Through a rather round about way, I was contacted by the management at MMB with the intention to specifically apologize for my experience last month. Having worked in F&B myself once upon a time, I was perfectly open to hear them out and to give them another shot. Below is an a pretty important update on MMB.

The Occasion:
An individual contacted me directly via SMSH thanking me for the review and requested recommendations for a venue for which he would celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. Among the ones I recommend, I took the liberty to contact the VOL group to inquire about one of Paul Pairet's other establishments for this occasion as well as to gather information for a luxury concierge service I assist. Needless to say, they recognize my name easily and proceeded to provide a very personal response to the situation I had posted about.

The details are always in the apology:
People make excuses. And we all know that more often in not, this is done in China in order to save face as much as possible. But it takes a respectable individual (or institution in this case) to fess up and sincerely and humbly apologize for a mistake, and admit when one was wrong. In writing "From the 24th of December 2011 up to the 31st of December 2011 , Mr & Mr Bund was featuring from it's opening operation time 06.30 Pm up to 11.00 Pm four specific "Festive Menus" to be shared for 2 guests : French Tradition / PP Classic / I love Truffles/ Splurge with a respective “per person price” of 750 RMB/888 RMB/888 RMB/1250 RMB.
After 11.00 pm and on TUE/WED/THU/FRI ( of that week ) the "late night Menu" and "a la carte menu " was available, but unfortunately hasn't been rightfully offered to you by and your guest by the service staff on duty , creating a normal confusion ."

The management conducted an investigation and was able to confirm the details of my event, and have since apologized for staff not being attentive or providing the appropriate details. People make mistakes, no big deal. So now this leaves me to give my thoughts on the place.

WHY I WROTE THE PREVIOUS REVIEW:
First off, yes the occasion WAS soured. But things happen on occasion. I wrote my previous article because I felt there was something the rest of the Shanghai community ought to know about, and that was; the loss of the late night set menus. Thankfully however it was just a mix-up for that one evening, and MMB is not doing away with that which made them SO special in the wee hours of the morning. The 2 and 3 course late night set menus are here to stay as well as the happy hours.

A Brief RE-REVIEW:
They had invited me to the restaurant to apologize directly. I met with the director there who was relaxed, but professional and very sincere. Of course, I had let them know ahead of time when I was visiting, so I knew to take nearly everything with a grain of salt. They would be prepared for my coming. And as was to be expected, the staff greeted me by name, was attentive to the last detail etc etc. But I can not judge rightly on an apology experience now can I? I needed to take seriously what I had written before and provide an honest realistic update. So I took it upon myself to visit the establishment twice, unannounced since that time.

THE FOOD:
When the gentlemen who had first written to me asking for suggestions had inquired about a good seafood place, I had to (due to integrity) admit that despite my poor experience the last time, MMB does indeed excel in the seafood department (truffled scallops anyone?). I have so much on the menu, but on and off the set menu's. And I can say, that nearly everything is good. If I am specific, there is actually only ONE dish there that I did not like (the chargrilled eggplant). Everything else has excellent flavor and is presented nicely.

THE SERVICE:
There was obviously going to be a 100% turn around with the service when I had gone to meet with the management at the restaurant, so instead I will write about the two other occasions I had gone. Needless to say, it does seem that whatever "shock training" the staff had received since the incident, things have generally improved bar far. The staff smile now and are now on par with actually treating you like a guest. The second occasion I was there, it was entirely different staff, so I feel safe to say that indeed overal improvements have been made. The water service (one of those very small details I pay attention to, because I drink after nearly every bite) is improved drastically, in that I did not need to waive anyone down this time, or even ask (I was going to once, but the waiter kindly asked if I wanted a refill because I could. GOOD!). You can now count on this establishment to appropriately serve you as you would expect.

THE AMBIANCE:
I'll stand by my previous statements on the decor. It is an overal ambiance that must be judged, and the place is particularly inviting for groups. I still personally feel that the space is too brightly lit. That isn't to say it is bright inside. Just not dim enough for those romantic occasions (you know, when it's dim enough that all the impurities in one's complexion are no longer so noticeable). I'd still take a date there however, the food leads the way, and from what I have been gathering, I think that is the intent.

