32 Best Bars in Shanghai, China

Shake

French Concession Fodor's choice
Funk and soul supper club Shake hits exactly the right notes for a great night out. A curated lineup of guest artists alongside the club’s regular rotating resident singer and band put on quite the live show, belting out Motown classics and hits from the '60s and '70s. The cocktails are tasty, and the kitchen turns out excellent Asian-inspired contemporary dishes.

Bandu Cabin

Putuo

Also known as Bandu Music, this unpretentious café and bar in the M50 art compound sells hard-to-find CDs and occasionally holds concerts of traditional Chinese folk music. When touring the M50 galleries, this is a nice place for a break.

50 Moganshan Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200070, China
021-6276–8267

Bar Rouge

The Bund

In the trendy Bund 18 complex, Bar Rouge has been the destination of choice among Shanghai's beautiful people for years. Pouting models, visiting celebrities, and, seemingly, all of the city's French expats are among the regular clientele. The Pudong views are knockout—as are the drink prices.

Recommended Fodor's Video

Barbarossa

City Center

This is a popular evening destination especially with nearby office workers who come by for happy hour. The interior is straight out of Arabian Nights, with billowing draperies swathing the space. Usually quiet and classy, it switches to hot, hip, and hopping on weekend nights, especially in summer. It's the ambience, not the food or drink, that bring people in.

Char

The Bund

Though somewhat dated, Hotel Indigo's rooftop bar and steak house is still a prime place to take in unimpeded views of the Pudong skyline and Huangpu River while sipping drinks and snacking from a charcuterie board for two.

585 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200010, China
021-3302–9995

Constellation

Xintiandi

The fourth sibling in the ever-growing Constellation bar family is just south of Xintiandi, a stone's throw from the metro station. It sticks to a tried-and-true formula of cigars, mid-volume jazz, and high-quality Japanese-style cocktails.

398 Zizhong Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200021, China
021-6333–7009

Cotton's

French Concession

This friendly, laid-back favorite moved many times before settling into the current old garden house. Busy without being loud, Cotton's is a rare place where you can have a conversation with friends—or make some new ones. The patio here is one of Shanghai's loveliest, but the food menu is not, so stick to drinks.

132 Anting Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200231, China
021-6433–7995
nightlife Details
Rate Includes: Daily 11 am–2 am

El Ocho

Jing'an
Comfortable and welcoming, El Ocho is the kind of place where friends meet to catch up over unpretentious but exceptionally good (and smart) cocktails. It's spacious, with vaulted wooden ceilings, and has significant talent behind the bar.
99 Taixing Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, China
021-6256–3587

Epic

French Concession
Housed on several levels of an old lane house, this intimate cocktail bar feels perfectly Shanghai—a contrast of old and new, with forward-thinking drinks in a traditional setting. Cocktails are intricate without being pretentious, and you'll have trouble only stopping at one.
17 Gaoyou Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, China
021-5411–1189

Flair

Pudong
The view here can only be described as jaw-dropping. The open-air bar on the 58th floor of the Ritz-Carlton Pudong sits you so close to the Oriental Pearl Tower that you could almost touch it. You'll pay for the sight of Shanghai laid out before you, with pricey cocktails and a minimum spend for tables on the terrace, but it's worth coming at least for one drink.

Glam

The Bund
Glam attracts a well-heeled crowd of media types, intellectuals, and artists with its idiosyncratic design, its creative cocktails that include customizable gin and tonics, its casual, lounge-food menu (try the truffle cheese toasties), and its occasional film screenings or other cultural offerings. It's a welcome retreat from the busy Bund; it's also across from its sister restaurant, M.

Haoledi

City Center

Crowded at all hours with locals of all ages crooning pop favorites, the popular Haoledi chain has branches virtually everywhere. A few of the outlets in downtown are on the sixth floor of New World Mall at 479 Nanjing Dong Lu, near People's Square, and on the seventh floor of mall Metro City, at 1111 Zhaojiabang Lu in Xujiahui.

438 Huaihai Zhong Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200020, China
021-6311–5858

Heyday

French Concession
There's not a bad seat to be had at this intimate jazz-club gem, tucked on a quiet street. A vintage feel and great drinks complement nightly performances by local, expat, and international acts.

House of Blues and Jazz

The Bund

Several music sets nightly and loads of ambience—dark-wood paneling, low-lighting, memorabilia from 1930s Shanghai—make the House of Blues and Jazz a must visit.

60 Fuzhou Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200001, China
021-6323–2779

Jade on 36

Pudong

This swanky spot in the newer tower of the Pudong Shangri-La offers decent cocktails, but it's the excellent design and equally excellent views (when Shanghai's fog and pollution levels cooperate) that make it popular with locals. You may still feel like you're in a hotel bar, but you'll have a stiff drink and some amazing city vistas.

33 Fucheng, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200120, China
021-6882–8888

Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai

The Bund
Just off the Bund, the Shanghai outpost of New York City's famed Jazz at Lincoln Center venue doesn't drip with the local history that places like Peace Hotel do. Its musical programming is excellent, though, so it's worth checking the schedule if you like jazz.
139 Nanjing Dong Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, China
021-6330–9218
nightlife Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.

