4 Shanghai Restaurants That Put the World on Your Plate

Shanghai's dining scene is constantly evolving, bringing flavors, stories and experiences from around the world to the city's streets. From authentic Italian comfort food to Cuban-inspired cocktails, Quebec-style roast chicken and a futuristic Chinese dining experience, these four new stories offer a fresh look at the city's vibrant food culture.
On leafy Tianping Road, Bella Vita Bistro serves up the relaxed spirit of la dolce vita, with traditional Italian dishes, quality seasonal ingredients and a charming villa setting.
Meanwhile, Alma Luna, the new bar from Yao Lu of Asia's 50 Best Bars fame, takes guests on a journey to 1950s Havana, pairing rum-focused cocktails with Cuban-inspired bites.
For a taste of Quebec, Benny brings its signature rotisserie chicken, gravy and poutine culture to Shanghai, with three locations now open across the city.
And for something completely different, No. 3 Warehouse combines modern Chinese cuisine with immersive, futuristic interiors, mirrored ceilings and wildly creative dishes, making the restaurant a social media sensation.
Together, these four destinations showcase Shanghai's appetite for global flavors, creative concepts and memorable dining experiences.

Bella Vita Bistro

Along a leafy stretch of Tianping Road, Bella Vita Bistro brings a quietly confident slice of Italy to Shanghai. Set within a charming two-level villa, complete with a relaxed patio that feels made for long afternoons and lingering aperitivi, the restaurant captures the essence of "dolce vita" without excess or pretense.
At the heart of the restaurant is Samuele Rossi, partner and general manager of the Bella Vita Group. His decade-long journey building the Bella Vita brand has led to this more refined yet approachable concept on Tianping Road.
Rossi arrived in Beijing in 2003 as a chef de cuisine and was promoted to executive sous chef at Grand Hyatt Beijing after a few years. In 2007, he moved to Macau to join MGM as executive sous chef before leaving in 2011 to join Bella Vita Group in Tianjin.

Bella Vita, housed in a two-story villa, brings a quietly confident slice of Italy to Shanghai.

After working in MGM Macau and Grand Hyatt Beijing, Rossi shifted attention back to "tradition." "Bring quality traditions to your plate" became his motto, and he let ingredients and technique speak for themselves.
Rossi tracks Shanghai's evolving eating scene. Despite the success of high-end Italian fine dining, Bella Vita Bistro offers a true bistro experience without sacrificing authenticity or artistry. It's a place where familiarity meets finesse.
The kitchen's approach is not about reinvention but about refinement. The dishes here are traditional, occasionally updated, but never distracted by trends. They are beloved culinary classics accented with premium seasonal ingredients.

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A Taste of La Dolce Vita on Tianping Road

Alma Luna

The Snapshot

As the sun sets over Shanghai, a new moon rises in the cocktail constellation: Alma de la Luna, or Alma Luna for short, poetically translating to "soul of the moon" in Spanish. This is big news for the city, as it's being opened by Yao Lu, proprietor of Union Trading Company, whose rise to fame propelled them to Asia's 50 Best Bars list. This new rum-focused dram den promises something the city doesn't have yet... a steamy Havana Nights theme to the bustling streets of Shanghai.

Alma Luna main bar

After a soft opening in early August, Alma Luna has already proven it's not just another cocktail bar; it's a moonlit amalgamation of life's best moments – think sultry nights and spirited conversations that linger long after the last sip.
The Place

Alma Luna's custom-designed lamps evoke a sense of Havana style.

This is definitely one of the more unique bar experiences in China, not just for the venue itself, but because of the way the city has inspired its creation. (Read on for an exclusive interview with Yao on how he's witnessed Shanghai's bar scene evolve and grow into the powerhouse it is today.)
While UTC is a whirlwind of energetic camaraderie, Alma Luna invites guests to kick back, be present, and connect over the best kind of stories that only unfold over cocktails.
Step through the bar's Xiangyang Rd doors, down a plant-lined hallway, and into the glamorous, high-rolling, cha-cha-cha rhythm of Hotel Nacional de Cuba in 1950s Havana. The interior is opulent vintage decor. Warm lighting, tufted emerald green banquettes, brass accents, mosaic tiling, arched entryways, and a white orchid-themed back bar mural (the national flower of Cuba), leave guests expecting to find sequin-bedazzled Tropicana Cabaret showgirls to show up at any moment with their cascading ruffles, towering headdresses, and all.