CONCLUSIONS: Shanghai gets to keep one of her stars.
It is very difficult for a shanghai brand to develop a following. There are always new places opening, events to try, and some gimmick across town that *might* be good enough waltz over to. But MMB has created a niche (perhaps too large to even be called a niche). They made late nights fashionable. In one decision, they upgraded the whole of the shanghai nightlife, by giving those of us with a weakness for food something to reward ourselves with after a night of serious disco hopping. But more than that, they follow with good execution for lunch as well a early dinners. MMB has done well, and I thank them for taking the initiative and not simply putting on airs for one night, but has resulted in an overall improvement even with my two unannounced visits. Thanks for putting the better foot forward!

It pains me greatly to have to write this, but I do this in hopes that perhaps others might be informed and up to date on the goings and comings of Mr. and Mrs. Bund.

Let me first start off by saying... I was a MMB devotee since it opened. I thought Paul Pairet's concept was brilliant, that of an upscale dining institution which made stylized dining more accessible to the late night crowds. Does anyone want to argue that their 10:30 Set Menu for 200/250rmb and Late Night Happy Hour were nothing short of phenomenal?

In any case, I had a rather unpleasant experience the last time I went, no less... it was on my birthday >_<

The Premise:
So, my birthday falls on a rather "inconvenient" date. The 29th of Dec that is. Four days after Christmas, 3 days before New Years (ouch). It falls during a time when everyone (generally) is either poor from spending money on Christmas, still out of town for holidays, resting for New Years, or hungover for whatever reason. Not to say that I deserve pity, I've actually always been accustomed to small affairs. But this year, I wanted to do something just for the heck of it. I had a friend from overseas staying in Shanghai THAT NIGHT coincidentally and so I thought what fun it would be to spend some birthday times with him. He arrived travel tired around 10:30pm, and I thought what better place to take him too for a nice welcome to Shangers than MMB for their late night set menu?

The Unfortunate Occasion:
Upon being seated (at 10:45pm), I noticed that the set menu which I had dazzled myself with so many times after a shimmy shammy at Bar Rouge was GONE. I asked the waiter about it, and he said "It is not more. We don't have it". Now the prospect of going dutch fizzles out at this point, as I can't expect a guest to fork over whatever amount since it was my decision to bring him there. I'm now treating. We had also been ordering drinks, and were neglected to be told that the happy hour was no more as well. But not to worry, the waiter pointed out MMB DID indeed have NEW set menus available! Ranging from 789 - 1279rmb (give or take) for 2 persons. While this represents a 100% increase in set menu price, I figure that 888rmb is still reasonable for two people on this day of all days. At 11:10 pm we decided to order then! I selected one of the set menus when I was informed by the waiter at this point "I'm sorry, but the set menus finish at 11p.m., but I can ask the chef if we can still do it".

Naturally, I'm disappointed the waiter did not tell me this beforehand, as I wouldn't have been such a chatterbox, and hurried up with my order when first having the set menus pointed out to me. BUT, I'm quite appreciative that he would offer to ask the chef if it's a can do thing. I kindly whispered to the waiter that I would VERY much appreciate it since today was my birthday (the friend I was with didn't know it was my birthday and I didn't want him to get ambushed wtih such a fact). The waiter said "sure". Long story short, he came back and said "Sorry, we can't do it".

FAN-TAS-STIC. I asked him to ask the chef once more and reminded him of the occasion. MMB was empty at this time save for one other table of diners on the other end of the venue. Did they WANT to embarrass me or simply want us to leave?

Cutting to the chase, what would have been a nice evening of around 600rmb (their old school set menus + drink specials) ended up with a bill of around 1700rmb. Some may say "hey, you stayed, your fault". I won't argue that point at all.

But I will ask the dire question... what is it with the absolute inflexibility of certain dining institutions these days? Sure, you can't give in to everyone. But if you are running an upscale operation, you'd expect that your customer service and hospitality would not be "ok", or even "good"... they SHOULD BE LEGENDARY. And now comes to my actual review of the establishment. The above situation has informed this review, because where once MMB stood as a place where "everyone could dine together", MMB has now lost this prestige and in it's move to "be more expensive"... well, we have to evaluate the venue based on this now.

