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[Revisited] Saleya

Cirque du Saleya on Changle Lu - By Hien, Jun 12, 08

Usually SmartShanghai doesn't write about venues lacking in positive attributes -- we prefer to offer personal recommendations rather than professional reviews. However, Saleya, a French bistro on Changle Lu, has generated an overwhelming amount of user commentary recently, and we just had to head down to see what all the fuss was about. Given that the restaurant does have an inviting garden, we decided to revisit and investigate the source of such torrentially bad reviews to see if there was any merit to all the complaining. In short: the nays have it, and my experience has me dishing the proverbial (and in this case literal) dirt.

I walk past Saleya regularly so am aware that they still pack 'em in, especially on sunny days. Actually, I'm often tempted to return to Saleya since I live close by and laziness rules, but I hadn't been back for more than two years on account of the crowds. Last time I tried to dine there, the table we were waiting for was given away to stragglers who came in after us. We vowed never to return.
Alas, grudges never last and one sunny Saturday we took our chances and headed back for another go. This time we were seated without delay and it wasn't long before the waitress appeared ready to take orders.

I took the limited, bistro-style menu as a good sign -- too many choices can overwhelm a kitchen staff and nothing turns out right. We hadn't really brought our appetites with us, so given a choice between a two-dish set for 78rmb or a three dish for 88rmb we opted for the former with the intention of splitting the dishes between us.

The service was fast -- food arrived almost immediately -- but the dishes themselves left us wondering why we had returned. At best the food resembled my home cooking on a lethargic day (which, actually is not all that dreadful). I filled up on a nothing-to-write-home-about Chicken Liver Salad presented home style. Although not obscenely expensive, the food should have tasted a little better for the money.

As it turns out, sharing the two-course set is not permitted at Saleya. Had this regulation been announced at the time of ordering, or indicated somewhere on the menu in fine print, I wouldn't have been so upset. But the menu doesn't even offer single course dishes, so how was one to guess? The managerial staff might consider charging higher prices for single dishes to avoid misleading the customer.

Once upon a time in Shanghai restaurants like these placated the masses. But now, with so many professional restaurateurs opening well-managed affairs (Nova and De Lys being two great alternatives), venues like Saleya -- bad value-for-money -- may become extinct, assuming Darwin's principles apply to eateries.

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