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Celebrity chef David Laris is the cook behind the name at this swank, fusion eatery. A luxury marble interior and stuffed velvet couches complement views of the Huangpu River and the menu ranges from simple but elegant fish entrees to Russian caviar. A room of chocolate - various goodies as well as a liquid chocolate fountain - lead to the restrooms.
I must agree with Anrich. We went there last week with some frinds from Canada and I must say I was embarrassed! These friends know their steaks and the meat we had there was like cardboard---drab with no flavor. Not sure who's in the kitchen but I wouldn't doubt its a Chinese Chef. When we were waiting to be seated in the front I noticed the small table (the first thing you see on your way to your table) chairs had stains and cigarette burns on them. Not a good sign...
M on the Bund has crap beef too but a great view. Where can I get a decent steak in this town!!
Arriving on the 6th floor the entrance is very nice until you enter the dining area and the awful carpet takes over. Dining out is not just about food it is also about ambiance, service. The food was excellent no doubt! But the service wasn't, no wine knowledge (bottles from 550 rmb +) and the waitress was to much present, the time between starter en maincourse 7 min. Please ask for slow diner if you have the whole evening. Or do they want you to move to the glamourbar across the street?! The menu is comparing to M on the Bund overpriced!
Bin there done that!
went here on a saturday night to celebrate my husband's birthday. The zagat survy said it was "romantic"..but I would say this place is not the best place for a romantic evening. Sure, the view is good, and fortunately, we were able to get a table with a view (although because of the rain, the view was not so beautiful, either :() I'm somewhat sensitive to smoke, and there were smokers on both sides of us, which seemed to ruin the meal. I heard such great things about the food at Laris, which was why we chose the place, but the dish I ordered was so -so at best. I ordered the boston lobster, and my husband ordered the veal dish. The veal was tasty, but the lobster, for the price, was only so so. Perhaps it has something to do with what you order. I gave a note to the waiter that today was my husband's birthday, and to please write on the plate "happy birthday" and put a candle..which they readily did, although they did not sing (i did not ask them to). There was no dessert on the house for birthdays, but they gave us a few pieces of their chocolate which they make on site. We ordered the creme brulee cheesecake, which I thought was the best part of the meal. Next time I come, i will just have dessert only. Our total meal cost including wine and dessert was about 1300 rmb. There was no service charge added on the bill, and I did not give any, because I thought their service was only so so. I felt the service was not "excellent", but then again, I've lived in shanghai for about a year..and my expectations have gone WAY down..so I did not expect much as far as service..but it would have been nice if the food was good. I also did not expect the bus boy to speak mandarin to us (we are asian, but not chinese). I guess it's better to be prepared to speak a little mandarin no matter where you go :) Overall, I'd say it was a 7 or 8, since the food was normal and the service was average..but definitely not excellent as far as food or service is concerned. The atmosphere is GREAT, though..and if you want to come for drinks..just go to the bar area. it's super cool looking. I think laris is ok enough to not get a bad review...but laris, along with other restaurants in shanghai, need to up their game a little if they want to be rated four or five star according to US standards...next time I want good food, I probably won't go to laris, or m on the bund..but will go to a thai or indian restaurant that i'm familiar with. :)
We were there last night, delicate decoration and very sensible lightening, sitting beside the window we watched the beautiful night view of the bund and neon-edged boats sliding through the river. It was such a fine, quiet yet arousing surrounding that i wouldn't believe i stayed there for more than 2 hours and didn't want to leave, the courses coming and food is ok, though price is not easy, but compare to the indoor area of New Heights upstairs and Jean Georges downstaire, i say this is the preferrable choice of a romantic dinner on bund.
What a wonderful dining experience! My husband and I were travelling internationally for the first time, and decided to make a reservation at a nice restaurant to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. We chose Laris randomly from a travel guide, and were certainly glad we did. After sharing our plans with others on our trip, our reservation for two quickly grew to eight. The staff at Laris very graciously changed our number, and when we arrived had the nicest table in the house all ready for us. We sat at the balcony table overlooking the river and the skyline of the new section of Shanghai. The view, as well as the service, could not have been better. After much deliberation, most of our party chose the tasting menu. Being wine lovers, my husband and I chose to include the wine pairings, which ended up being a wise decision. Each course was perfectly paired with some of the best wine I've ever tasted (I used to work in a wine shop, so that is a glowing recommendation). The food was phenomenal - each course was well prepared and elegantly presented. There was a great variety of local ingredients highlighted throughout the course of the evening, each very different from the last. I thought it couldn't get any better until dessert was served. As usual, our group was the last to leave the restaurant for the evening - we just didn't want the night to end. I would highly recommend a visit to Laris if you are in Shanghai - you will not be disappointed. I am busy looking for other restaurants owned by chef David Laris to visit in the future.
in my opinion a really excellent upper class dining experience! I took my girlfriend there 1 weeks ago at wednesday. Though i reserved 1 day in advance we got "only" the window side table without the proper sight onto the bund. Which means this is the only table facing the bund side without 2 big windows facing pudong. So we had to take a glance through our neighbours windows. Anyway the meal was delicious. We took the normal menu (not the more expensive one) and had one glass wine with each plate, which costs about 450 Yuan extra per Person. - Perfect! Not only the wines, also the meal was just perfect! The staff was very nice as well. No need to call them, they were all around all the time.
----Alltogether a very nice evening. Of course not so cheap, but just very very delightful!
over rated .. reading other reviews reminded me i took my GF there for dinner a few weeks back ... you would think for that calibre of restaurant you would at least have a few good memories ... that dining experience has completely faded out ...
seems that if you want to get some attention by the staff you need to come in large numbers. First visit was with company, hence lots of spending. No complaints overall, though my main tasted rather bland.
Second visit, I came with my GF. Maybe we forgot the secret password or so, but we basically had to beg to get service or a glass of ice water. Thoguh they were lightening fast to give us the bill.
What a disappointment! It's now confirmed - the best Aussie chefs are definitely in Australia not here. Never mind the fact the service has got serious teething problems (the drinks waitress didn't know what was in certain cocktails and couldn't find out!). Like M on the Bund, the view is far more spectacular than the food. The food was just not very special at all and the chef seriously needs to reconsider the white truffle ice cream, it made my stomach turn. If this is the best western restaurant in town, I'll be eating chinese food religiously from now on.
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