" Good Food, Horrible Table "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

We read the reviews and were very very exited to eat here! Perhaps we should have read the review on the communal table more carefully. A great idea, great "design" feeling but the noise........ We were with three and seated along the big table, left and right of us were other guests, no problem, in many European or North American restaurants the space would be even more restricted. This is not the problem. But the Acoustics are for some reason horrible, one can follow literally the conversation of the neighbours and on top of this there is music making a normal dinner conversation almost impossible.Please during dinner switch off the music, there is enough noise on Shanghai already! The food was good, a well chosen combination of different specialities and well prepared. Fresh ingredients and not cutting corners here. But the noise, please look into this, find a way to reduce it, it is important, especially during dinner that you can understand what your dinner companion across the table is trying to tell you without having to shout!

" All Was Perfect: Service And Food "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

Eduardo if you read this: PLEASE PUT ATTENTION IN YOUR STAFF AND MANAGING ... but go on with your good kitchen Ideas ... CONGRATULATIONS. We went the last thursday and enjoy the inexpected ... all was perfect: service and food. Really good surprise. But man! Oh my! we decided to go with our friends and show the new Eduardo's restaurant. But then again happened the unexpected ... the people was crazy waiting in the corridors and between the tables to be seated. We had a reservation for an expecific time, and we arrived on time ... but NOBODY was in the reception desk. Was so crazy for a cozy place, more in a Tongren Lu bar ambient, but in a restaurant with someone like Eduardo behind the managing of other good restaurants ... IT CAN NO BE REAL. So we decided to move downstairs a try the Spanish tapas restaurant ... No so cozy, and not adecuated decoration, but the food excellent. THANKS for the good food ... in both restaurants

" Don't Believe The Hype "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

yes it's true: don't believe the hype. firstly, the service was all over the map. must've had at least 8 different servers talk to us and the hostess at the door was hardly welcoming. the pho wasn't really even pho. it was noodle soup - tasty - but not pho. my minced chicken (or was it pork?) was incredibly small and average in taste...more like a tapas size portion. the only highlight was a tasty Stellenbosch white for 40rmb. btw, what's up the bathrooms? since when are co-ed bathrooms cool? is that how they do it down in Lao? they were dirty, towels everywhere, and the women feeling awkward as they exited the stall to see a guy staring at them. Shanghai restaurants are all about hype; style & no substance. (P.S. when will someone open a smoke-free restaurant? it's 2008 last time I checked & customers confidently chain smoking, at the same time giving other customer's second hand smoke cancer is so incredibly 1975. another big step backwards for Shanghai...)

" WOW "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

Not a good Wow. This place is the pits. Food was horrendous and overpriced. Pho = Campbell's chicken noodle soup. Rave music blaring. Worst washrooms in the city. What a joke of a restuarant.

" Big Disappointment! "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

What a disappointment. It is not that we expected too much especially after being not really excited about Eduardo Vargas’ acclaimed “239” (which has closed anyway), “Azul & Viva” and “Casa 13”. In fact our expectations were quite low but what we experienced at BAMBOU hit a new all-time low and proves again that all the hype that is currently going on about certain Shanghai Restaurants in nothing more than hot air. The Interior: Furniture and all the knick-knacks standing around are well chosen but a bit too cliché-ridden. The wooden chairs are totally uncomfortable and I don’t think the designer or Mr. Vargas himself did ever sit on them for the length of a dinner. As mentioned by another critic in a previous review the music it much too loud and the acoustics in the room just terrible. On our visit the place was not fully booked but there was so much noise that my husband and I literally has to shout at each other to understand what we were saying. The space in Bambou is so restricted that you can hardly move your chair without bumping into your neighbor or the poor staff that’s trying to do their work. The whole atmosphere felt more like a fast food joint than the “wanna-be fine dining concept”. Bathrooms were far from clean at our visit with long black hair in the sinks and on the towels! Food and Drinks: The draft beer (San Miguel) was served flat. It was stale and hat completely lost its fizz. Food was average at its best. The salmon on the grilled salmon salad was raw (!) the codfish as well as the morning glory drowning in oil. The steamed rice crepe with minced meat was totally overcooked and tasted like cardboard. All portions were quite small, presentation fanciless and if you’ve been to Vietnam, Laos and /or Cambodia you are wondering why this place is praised for authentic flavors. Staff: Staff is trying their best. Most were friendly but when it comes to dealing with complaints they go into skid. The stale beer was exchanged though and the sushi-like raw salmon salad taken of the bill.