Ambiance:
Would anyone say that MMB has fantastic ambiance? If you sit in the corners (or anywhere near one of their speakers), you generally find yourself having to talk over them. The lighting is not so well designed, but everything else is pretty decent, furniture and decor and all. You enter someone's flawed but fancy living room, that's the concept.

This place had it made with their late night set menus. The perfect chill late night snack to prevent those bar rouge hangovers. Now... it's just a living room on the bund.

Food:
MMB devotees may potentially want to rip my heart out with what I'm about to say, but let's consider it reasonably. Some may ask "WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU ORDER". and so I'll gladly say! We had the 1) Arugula Truffle Salad 2) Picnic Chicken 3) Truffled Scallops 4) Duck Confit 5) Mash Tradition 6) 6 shots of tequila and two shots of gin 7) 2 double sweet vermouths (martini rosso) 8) One chocolate fondant cake.

Does the price actually match what MMB provides? An arugula truffle salad would obviously have a high markup, as well as the mash tradition. The PIcnic chicken is a simple breast with a side of in house made aioli which anyone with a blender can make at home for dirt cheap. I've had duck confit here in the city with near exacting standards for far more reasonable prices (I went with cause I wanted duck! haha).

If there is ONE thing I will give MMB, it's that they do well in consistency. I've never had something under or over done. Standards are exacting, but such a hefty price tag after 11p.m.? What are you guys thinking?

The cost of the meal does not match the cuisine presented.

The Service:
Let's face it. No one goes to MMB because of the service. The water service alone is doesn't even match up to some mid-range restaurants. Would anyone disagree that the service here is just "ok"? Do they have the service professionalism (and language ability) that the servers at Jing'an have (or attentiveness to your water glass for that matter). Or do they have the cheerful and personalble dispositions of those at Element Fresh? Maison Pourcel does it right. Mr. and Mrs. Bund fails miserably with an "ok" rating. If you are going to charge those prices, AND dump on a person's birthday (without offering adequate explanation), you had better keep my water glass filled. You didn't. You did not even extend to me the courtesy of educating me on your new set menus and telling me when they would end, when I would have had time to still order from them. For shame.

The cost of the meal does not match the level of service provided.

Conclusions and Overall Summation:
I loved MMB. I was there on average 2-3 times a month, and occasionally for a lunch or two. It was fancy... but not TOO fancy. It represented a perfect balance between accessible pricing, nice food, and a generally "alright package". This place was "COOL" to go to late at night, even without a particular occasion. I've planned 3 birthday parties there this past year and as such had other friends subsequently become fans.

But now to all our lament, MMB has lost it's proper place in the city. 888rmb set menus puts it on par with many other $$$$$ venues in the city, and now there is very little to set it apart. You've got stellar service and innovation at Jing'An, an overall superior if not historical experience at M, a terrific ambiance at Jade on 36, truly finely made cuisine at Stiller's, and noteworthy french cuisine at Maison Pourcel.

What do we have at MMB except some shrimp in a bottle and mayonnaise with your chicken in a round bowl? Am I biased by my birthday experience? Yes. But when I come to a fine dining institute, I have a certain level of expectation, not just with the food, but the service as well. And having worked in the F&B industry myself, I KNOW full well the difference between horrid, bad, ok, good, exceptional, and LEGENDARY customer service.

If I force myself out of bias and into reason, then this is what I have to say finally. MMB is not the most expensive meal I've had. But when I compare it, to others in a similar vein, I'd say that MMB fails. The niche it once held is what made it special and kept me coming back (as I suspect it did with many, because it wasn't uncommon to see a crowd on any given night during the week, but this night it was me and another table). As a young professional, I recognized it's value and unique value. Now, I suppose MMB can be relegated to that short list of places that one can go to one "special occasions"... or perhaps not.

If MMB doesn't reclaim what it once had, I hope some other dining entrepreneur on the bund takes up the notion of welcoming the late night masses, AND TREATING THEM WELL.

