The Bund, Shanghai's glittering riverside strip, has long been the epicentre of the city's cosmopolitan ambitions. So it's only appropriate one of its brightest lights is a Latin tapas lounge. Touted as the largest of its kind in Asia, Unico was conceived by French-Argentine architect Marcelo Joulia as an intimate gentlemen's club. This explains the mood lighting, deep Chesterfield banquettes and low-slung, mismatched armchairs that anchor a marble-clad bar over which hovers a polyhedronal ice sculpture. In the kitchen, executive chef Thibaut Pouplard teams up with the Michelin-starred Mauro Colgreco to mastermind an exquisitely inventive menu of crackling baby pork with creamy polenta, and lobsters stewed with peanut oil, coconut and tomatoes. From the bar, mango and rosemary caipirinhas and agave and coriander mojitos make perfect post-prandial cocktails.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
Three on the Bund
2nd Floor
No.3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road
Shanghai
-
How Ichio Matsuzawa designed the almost-invisible bar defining Art Week Tokyo 2025During the art fair’s latest instalment, Wallpaper* met the Japanese architect to explore architecture as sensation, not structure
-
The story behind rebellious New York fashion label-cum-art collective, Women’s History MuseumMattie Barringer and Amanda McGowan’s multidisciplinary label has been challenging fashion’s status quo for the past decade. As they open a new exhibition at Amant, Brooklyn, the pair sit down with Wallpaper* to discuss their provocative approach
-
Mark+Fold Turns 10 with first Shoreditch pop-upBritish stationery brand Mark+Fold celebrates ten years in business with a Brick Lane pop-up featuring new products, small-batch editions and conversations with creatives
-
A discreet bolthole adds historic charm to Chongqing’s skyscraper jumbleWith a landscape bristling with gleaming towers, Sunyata Ren’ai Hall Hotel quietly emerges as the Chinese city’s most design-forward stay
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
