I completely agree with the previous review. It was one of my (and my friends) favorite spots on a Tuesday because obviously they view is great and they always had a nice crowd of people with good music.

But last time I went there again, they started to charge a cover fee (including one of these "standard drinks" which usually translates roughly in a glass of water with a piece of lemon), which is a little unusual for a hotel bar on Tuesday, but I did not mind. But at the same time, I felt the service inside the bar had suffered a lot: almost impossible to get the attention of the waiter, the quality of the cocktails is mediocre (nicely put) and as mentioned in the previous post, the came up with all these rules to make sure, you a little bit nervous to move at all because maybe there is a rule against that too. Last not least, the DJ seemed to have trouble staying awake to his own music.

My heart is broken too and I will find some new cocktail love with a view somewhere else.

The first time we met back in March 2008, you took my breath away. I fell in love immediately with your sleek design, the delicious frozen strawberry daiquiris, the friendly staff and of course, the gorgeous "vue". I remember sitting in the jacuzzi upstairs one day, sipping cool Champagne, chatting with your former F&B Manager Y., thinking "I must be the luckiest girl in the world".

That's how our love story started. I came over almost every week to chill in the bar with my friends and all my visitors. I loved your food, and you definitely made the right decision hiring my fellow Swiss friend M. as your Chef de Cuisine - he is an artist. My birthday dinner two years ago was simply divine: We indulged in Chateaubriand, heavenly salmon and delicious Crêpes Suzette in an intimate setting overlooking the Bund. You and I were probably the happiest back then.

I'm not quite sure when things started to change. Maybe when Y. left. Maybe when you began to charge a cover fee of RMB 100 for your bar (BTW: I don't know any other bar in the world that does this). Maybe when you asked my friends that had booked a very expensive suite in your hotel to also pay RMB 100 to get into the bar. Maybe when you started to focus on short-term profits instead of keeping your long-term friends. Maybe when you replaced your friendly staff with "if-you-don't-want-to-put-up-with-all-my-crap-then-go-somewhere-else, i-don't-care" people. Maybe when you enforced the "minimum spending of RMB 1500" rule for tables with view, even when the entire bar was empty, forcing people to stand or sit in a corner (in an empty bar). Maybe when you started to pick fights with guests that took pictures of you ("it's forbidden to shoot here!").

I couldn't recognize you anymore. You were not who you were back when I fell in love. So we started to go separate ways.

Two days ago, I decided to come back again, as two of my girlfriends from Germany were visiting and I wanted "something special" for their final night. We received two drink vouchers each for our RMB 100 cover fee as it was "ladies' night". So far, so good. My girlfriends were blown away by your beauty, and everybody was happy. We sat by one of the windows when we were told that "tables with view require a minimum spending of RMB 1500". It was already 11pm and the lights were out (so there was nothing really to be seen) but we were in a great mood so switched somewhere else. I asked for the menu and received the following explanation: If we wanted one of the selected cocktails on the menu, we would have to spend one voucher each. However, if we wanted a soft drink (e.g. coke), I would have to use two vouchers. This didn't make any sense to me, as a can of coke can be bought anywhere in Shanghai for RMB 3. How can this possibly be of the same value as two cocktails? My girlfriend asked, if she could exchange her two vouchers for a cup of tea (= boiled water with a few leaves) as she was still recovering from a cold. The answer was "no". She then asked if she could exchange her two vouchers for a glass of still water. "No, only soft drinks. I can give you water but you need to order a bottle of VOSS from the menu."

We left shortly afterwards, handing our "free vouchers" to the table close by.


I am very sorry that things had to end like this, darling.
It's not me, it's you.

We decided to go for brunch this weekend and booked one table for 4 adults and one kid. Few hours later, received a call to ask what age what the kid and then tell us that kids were not allowed in the restaurant!!! Then, the girl on phone told me they could make an exception if we were willing to pay the full price for her : 688 RMB for a 2 years kid! VERY VERY DISAPOINTING!!!