Not as bad as the title suggests but did expect a little bit more "wow factor" than what we got on our plates.
Good first. Service was impeccable, huge list of wine by the glass,food was well cooked as to our liking and small hiccups quickly rectified.
Although it labels itself around french food its not typically french apart from the ubiquitous Frog Legs and several types of Foie Gras on the menu. Smoked Salmon starter was good but wafer thin slices served with hunks of thick bread which didn`t really go hand in hand. The waygu ribeye was rare as ordered but lacked seasoning and the plate was just verging on warm which meant my sides were cold within seconds. A lot of the mains were Truffle based/infused/ or somehow incorparated which is fine as its a change from the French way of adding garlic to everything however once you have mashed potatoes, bread,steak and spinach all with truffles in someway connected to the dish you cant help tasting everything thereafter tastes like truffle. The Lobster steamed in its own jar was good but nothing different from what PP did in his last posting along with 6 or 7 other items my eagle eyed dining partner spotted. Orange Tart was standout for dessert as was the cheesescake
all in all it was ok, but there is better in Shanghai 6/10

Well i agree it a good restaurant when you are tired of getting your soup in a plate already amd want somethng "different" in stead they will pour nto a cup, and add cornflakes ( the ones you eat in the morning), this in turn would be called corn flake soup. Is it any good? Well it wont help you to expand your pallet,yet yo would be presently surprised of how the next dish will be served. In light of this i cant say its a bad restaurant but greately depends on the reason you are going there. If it for food, then go somewhere else, if it is the closest place after a crazy night out at Bar Rouge, and you wont just get home withou food, then Mrs and Mr Bund is the place to go. What for me, ill keep it as a good substitute of turkish kebabs after a crazy and drunk night out.

After all the hype and many, i thought it time to try out Mr & Mrs Bund..... Only to be very disappointed with the service, food, and decor. Ok perhaps my expectations were high considering the great reviews, but seriously this place is completely over rated!

The food was OK, nothing fantastic, but not bad either - just OK. But when your bill is 1000rmb per person for 3 course + wine, you expect something amazing! Not to mention the menu - which looks like a cheap cafe or breakfast joint.

Service was terrible - plates were not cleared before they served the next dish. Waiters didnt know who ordered what, rather called it out like we were in a take-away joint. Plus the staff were too busy looking cool to actually do anything productive!

Atmosphere was also disappointing, i get they are trying to be different and funky - but they need to take a hard look at themselves and figure out what is important to customers (and a guy in funcky red sneakers but no service ability is not it)

All in all, i would NOT recommend this restaurant to anybody - it was expensive, rude and disappointing.

An important remark on a great place with wonderful food!

The service!

Please stop the constant sparkling water and wine pouring even when the glasses are served just fine. That is annoying and gives the impression that the stuff is trained to sell as many drinks as possible. Even if this is the case, please educate the stuff to a more subtle and elegant manner.

Further on, we, a party of 4, were advised strangely on the choice of our dishes.

- The half a lobster is not big enough for you (meaning me, meaning what ?)
- The steaks are only 150 g and quite small (to the two men on the table who made the conscious decision to have a smaller sized steak with a few side dishes)

And the last order was commented with:

- The lobster ravioli is a very small dish, you should have a starter (it was also a conscious decision from my friend to have no starter but main course and a dessert after)

I still puzzle over why those comments were made? Was it because it was a slow monday or the local stuff thinks that foreigners are big people with big appetite?
But whatever their thoughts are, to communicate them is not appropriate at the table in one of Shanghais best restaurants.

We brought my dad and step mom here during their short trip to Shanghai, mostly because it seemed like the only Bund restaurant with consistently decent reviews. We were not disappointed.

6 of us got a reservation at a table near a window (views are not that impressive, btw). When we arrived, we were promptly seated, our first drink order was taken, and menus handed out. We were also given tuna mousse amuse-bouches and still-warm bread with great butter. I didn't realize that the food was served family style, so we were a touch confused by the massive menu, but the AMAZING server quickly caught us up on how their system works. I'm not sure how others feel, but I really liked the continental (mostly French) food done in the Chinese family style, with a lazy Susan in the middle and everyone sharing.

After perusing the menu for some time (there are over 300 items to pick from!!), we each decided to order 2-3 things. I can't remember everything we got, but the frog legs and veal really stood out to me, and I loved the asparagus with Bearnaise sauce. The food came very quickly, was presented excellently and when needed, divided evenly by the server among the table of six. Almost nothing went to waste, and our server stood nearby if we needed anything. Each of us also got a dessert (homemade yogurt and strawberry reduction for me) and after-dinner cognacs - forgot to mention we also had martinis before and wine with dinner (most bottles were over 600RMB).

