Horse & Cow: A Little Wine Bistro with Good Pasta

From VOS Families - the group behind Ottimo and Suzie - comes Horse & Cow, a compact wine bistro on Xiangyang Bei Lu.

The Space

horse cow wine bar restaurant shanghai 01

It feels like a miniature brasserie: tightly packed tables, a glittering wine display, and a gold and cream palette that makes the whole room feel elegant and a little feminine.

horse cow wine bar restaurant shanghai 06

Outside, tables spill onto the sidewalk in proper Parisian fashion, and they fill up fast.

The Food

The food is by consulting chef Freddy Raoult, the group's go-to for all things kitchen. It's a tight menu of under two dozen dishes, leaning French-Chinese.

grilled halibut on tomato toast

Start with the toasts, something of a Freddy signature. The Grilled Halibut Wing Toast (¥58) is the one to order. Rich, oily fish on a base of seasoned tomato purée, it's bright and satisfying.

toast with sardine paté

In comparison, the Sardine Paté Toast (¥58) is muted. A saucer of smooth paté with toasted bread for dipping, it's lighter in flavor than you'd expect.

crispy fried river shrimp, a drinking snack at Horse & Cow

The Fried River Shrimps (¥58) are a great drinking snack. Tiny, fried crispy, and eaten like roasted nuts, popping and crunching through the salt-pepper seasoning with an aioli dip on the side.

East-meets-west pasta at Horse & Cow, spicy squid in and linguini in a creamy sauce

For mains, the pasta plates impress with simplicity and comfort. The Spicy Squid Pasta (¥68) adds a light heat to its cream base. It's just enough spice to make it addictive without overwhelming.

spicy gnocchi with plump shrimp at Horse & Cow, a wine bistro in Shanghai

The Shrimp & Potato Gnocchi (¥68) turns it up a notch. It's spicy-sweet, topped with huangfeihong chilies, a snack chili that adds crunch. The shrimp are plump and fresh, the gnocchi pillowy and tender. This one might make you sweat.