The Shanghai Scoop is a monthly column dedicated to the latest food and drink news happening in Shanghai.
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Highly antipcated opening VICE reveals it’s executive chef, cocktail bar Pony Up to launch a new lounge, Balinese concept Holy Spice from OHA Group, EIGHT by Chef Gabo reopens on Yongkang Lu.
Long-standing Mexican restaurant Maya closes after 18 years. As does Chicken & Egg on Fumin Lu, along with over a dozen other closures.
Coming… Real Soon!
After a brief sabbatical from the Shanghai F&B scene, chef Carlos Sotomayor is back leading the culinary direction on not one but two really cool projects: VICE and one with Pony Up.
“I’m back b*tches! The cat’s out of the bag! And I’m really excited for these projects.”
VICE
This season’s hot new opening is VICE — a long-awaited project backed by Shanghai F&B veterans, housed in a beautiful heritage lane house at 128 Yongjia Lu, right next to the original O’Mills.
The leader of the pack is Raffe “Wolf” Ibrahamian of Cantina Agave, joined by Executive Chef Carlos Sotomayor (formerly of High Yaki) and Head Bartender Nick, an alum of J. Boroski.
The food menu features globally inspired small plates including dishes like chicken with huangjiu and tahini, roasted lamb gratin, salmon with leche de tigre, and squid noodles with pigeon broth. Meanwhile, drinks will be curated classics with a twist.
A quick first look reveals a ground-floor café setting with an adjoining terrace, plus a second-floor bar and lounge with a balcony view.
VICE — soft opening for dinner second week of June. Brunch to come later on.
New Project by Pony Up
Rising star bartender Dre Yang of Asia’s 50 Best Bar Pony Up will launch an intimate cocktail lounge connected to its existing space. The food, courtesy of Chef Carlos, will feature elevated bar snacks. Due for August.
Holy Spice
Malaogo on Fuxing Zhong Lu has closed. The OHA Group has transformed it into Holy Spice, a restaurant concept that takes inspiration from Bali, Indonesia — spices, rituals, textures, and aromas. And they have a rooftop terrace with seating.
Currently running a soft opening menu, but the “good stuff” is due for mid-June.
Taoyuan on Fumin Lu
Chicken & Egg closed last weekend. The space will be turned into an outlet of Taiwanese chain Taoyuan (桃园眷村). FYI: They do possibly the best youtiao in Shanghai.
Now Open
EIGHT
EIGHT by Chef Gabo has returned, now open on Yongkang Lu.
The food is based on Chifané, a self-coined designation inspired by Chifa — a cuisine born from Chinese immigrants to Peru — but more personal to Chef Gabo’s own journey: from South America to Spain, and now to China.
There’s a chef’s table for eight, just as the name says, and a bistro section on the second floor for a la carte. A la carte menu features dishes like savory churros with crab salad, soy-cured tuna with pickled peach, asado pork ribs, and duck cannelloni with dan dan sauce. The chef’s table menu is priced at ¥888.
The Hai
Laid-back neighborhood bar and grill The Hai is up and kicking at their new spot at 31 Gao’an Lu. Same people, same good vibes. A hangout for those looking for a chill space with pool, darts, video games, karaoke, and trivia nights.
They’ve kept their food offerings too — American bar bites including wings, burgers, sandwiches, bowls, and even pizzas.
Bar Pesce
The old Sage space has been revived into Bar Pesce, a seafood bar along Suzhou Creek serving seafood with an Italian spin and wine.
Cumin
Cumin, a contemporary Xinjiang restaurant, has replaced Le Verre à Vin on Ferguson Lane. It is operated by the same team behind Miss Ali (阿里家).
The menu features a mix of traditional Xinjiang dishes like dapanji and lamb skewers, but also some modern interpretations like red wine braised lamb shank, threadfin fish with a tomato-chili sauce, and elegant small plates.
Around Town
Sober Company 3.0
Sober Company is getting a relaunch with several changes starting June.
On the ground floor, the former Sober Café space (the main area upon entry) will become æ (ash) café & bar, a minimum-waste concept serving coffee and cocktails and a sister location to its Tokyo counterpart. Behind the brick wall lies Sober Airways, featuring a seasonal tasting menu with paired drinks.
On the second floor, Sober and Tipsy will remain. The main room will largely be home to the izakaya lounge, led by Chef Ryusuke Nakagawa of one-star Aburi Hana in Toronto, who will elevate classic omatsuri festival food and street fare with premium ingredients for the new menu. Tipsy, the cozy cocktail space tucked into the back, will continue to serve iconic signatures and classic cocktails.
Goodman
Goodman has a food truck pop-up at Anken Air until June 21. And yes, they’ll be reopening a brick-and-mortar on Yanping Lu in the old Little Catch/Matto space.
NABI is expanding to include the ground floor level where WULI once was. (Yes, WULI has closed.)
Another doner kebab shop opened on Ruijin Er Lu called Usta Donerci.
Creative Guizhou restaurant GEN will be doing a pop-up kitchen at Tiaohai Bar (跳海酒馆) on Yongyuan Lu in June, showcasing some new dishes at the hip beer bar.
Kingichi Ramen has opened a second location at 333 Chengdu Bei Lu, serving up a selection of shellfish broth based ramens.
Closed
After 18 years Mexican restaurant Maya has closed. Now, according to its co-founder, this may only be temporary, as the Shanghai institution is hoping to reopen. (The above was posted to WeChat Moments in April.)
Quite a few restaurants are closing at the end of the month, last day on May 31: Bambino and Grumpy Dog. Chicken & Egg closed last week.
Nebula Shanghai will close mid-June. Its previous chef Jonatan Rubio, has now moved to Terrakota as Executive Chef.
Air by Ounce is due to close July 31.
Earlier this year, Shanghai Min (Xiao Nan Guo 小南国) announced a temporary closure of all its restaurants under the brand in Shanghai. Well, turns out that meant “permanent” for all locations.
Other closures: Suzie (February), +PINK (K11), ULU ULU Gelato (Wulumuqi Lu), LeeLaksa (Jing An Kerry Centre), Voisine (Wulumuqi Lu), Catch of the Day, WULI, Cilan by Xibo, Yun Cui Fang (云翠坊), Maolago, Chicken & Egg.