If you go...

Alma Luna, 17-2 Xiangyang Rd N. 
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[On Fire] Yao Lu of Asia's 50 Best Opens New Bar in SH, Alma Luna

Benny

We're super pleased and excited to be reporting the most random-ass restaurant opening in recent memory: Quebecois fast-casual rotisserie chicken chain Benny now boasts three locations in Shanghai! If you're from Quebec, you know – there's like 80 of them there – if you're from Ontario, you might – we think there's a few in Ottawa – if you're from anywhere else in Canada or anywhere else on the planet, you don't, because it is very much a Quebec thing.
But if you're in Shanghai, now you do because we're super pleased and excited to tell you about Benny's!
Attache ta tuque!
(That means "tie your winter hat!" Aka "get ready for a ride!")

Benny is what they call "fast casual" or "boutique fast food," but when they started in 1960, those terms didn't exist, and it was food you called "better than KFC." They're known for rotisserie chicken sets and poutine, wonderful poutine (I'm Canadian), and being a great complement to a night of drinking 50 Labatt 50s and roosting donuts on a snowmobile in a parking lot in rural Northern Quebec. "Benny" is the surname of a family of chicken farmers from outside Montreal from the late '40s. That family had eight sons, one of whom invented a custom rotisserie oven and, thereby, their signature three-hour signature cooking method. This is him.
All eight brothers got into the better-than-KFC business and never looked back. The Quebecois dream.
Sixty-odd years later a couple of guys from Montreal got a franchise option and opened three in Shanghai. Which actually makes sense considering the vaunted position roasted birds have in Chinese cuisine. Maybe a bit of crossover there.

If you go

1) Unit 102, 1st Floor, 1788 Plaza Mall, 1788 Nanjing Road W.

2) Store No. 17, 1st Floor, Paris Spring Yuehui Tianshan Store, 762 Tianshan Road
3) Store No. 02M, LG2, Sinar Mas Plaza, 588 Dongchangzhi Road
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[New Eats] Ayoye! Benny from Quebec, Canada Is Open in Shanghai!

No. 3 Warehouse

The Snapshot

Like walking into another dimension, No. 3 Warehouse (3号仓库) in Shanghai is a viral, highly immersive "futuristic" Chinese fusion restaurant that has taken the internet by storm over the last few months. After its first location opened in Qibao at the end of 2021, the concept has since spread to more than a dozen spaces across Shanghai and other Tier 1 cities. Known for its metallic spaceship-like, cyberpunk aesthetic, each distinct store delivers creative, photo-worthy modern Chinese dishes against a "dining in the year 2050" backdrop.

Riding on the coattails of seemingly every influencer's recent post, we high-tailed it to one of the busiest and most elaborate No. 3 Warehouse locations situated in the New World City Mall on Nanjing Road W. to see what it's actually all about.
The Vibe

While we usually start with the food and then move onto covering the atmosphere, in this case, it makes sense to – in the words of Missy Elliott – flip it and reverse it. Essentially, No. 3 Warehouse is more about the flash than flavor. And in the wanghong world of xiaohongshu this and Instagram reel that, is focusing almost entirely on the décor really that poor of a business choice? Nope.
With wait times pushing 3+ hours on any given day at numerous locations around town, No. 3 Warehouse is printing money. Mirrored ceilings, metallic décor, and flashing neon lighting create a "space-age" atmosphere that is bringing everyone – and we mean literally everyone – in for content creation. From tweens to your ayi's neighbor, from visiting expats to touring mainlanders, this restaurant is not defined by age, demographic, nor country of origin – it caters to everyone and anyone looking to boost their social media following.

If you go

No. 3 Warehouse, New World City Mall, #29, 4/F, 2-68 Nanjing Road W., 
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We Went to That Viral Chinese Restaurant Filled With Mirrors
Source: City News Service