It’s very unlikely that anyone will ever knock the Bund off Shanghai’s list of head-turning destinations, but that hasn’t stopped the city’s entrepreneurial developers from trying.
For now, at least, pundits remain optimistic about the potential of the old Shiliupu Dock, in particular a former grease factory set prettily on the Huangpu River, its vast complex rehabilitated into a mod mix of restaurants, clubs and cafés.
Here, Hong Kong-based o&o studio have unified three ground floor units into a mood-lit watering hole specialising in handcrafted beer and whiskey. The motif of a full moon floating over the river runs subtly through the décor of circular bar shelves, mirrored discs, and clouds of glass hanging off the ceiling.
The robot cocktail maker is entertaining in a, well, robotic way, but greater pleasures are to be found sampling the locally brewed pale ales and tucking into chef Liang Shang Yun’s fusion Asian menu such as beef stewed with fermented red beancurd, and lamb meat balls hit with Xinjiang spices.
ADDRESS
Unit 101-103 Cool Docks
No.505 Zhongshan South Road
Shanghai
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Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekHere in the UK, summer seems to be fading fast. Moody skies and showers called for early-autumn rituals for the Wallpaper* team: retreating into the depths of the Tate Modern, slipping into shadowy cocktail bars, and curling up with a good book
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To celebrate 50 years in business, Giorgio Armani is opening up his extraordinary archive to everybodyLaunched at the Venice Film Festival, Armani/Archivio is a digital archive charting 50 years of Giorgio Armani through the house’s most memorable designs
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A restored Eichler home is a peerless piece of West Coast midcentury modernismWe explore an Eichler home, and Californian developer Joseph Eichler’s legacy of design, as a fine example of his progressive house-building programme hits the market
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Discover a futuristic bar in Shanghai with mad-scientist energyPenicillin opens in Shanghai with a clinical steel and concrete design by LC Studio alongside trailblazing, sustainable cocktails
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A colossal ‘ship’ in Shanghai honours Louis Vuitton’s travel legacyLouis Vuitton’s The Louis is an OMA-designed hub combining retail, culture and dining in the heart of Nanjing West Road
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Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
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Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in ShanghaiPrada partners with Wong Kar-wai to bring Mi Shang Rong Zhai to life, a dining experience influenced by the arthouse director’s seminal oeuvre
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Enjoy heritage views and contemporary brews at a new Beijing caféJM Café, White Pagoda Temple by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio nods to the history of the Xicheng District while injecting a shot of vitality
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Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
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China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
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2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