My only complaint, if you can even call it that, is that the decor was - Idk - confusing. Servers were all wearing red Chuck Taylors and vests almost like at a TGI Fridays, and the furniture was sort of psycho Queen of Hearts (is that redundant?). I guess I was just expecting another staid Jean Georges type place, but it hardly detracted from the excellent meal. I didn't see the bill though cause pops was treating, but I'm guessing it was pretty massive.

An early quiet first time dinner for both myself and a friend at Mr & Mrs Bund last night (holiday Monday). Not actually our first time there, we were curious about the food after satisfying my chocolate craving there around 2am the weekend before. Reserving the day before, my friend and I “snagged” a coveted window table but am I too blasé now? The view from Bar Rouge’s terrace, just one floor up, is far better.

My overall impression was a restaurant meant to impress, not with food but with décor (a cavernous space with over the top red and black baroque furnishings…a little bit Alice in Wonderland oversized chairs, curlicues, sparkly things…the recession never happened here…) and service flourishes.

Great things: some plates generously proportioned and well executed to boot

Not great things: cavernous space, unfocused menu, some ridiculous dishes (value wise).

To begin: a very lovely, light as air tuna mousse amuse bouche & and bread basket. Fresh half dozen kumamoto oysters. M&M allows you to choose from four sizes of wine (tasting, half, & full glasses, half L) which is great for switching up your wine with every course or sampling. First course: foie gras au natural (pairing the fois gras with a ginger/Asian flavoured green salad was risky but didn’t end up negatively impacting the foie gras) – generous portion; weekly special: steamed bay scallops served clothespinned in the original shell (slightly overdone). Unique and interesting presentation. 2nd course: beef tartare – well spiced and very creamy, which I requested to be sided with their “allumette” fries instead of the “French fry cubes” promised on the menu. A quibble: they were not matchstick sized fries, they were pretty basic steak fries. But I love me some fries and these were crisp. Also generously portioned, at this point I could have moved to dessert. My friend had the special “lobster ravioli” – which was actually one big creamy ravioli with an entire claw…but the lobster was nothing to write home about and probably the worst value at 270kuai, one of our more expensive dishes. Sides: ceps (came in a cream sauce, pillowy soft), and charred eggplant (which tasted overly charred, and came studded with whole cumin pods and crispy yaotiao...strange to eat the cumin pod). At this point we decided to have more food and ordered the long short ribs which are MASSIVE (340kuai for 2 people) and come on two dabba dabba-doo dinosaur bones with a healthy siding of marrow and some jus on the side. Disappointing mixed steamed greens – were they joking? The portion was pathetic. Two part asparagus stems 4 leaves of bok choy and 4 sweet peas? Please. That said, marrow was unfortunately undersalted but ribs were fatty and good! Wrapped up the bones and took them home.
The extensive menu reminded me of a typical Chinese joint except for the skimpy veg portions. Three kinds of fish in three different ways each; lamb; different kinds of steak; lobster, scallops, shrimp some with the same presentations; a variety of veg sides; etc….I’m not sure whether I liked this or not. There is an element of repetitiveness – here’s lobster in a jar with vanilla and lemongrass…oh, here’s some shrimp in a jar with vanilla and lemongrass too! Are they both equally as good? It starts to appear as just a matter of covering all the bases. “I made one good flavor combo so maybe I’ll stick with that.” Sometimes with such an extensive menu you have the feeling the restaurant is trying to be all things to all people. Such a contrast to last week’s experience at Goga, which has a tiny menu in comparison, is an intimate space, and does everything well (and so they should)…also at half the price.

Service – no complaints. Maybe they could top up water more assiduously.

In any case, I think for a full dinner you could get away with spending 1000rmb including alcohol instead of close to 2000rmb like we did...would that be good value? To you to decide. And you could maximize value and very well executed food by ordering carefully. Avoid the overpriced tiny things and enjoy the things they do really well.

And for a late night menu full of high-quality snacks? Drunken noshing should be either highbrow or lowbrow. This is squarely on the bling side of that equation in a restaurant with the size and glitz of a nightclub. I will probably enjoy tartare at 2am even more. For an intimate tete-a-tete or one that is about food and just the food? I would go elsewhere.