Lawry’s The Prime Rib Shanghai has rolled out a new summer BBQ brunch, which comes with all-you-can-eat grilled meats and a solid salad bar. And, if you’re so inclined, four hours of free-flow for ¥188.
Brunch at Lawry’s Shanghai
The weekend brunch itself is ¥398, which gets you one selected main, unlimited barbecue and salad bar, a modest dessert selection, plus one drink.
Brunch ¥398 per person
One selected main
Unlimited selected barbecue
Salad bar
Fruit & canapé desserts
One coffee, tea, soft drink, or juice
Unlimited BBQ & Salad Bar
First, the silver trolley — Lawry’s signature rolling carvery — is loaded with the barbecue du jour.
There’s crispy roasted pork belly, pork sausages, squid ink sausages, chicken wings, teriyaki chicken skewers, prime rib and pineapple rolls, and grilled clams. Vegetables of corn on the cob and grilled zucchini sneak in too.
The standout is, unsurprisingly, the crispy pork belly, the one worth going back for seconds, and maybe thirds.
It’s almost suckling-pig style: the skin shatters with every bite, it’s so audibly delicious. Just pace yourself, because pork belly is pork belly, and the richness catches up fast.
Thankfully, the salad bar is more forgiving on the waistline.
Expect heirloom cherry tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, mango and peppers with baby squid, a chicken breast and apple salad in a light pepper-mayo dressing, and a DIY station to build your own. There’s also a potato and egg salad, glorious carbs bound with mayo — carby but hard to resist.
There’s skewered shrimp and grilled caramelized bananas, too.
It’s rounded out with bite-sized desserts and fresh fruit.
Brunch Mains
You get to choose one main. Naturally, the move here is the Lawry’s Classic Prime Rib, carved to order at another silver trolley down the way.
Brunch price includes the Jade Cut, 110g of prime rib, which is more than you’d imagine since it’s cooked weight.
Upgrades for prime rib are also available: 170g for ¥168, or the 280g for ¥298.
It comes with all the signature trimmings of mashed potatoes, creamed corn or creamed spinach, and plenty of au jus, plus a classic Yorkshire pudding and whipped cream horseradish.
If you want your prime rib in hand-held form, go for the Prime Rib French Dip (supplement ¥58). Thin-sliced prime rib is packed into a baguette with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese, plus a touch of horseradish to cut the richness.
It arrives with a pot of au jus for dipping, which makes for a messy but thoroughly satisfying affair. It’s served with hand-cut, crispy salted chips. Pro move: pile the chips straight into the sandwich.
Not everyone wants prime rib on repeat, so brunch also has Salmon Florentine (supplement ¥58), pink-centered salmon in a cream sauce with spinach and baby tomatoes. It’s straightforward, but effective. A bit of advice: steal your dining partner’s Yorkshire pudding when they’re not looking and let it soak up the sauce.
Then there’s the Crab Cake Benedict, which is exactly like their signature crab cake just formatted for brunch. It might look petit but this thing is densely packed. Break into it and the hand-picked crab meat turns fluffy, seasoned with a house tartare-mayo dressing, topped with a yolky poached egg and hollandaise. Between this and the salmon, it’s the crab cake for me.
Free-Flow Brunch Add-On
If it’s a boozy brunch you’re looking for, the ¥188 free-flow runs from 11am to 3pm — four hours. This free-flow actually runs daily! It includes house red, white, and sparkling wine, three kinds of Vedett beer, and house-pour mixed drinks. Even three glasses of wine in, it’s a good deal.
On weekdays, Lawry’s also runs a three-course lunch, starting from ¥188; appetizer, soup, and main, plus one selected drink.
All prices above subject to 10% service charge.
Lawry’s The Prime Rib Shanghai
View the listing here.
