Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers.
Any expenses are paid for by SmartShanghai.
Located just south of People's Square, the Naked Cow is one of Shanghai's more interesting culinary adventures. Geared toward a more communal, family-style eating experience, the Naked Cow serves up generous portions of deliciously refined North American favorites. A couple on a date or a large group of friends would equally find enjoyment within the comfy confines of this ode to gourmet comfort food.
My girlfriend and I arrived at the restaurant and sat outside on the deck, pleasant and friendly wait staff, although their command and understanding of English and that of the menu left a lot to be desired and had to be repeated several times before to ensure what we had ordered.
We ordered a Mojito and G&T; both drinks were rather weak, and full of ice! We placed an order of crispy fish fingers, polenta fries and grilled asparagus (someone needs to teach the cook that the bottoms need to be cleaned and tailed), we asked for items to be served together; they came in dribs and drabs? Having said that the food was well presented and extremely tasty, sadly the olive tapanade, read chunky olives lacked taste, and the French loaf was stale, this came well after the starters were served?
We ordered a second round of drinks and tried to order a Long Island iced tea, the menu stated that all standard cocktails are available? The waitress had to go and check whether the barman had this or not? I ordered a G&T this came before the Long Island iced tea, the Long Island iced tea was served in old fashioned glass, this should have been served in highball or zombie glass, as it¡¯s long drink.
As the evening wore on it became a little chilly, we asked whether the braziers could be lit! In typical Chinese fashion there was no gas and no key to unchain the six braziers to warm the deck area.
We moved inside to finish the remainder of our meal and drinks, its rather annoying to have to see both wait staff and kitchen staff hanging around the service area.
Overall a pretty mediocre evening, could have been better had the patron observed and instilled some form of customer service skills, order of service to the employees, especially for the prices being charged.
There are numerous restaurants whose owners know very little, if anything, about the industry, and especially how to provide a dining experience, and so many folks writing rave reviews about these mediocre restaurants in Shanghai, makes one wonder where they ate in their home countries?
Food and ambience at The Naked Cow is nice. We ordered the portobello mushroom (portion\'s quite small) and clam chowder soup (very filling, but no clams). For main course, we ordered the sirlion steak (RMB 300), quite spicy, but very good. My only compliant is the service. Most of the staff spoke no English (only one waitress spoke excellent English) and was very slow. They didn\'t understand \'pepper\', \'butter\', \'portobello\'. Which is quite worrying considering the number of expats frequenting this place. Due to the language barrier, we had to request everything at least twice to get the message across. I\'ll go back for the food, but don\'t expect much on service.
Wow! Talk about big portions! My two friends and I ordered the roasted chicken and the pork shoulder. We didn't know we'd actualy get a whole chicken, and the pork portion was gigantic! It was very tender, and we had enough for lunch the next day! We also tried the aligator ice tea which was recommended. Very light, but will definately get you drunk! Ambience, service, food--all very lovely! Good for groups.
I've been here 3 times. Each time thought it was pretty great. Yes, I agree, the cutting board for the steaks were a problem, but who cares- the food is damn good! I don't know anywhere else where the meat is this good. I recommend the pork shoulder. Once they also had these short ribs, but I don't think its listed on the menu. Easy atmosphere and thought the service was good. I always get the banoffie (sp?) pie. Overall, great sharing food.
A ¡°So-So¡± place for dinner. The environment was nice but service was horrible. All the waiters were standing by the kitchen counter. I¡¯m waving my hands to get their attention so I can place an order but they didn¡¯t even seem too noticed. The Roasted Chicken was blend. We also ordered a Four cheese pizza which no had tomato sauce. I was told by the assistant manager that their four cheese pizza don¡¯t come with any sauce, but all the pizza I¡¯ve eaten in my life had sauce. Also, ordered a steak and the wooden plate that they used was cracked so all the steak juice was leaking onto table and eventually my pants. The only good dish was the small pork burger. Three people dining for 800RMB which wasn¡¯t expense but bad food and bad service. Forgot one last thing, terrible heating system! Was also told by the out waiter the heating system was old and they are a little cold themselves.
must say, i was skeptical at first when i went for their 200rmb new year's eve dinner.
but it was REALLY good--what a great deal versus everyone else's 500+rmb 'deals'. prime rib, sides, glass of wine and champagne, and dessert. wish they had that deal more often!...our waiter spoke great english and the manager/chef was really nice. he went from table to table to make sure things were ok. (nice touch)
I really don't know why a few of you ar bashing The Naked Cow. I've gone on numerous occassions and thought it was great every time (hello?! the atmosphere is awesome). The eggplant pizza was fantastic and the raoasted chicken was big and tasty. Even more so, I thought the mixed green salad had the best tasting salad dressing I've ever had. So, a big WHATEVER to those bashing my new favorite place!
Really don't rate this place. The atmosphere is ok, the food is barely average. Our starters were passable, with an olive tapenade which was actually ok and offered some hope. The pizzas were very uninspired. The salads were dreadful -- especially the Naked Cow salad that came drenched in a gloopy pink thousand-island-style dressing. Don't plan on returning any time soon.
Had a not-so-good dinner experience last night at the naked cow. Let's start with the good things: The outdoor seating is very nice (it's the old ZIN), located in a small park. The inside is ok but I'd recommend to book a table outside. We started with 2 dishes from the "small plates" selection to share, the Humus and the Carpaccio. Both was great, but we had to ask several times to get more bread. Now the bad points: The menu is difficult to understand, what's supposed to be a shared dish and what not. Also I expected a great steak selection at a place with the name "Naked Cow", but they only have 3-4 steaks and the smallest one has 500grams (for 250rmb). Sorry but for 250rmb I'd rather go to an up class steakhouse, Shanghai has enough of them! I had the Chef recommended Pizza (the one on the bottom of the menu). The menu didn't say that it's a Calzone, which would be good to know in advance. My friends shared a soup and some vegetables. The soup was super-spicy (the menu didn't say it's spicy), so spicy that my friend who's used to spicy chinese food couldn't eat it. Drinks are kind of expensive, small Qingdao for 40 ! With 3 new restaurants opening every week I don't see many reasons to come back to The naked Cow.
ok. i usually never write reviews cause i'm super lazy. but i went here last night and it was awesome. didn't even know it existed til i saw ilikefood's reco.(thanks!)and wanted to try something new.
had steamed clams, pumpkin pizza, and matzoh ball soup (never even heard of it before) and the pork chop. oh my god! hadn't had a meal like that in a while. was too full for dessert though. next time. and the staff actually spoke english and were attentive. the outside patio was so relaxing. didn't even feel like i was in china. nice reprieve. hope they will deliver soon too. (hint,hint)
just went last week on a reco from a friend. really awesome place! sat on the back terrace and had the best sangria and dessert--banaouffie pie--a really addictive banana pie. also had a huuuuge ass steak. brussel sprouts were delish, and i'm not a brussel sprouts kinda gal. great place to go with a bunch of friends. and the staff were super friendly. also was not expensive.
Find anything wrong or missing in this profile ? Contact us here
