Popular Wine Bar Fenoli Opens Second Location in Jing’an
On April 11, 2023
Fenoli, a wine bar on Sinan Lu expands with a second, bigger location in Jing’an, located at Citic Square. Currently in soft opening, they’re rehashing many of their popular small plates while adding on new, larger format grilled dishes.
The Space
It’s in an unusual location, on the basement level of Citic Square, a lesser-known mall at the busy intersection of Shaanxi Bei Lu and Nanjing Xi Lu. The big draw is the spacious outdoor seating area, which they claim all to themselves.
Inside there’s a bar counter, pockets of loungy seating all around, and a couple of private rooms. It’s a very slick space. It’s also dog-friendly outside.
The Food
Most of the small plates are borrowed from their first location; the original on Sinan Lu opened mid-2021. The food is rather freestyle, an amalgam of Hong Kong-native chef Louis Kung’s influences and preferences. I’d summarize to say it’s a global menu with a Chinese palate in mind.
The small plates are playful and creative, while the large format mains tend to be more traditional, mostly char-grilled. More new dishes will be added on later.
Table bread with seaweed butterDuck Proscuitto (¥90) – Duck that’s been house-cured and smoked, served with hazelnuts and a sliver of pineapple jam.Ebi Tartare (¥118) – Sweet raw shrimp tartare mixed with avocado and green apple topped with an egg, served with pani puri. It’s inspired by the Chinese drunken shrimp, and has a spot of huangjiu in the marinade. A light, creamy, fun snack.Wagyu Beef Carpaccio (¥118) with grilled chili, century egg, puffed black rice, and biquinho sweet peppers. The spice is addictive and not overpowering.Kingfish Carpaccio (¥118) – A kingfish crudo drowned in coconut cream with a hint of lime, a couple different flavored oils, and crispy quinoa. Be sure to eat this one with a spoon.
Those are the rehashed small plates. These two are new dishes:
Pan-Fried Mayou Fish (¥298) – Threadfin fish fillet with potato purée and grilled leek in a fantastic citrusy brown butter sauce. An excellent dish, absolutely delicious.Char-Grilled Chicken (¥268) – Chicken cooked with a mix of Cantonese technique (for the crisped skin) and char-grilling. Juicy flesh, crispy skinned and served with porcini sauce. It’s tasty, but overpriced in my opinion.Tiramisu (¥58) – One of their most popular desserts, a lava-like tiramisu that’s dunked into three kinds of liquors, resulting in a boozier-than-usual version. Chef prefers non-sweet desserts, and most of what he serves is boozy, bitter, or floral.Coconut & Lemongrass ice cream (¥58) – House made ice cream with coconut jelly, coconut chips, and sago. A light, refreshing option.Espresso Coffee ice cream (¥58) – Bitter, roasted aromas topped with a chocolate crisp dusted with cinnamon.
Wines are competitively priced, starting at ¥65 by the glass, ¥360 by the bottle.
The lunch set is pretty good value, ¥128 for bread, one starter, and one main.
Fenoli 2.0 (Jing’an) Address: B1, Citic Square, 1168 Nanjing Xi Lu, downstairs of D&G on Shaanxi Bei Lu 南京西路1168号中信泰富广场B1层, 陕西北路D&G楼下 Tel: 15316986219 Hours: Daily, 10:30am-midnight
Rachel Gouk has been writing about food and drink in Shanghai since 2011. She is a food critic, writer, photographer, and F&B consultant based in Shanghai. Nomfluence was founded in May 2018 as a means to express her love for the Shanghai F&B scene. Follow her blog www.nomfluence.com or on Instagram @nomfluence.