JZ Club

French Concession

At the king of Shanghai's jazz offerings, house bands and stellar guest performers mix it up nightly. Look for plush seating and drink prices to match. JZ Club is also the organizer of JZ Festival, which they claim is Asia's largest jazz fest. It takes place in the fall and outdoors along the Huangpu River.

Lai Lai Dancehall

Hongkou

This is one of Shanghai's gems, a sweet, simple dance hall where local men can come three nights a week and dance to tender Chinese pop songs from an earlier time. Songs are played by a band, which sometimes dresses in drag, as does one of the owners. There are a number of regulars, and strangers aren't shy about asking for a dance, but it's all quite chaste. Foreigners are most welcome and treated no differently than locals. In general, photos are not allowed.

235 Anguo Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200082, China
150-2174–7399
nightlife Details
Rate Includes: Y10, Fri.–Sun. 6–9 pm

M1NT

The Bund

Two-parts club, one part bar, M1NT is one of the few places in Shanghai with a strict door policy. The club is on the 24th floor of an office tower situated on a quiet side street just behind the Bund. There's no set dress code, but men should not wear shorts. Although bottle service is popular, plenty of revelers stick to buying drinks and shots from the bar, whose lines can be three deep. The shark tank is partiers' favorite photo backdrop.

M2

City Center

The original and most popular location of the Muse chain offers a Chinese-style megaclub experience, with theme parties and a musical line-up that includes hip-hop, house, and electro. Loud and crowded, M2 is where people end up after hitting a few other drinking establishments. All the branches are popular with young locals who order bottle service and stay until the sun comes up.

283 Huaihai Zhong Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, China
131-6606–1720

MAO Livehouse

City Center

To the west and south of Xintiandi is one of Shanghai's best live-music venues, with foreign as well as up-and-coming local bands taking to the stage to play everything from heavy metal, indie, and punk rock to folk music. Past performers have included Thee Oh Sees, Grimes, and Gang of Four.

308 Chongqing Nan Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200025, China
021-6445–0086

Peace Hotel Jazz Bar

The Bund

The average age of the musicians in the Old Jazz Band is 80, but you wouldn't know it when listening to them jam. The food and drinks are inspired by what the bar served in the 1920s and '30s, when Shanghai was in its golden age, and the Peace Hotel was the place to see and be seen. Dark woods, heavy red curtains, and warming cocktails make this bar an especially good choice for winter.

Senator Saloon

French Concession

In true speakeasy style, this swinging spot is easy to miss, situated as it is behind an unmarked door on a quiet street. Step inside to travel back in time, with big-band music playing in the background, velvet damask wallpaper, a pressed-tin ceiling, and classic as well as contemporary cocktails.

98 Wuyuan Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200031, China
021-5423–1330

Shanghai Brewery

Hongqiao

It's a family affair at Shanghai Brewery, where you're equally likely to find a group of footballers and a posse of parents with toddlers in tow. There are seven house-made brews here, including a Black-Eyed Bear Stout and the sweet, summery peach beer. The food menu is all over the place, with both Western dishes and a handful of Asian options, but it's all solid.

Speak Low

French Concession
This spot led Shanghai's speakeasy trend and continues to garner international acclaim with regular appearances on lists of the world's (and Asia's) 50 best bars. Each of its four floors has a different cocktail bar and menu. All four of them serve some of Shanghai's best drinks. All are also equally popular; be prepared to wait on weekends.
579 Fuxing Zhong Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, China
021-6416–0133

The Brew

Pudong

The Kerry Hotel's microbrewery is tightly run and one of the best options for a drink in the Century Park neighborhood. The crisp cider is very good for those who don't love beer, while the Pilsner and IPA are the most popular among brew-heads. Shooting pool, tossing back peanuts from a tin pail, and sipping brewskies, you may well forget you're in China. On weekend afternoons, this is a family-friendly bar.

The Cannery

Jing'an
Equal parts bar and restaurant, this hip gastrolounge appeals to a clientele that ranges from trendy young Chinese and foreigners to old-school business types. Choose from any number of house-created cocktails—perhaps paired with pickled clams or other bar snacks—to sip under the copper-tiled ceiling.
1107 Yuyuan Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, China
021-5276–0599

The Wooden Box

Jing'an

On a quiet lane off busy Nanjing Xi Lu, this café and bar mimics the inside of a tree house, with high ceilings and wood paneling on the rounded walls. The performers here play a variety of jazz and acoustic music, which you can listen to while sipping wine, beer, and cocktails. The food is nothing to write home about and best skipped unless you're starving.

9 Qinghai Lu, Shanghai, Shanghai Shi, 200040, China
021-5213–2965

The Zuk Bar

A hotel bar that doesn't feel like a "hotel bar," this petite spot has a pared back, minimalist, black-and-white tile interior with just a few tables as well as terrace with seating that spills out to the sidewalk on warm-weather days. The cocktail program is innovative, with a zero-waste agenda and drinks of a complexity that rivals anything you'd get in London or New York.