[Radar]: Rico Rico

 

Area: Wharf 1846, the latest act of gentrification on the south end of the Bund. Nearby, you'll find Stiller's, Table No. 1, and a whole mess of mediocre restaurants in between them otherwise known as The Cool Docks.

What it is: Rico Rico is a new Latin restaurant and lounge concept from the owners of Mistral and Bikes & Friends. They set up shop in this development at the beginning of summer with that sandbox for grown-ups by the river called Rico Rico Beach. This is their double down on a bet that this part of town will be Shanghai's "next big thing."

The place is currently in soft opening, or, as they like to call it "apertura suave." Sounds so much nicer, doesn't? So, for the time being, the place is only offering a nine-course set meal. Chef Reynaldo de Luna's menu is printed on a bookmark and brought to your table folded inside a random Spanish language novel. The idea being that the common ground between these Latin culture is the language. Some courses are a bit Mexican-French fusion with steak tartare with quail's egg served in a fried corn tortilla cone. Others are more strictly Spanish like a flambé of king prawns over course salt. Others, still, are Caribbean-inspired, like pan-seared sea bass over a sweet potato and coconut puree with mango, orange and paprika and coriander oil. Oddly, they shoehorn in some Asian inspiration as well, with shrimp spring rolls presented over a bed of mint in a bamboo steamer. Then there are desserts like a pan-seared cake of arroz con leche with chili and chocolate ice cream. There is, of course, a plan to build a larger a la carte menu in the future. In the mean time, think of this as a preview of what's to come.

After dinner service, the place is primed to become a dance venue as well. There are lots of "Latin Nights" around town, but Rico is aiming to be an actual purpose-built Latin venue, where every night is "Latin Night." So expect all that comes with that, like salsa nights with in-house teachers to help you with your dance moves.

And there is plenty of sauce to hit while you salsa dance. Cocktails are the main draw, most of which are the usual suspects. Think mojitos, margaritas, piña coladas, caipirinhas, and the like.

Atmosphere: Open and spacious, Rico spans two floors. With the bottom level serving as a bar and lounge and upstairs as the main dining area. The design scheme is refined rustic with exposed brick, mortar, and concrete and colorful reclaimed timber for on the floors. After sundown, most of the light is provided by candlelight, adding to the atmosphere. As you'd expect, the music is lively, danceable Latin strains.

Damage: The owners realize that, to many, this part of town is still the boondocks. So, to sweeten the deal, this introductory set menu is going for half price; that's 350rmb. Once the ball gets rolling, they plan to hike it back up to 700. Cocktails hover around the upper 60s and into the 70s. The wine list is yet to be printed, but I think you can expect that to be pretty standard too, I'd guess somwhere between 300 to just over 1000rmb.

Who's going: Spaniards, Colombians, Argentinians, Mexicans, Cubans, Panamanians, Brazilians, both varieties of -guayans Para and Ura, Venezualans, and those who wish to live vicariously through them.