Shanghai has so many nightlife options to choose from it can be hard to know
where to start. We recommend ten of the best bars and clubs in the city for
drinks with a view of the famous Pudong skyline, clubbing on The Bund, enjoying
a quiet cocktail in the Former French Concession or heading underground for
electronic music.
For a view
On the 58th floor of the new
Ritz-Carlton Pudong, the terrace from Flair has one of the best views in town,
practically looking into the Pearl Tower. Given the location, it's on the
pricier side, most drinks will set you back 90RMB plus 15 per cent service
charge, from signature cocktails such as the Crystal Blue Shanghai to a ginger
mojito or a Hoegaarden, but it has a great spacious outdoor terrace, which is
perfect for relaxing in Shanghai's warmer months.
For a view without making such a
dent in your wallet, try Time Out favourite Captain's Bar
over on The Bund. Inside the slightly basic Captain's Hostel, the
nautical-themed bar has a similarly impressive view of the Pudong skyline, but
none of the glamour and drinks usually all come in under 50RMB.
Where is
it? Inside one of the towers of the IFC Mall
at Lujiazui, Pudong 8 Century Avenue, near Lujiazui Huan Lu 浦东世纪大道8号58楼，近陆家嘴环路
Captain's
Hostel is half a block behind the Bund. 37 Fuzhou Lu, near Sichuan
Zhong Lu 浦东区福州路37号5楼，近四川中路
For quality cocktails
The first real venue to bring the
prohibition-era cocktail bar trend to Shanghai, Senator
Saloon houses a beautiful dark wood interior under an eye-catching tin
roof (brought in especially from Texas) creating a sleepy, late-night hideaway
atmosphere.
For drinks barman David Schroeder
has created a menu of Prohibition Era mixes of standouts like the robust,
complex and brilliant Martinez (72RMB), a kind of happy truce between a negroni
and a Manhattan, and a lighter basil gimlet (68RMB) with a satisfyingly herby
burst. There's also a strong range of unique bourbons and barrel aged gins and
some good bar snacks, such as the unmissable pulled pork sliders.
Open 5pm-late daily
Call 5423 1330
Metro Changshu Lu
Address 98 Wuyuan Lu, near
Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, Xuhui district
Show the cabbie 徐汇区五原路98号, 近乌鲁木齐中路
For Entertainment
Every night at
7.30pm, the Jazz Bar at the Peace
Hotel plays host to Shanghai’s oldest jazz band – their average
age is 77, and some members first played together in 1947. In this
faithfully-recreated bar at the iconic Peace Hotel, watching these old boys go
(slowly) through jazz standards is a classic experience. Be sure to book ahead
for a table. Beers from 45RMB, cocktails from 70RMB (plus 15 per cent service
charge).
Open Midday-2am daily
Call 6321 6888
Metro Nanjing Dong Lu
Address First Floor,
Fairmont Peace Hotel, 20 Nanjing Dong Lu, near Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, Huangpu
district
Show the cabbie
黄浦区南京东路20号, 近中山东一路
For a secret Japanese vibe
Mokkos,
hidden down a quiet alley on a quiet street, is a hidden gem where the friendly
barmen will only serve you shochu and plum wine (or beers if you ask nicely).
The music is quirky reggae, and the barmen and patrons regularly pull out
instruments and burst into song. Plum wine and shochu from
35RMB.
Open
7pm-2am daily
Call 6212 1114
Metro Jiangsu Lu
Address 103, Lane 1245
Wuding Xi Lu, near Wanhangdu Lu, Changning district
Show the cabbie
长宁区武定西路1245号103室, 近万航渡路
For the best of Shanghai's bartending talent
A
landmark new opening and a major stride forward in Shanghai’s surging drinks
scene, Yuan is an
experimental cocktail bar at the forefront of a new chapter in the city’s
drinking culture. Behind the bar is an all-Chinese line-up of bartending
talent, including local legend Ted He and fast-rising up-and-comer Jerry Chen,
the winner of the inaugural Time Out Shanghai-Cointreau Cocktail
Shakedown competition in 2012.
Yuan is also one of the first
bars in town to successfully riff classics with Chinese ingredients to render
cocktails that are actually drinkable making it top the list of one of the most
inventive, Sino-centric cocktail menus in town such as the Shaoxing Cavelry made
from Chivas 12 Scotch and wolfberry-infused Shaoxing rice wine (drinks are from
around 68RMB).
