage Udon (RMB58) as a deconstructed dumpling of sorts; Shanghai Thick Noodles (RMB68) rimmed by Canadian clams; and Grilled Chicken Fried Rice (RMB58), an Indonesian take on this classic street food staple. 

Dense and soaked through with milk tea, the Asian Tres Leches (RMB58) rivals its Mexican counterpart, topped with a scoop of coconut ice cream and crushed peanuts.

The Hazelnut Ice Cream (RMB58), meanwhile, more closely resembles a milk tea, with saccharine Okinawa syrup-coated blueberries appearing like boba. 

After all this, if you still prefer to drink your daily caloric intake, the snacks are there to grease the wheel – southeast Asian Beer Nuts (RMB28) with toasted chilis, kaffir lime and herbs; Japanese Cucumber Salad (RMB28) with seaweed and pungent nuoc cham (Vietnamese fish sauce); and an Asian rendition of elotes as the grilled Corn (RMB38), dusted with a salted egg yolk crumble and kaffir lime. 

Lunch sets are available on weekdays from 11am-3pm for the bargain price of RMB68, that couples rice or noodle-based dishes with miso soup and a drink. 

The Drinks

Despite being a craft beer bar, there is an equal emphasis placed on cocktails, wine and sake. The standard lineup of Shanghai Love core beers come in 125ml and 330ml pours (RMB48-58), while Specialty Brews and Ciders (RMB48-108) cover creatively crafted pints that appeal to seasoned beer veterans and casual beer sippers alike. 

Draft cocktails span the Shanghai Mule (RMB78), the Paloma Superstar (RMB78), a Shanghai Love and W Shanghai – The Bund collaboration Gin66 Blueberry Tonic (RMB88) (using The W Shanghai's signature Gin66, a Crimson Pangolin creation) and a rotating Guest Cocktail (RMB88), the first of which will be Tim Becqueriaux’s (Starbucks Reserve) spin on an Espresso Martini. 

But the real draw is the crafted cocktail menu, featuring a handful of beertails, like the Crimson Cider (RMB88), shaken with Shanghai-based Crimson Pangolin gin, cassis, Frangelico, lemon egg white and a fizzy topper of Shanghai Love Cider brewed with local apples. 

Sake Bamboo (RMB98)

A Chivas 12-year IPA Whisky Sour (RMB88) sees Shanghai Love IPA reduced into a bitter syrup, then stirred with lemon juice.

The Chocolate Negroni (RMB98) is a smoky substitute starring Paloma mezcal, sweet vermouth, Shanghai Love Chocolate Stout and shaved dark chocolate. 

The Vibe 

Despite the open layout and brightly lit daytime atmosphere, Shanghai Love has a lounge vibe that makes you crave another round of brews.

Whether it’s the eclectic top hits playlist, the unpretentious décor or the friendly service, something about the space urges us to drink… heavily.

Yet, somehow food is still the focus. 

We can see this place eventually going the party route – restaurant by day, with the potential to turn into a rowdy dance club at night. Shanghai Love is a booze brand, after all – but now we can associate Southeast Asian grilled meats and chirashi bowls with it too. 

Price: RMB60-300
Who’s Going: The F&B Support Local crowd, beer lovers, those craving southeast Asian and Japanese flavors 
Good For: Day-drinking sessions, sashimi and sake consumption, casual catchups

Shanghai Love,  221 Maoming Bei Lu, by Weihai Lu, 茂名北路221号, 近威海路.