Open 12pm-3am daily
Call 6433 0538
Metro Shaanxi Nan Lu
Address 17-2 Xiangyang Bei
Lu, near Changle Lu, Jingan district
Show the cabbie
静安区襄阳北路17-2号, 近长乐路.
For old world elegance
The Long Bar at the
Waldorf Astoria was the longest in the Far
East in the days that this building hosted the exclusive Shanghai
Club (from 1911 until 1949). Having been recreated in all its wood-panelled Art
Deco glory, it is now one of the most elegant hotels in the city, playing
classic jazz and serving exquisite classic cocktails, oysters and classy bar
snacks. Cocktails from 88RMB (plus 15 per cent service charge).
Open Mon-Fri 4pm-1am,
Sat-Sun 2pm-1am
Call 6322 9988
Metro Nanjing Dong Lu
Address First Floor,
Waldorf Astoria, 88 Sichuan Zhong Lu, near Guangdong Lu, Huangpu district
Show the cabbie
黄浦区四川中路88号, 近广东路
For a classic Shanghai clubbing experience
Since the closure of Fumin Lu
staple No. 88, Phebe 3D Club (aren't all clubs in 3D?) is our favourite choice
for the classic Chinese clubbing experience, and makes for an entertaining
evening. The main room is filled with tables of people rattling dice and being
served drinks with sparklers in, ensuring that there is no real dancefloor.
Gaudy faux baroque furniture abounds underneath bombastic chandeliers while a
pounding chart R&B and hip pop soundtrack booms out over the masses. It’s
such a ridiculously over-the-top and thoroughly bizarre place that by the time
you come across a giant ten foot tall model of a knight on a horse in one
corner, you’re no longer all that surprised.
Cocktails start from 55RMB
but beware that if you sit at a table, it will have a minimum spend limit. There
are also wristband patrolled 100RMB all-you-can-drink deals at weekends, but
these are served at a bar in the lobby, away from the money-spending
crowds.
Open 8pm-6am daily
Call137 9536 8335
Metro Hengshan Lu
Address First Floor, 10
Hengshan Lu, near Gaoan Lu, Xuhui district
Show the cabbie 徐汇区衡山路10号,
近高安路
For seeing Shanghai's 'jet-set'
Bar
Rouge is almost indecently successful, and always packed with a
crowd of party posers, from slick European chino-and-loafer types to the local
Chinese jet-set. Even if you don’t love the music or the vibe, it makes for
great people-watching – and both have great views, with Bar Rouge’s terrace
offering the quintessential Bund view. Cocktails at both start at
80RMB.
Open 6pm-late daily
Call 6339 1199
Metro Nanjing Dong Lu
Address Seventh Floor, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong
Lu, Huangpu district
Show the cabbie 黄浦区中山东一路18号7楼, 近南京东路
The Shelter,
set in a disused bomb shelter, may be sweaty and claustrophobic, but it’s
undoubtedly the centre of Shanghai’s underground music scene. Whether
it’s dubstep, hip hop or electro you’re after, come here on a weekend and you’ll
find the best there is in the city. Beers from 20RMB, cocktails from
30RMB.
Open 10pm-late Wed-Sat
Call 6437 0400
Metro Shanghai Library
Address 5 Yongfu Lu, near
Fuxing Xi Lu, Xuhui district
Show the cabbie 徐汇区永福路5 号,近复兴西路
Yongkang Lu has become the bar street of choice for
Shanghai’s expat community in the past year, with a string of drinking
establishments opened along what was once a quiet residential road. The influx
has been so great in fact that some residents have taken to throwing buckets of
water over drinkers who get too rowdy and most bars now close at 10pm.
Nevertheless, it can be a fun place to hang out, especially in summer.
Le Cafe des
Stagiaires (No 54) was one of the first bars in and remains one of the
best; try their on-tap La Chouffe beer (40RMB). For cocktails, head to either
Revolucion Cocktail (No 58) for Cuban twists on the
classics such as a Strawberry Mule (48RMB), or to the tiny Ginseng (No 39) for a Martinez (80RMB). If you work up an
apetite after all that boozing, check out The Sailor’s (No 35) for some cheap and tasty fish ’n’
chips (from 30RMB).
Open 11am-10pm daily
Metro Jiashan Lu
Address Yongkang Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu, Xuhui district
Show the cabbie 徐汇区永康路, 近襄阳南路
