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This massive stone vault of a restaurant is actually easy to miss. A quietly marked entrance on the southwest corner of Julu Lu leads through a bamboo-lined path and, ultimately to Shintori. Sushi without gimmicks, a carefully selected wine list and English-speaking staff all contribute to the smooth ambiance.
Was there last night and ONE of the dishes that we ordered was the "medium" sashimi. Now, at 220 you woukd think that you would get more than 3 pieces of 3 different types of fish, right? What a rip.
Do they think that because the rest. is in a nice space that they can charge a fortune?
Its Julu Lu for christs sake!!!
Shintori is world class. I would recommend ignoring negative reviews about the restaurant and go find out for yourself. Every time I have brought guests they have been thrilled with the food and the ambiance. The wait staff is phenomenal by Shanghai standards. If you haven't been before it should be near the top of your list.
I went to Shintori last summer with a group of friends and had the time of our lives. As a design aficionado the decor was equally as impressive as the food, which could have been one of the best Japanese meals I've ever had. That wasn't the case this time around. First off, our waitress virtually ignored our table the entire time. She tried to rush us our dished before we could even start the ones we had, but after that I had go to get the bill myself after getting sick of waiting. The food deteriorated probably even more than the service, which was probably due to the completely different menu. Also, the atmosphere I remember was quite intimate yet noticeably trendy (in a good way). Now all I hear is people shouting, and the attitude is so heavy I could barely find my way to the (still cool) bathroom. Overall I was severely disappointed, after naming Shintori one of my favorite restaurants in the world. I really hope they get their act together, because it would be such a waste of a beautiful place of Shanghai.
So, went there with a friend on Sunday night. Liked the atmosphere.Sat on the 2nd level. Staff was great. Courteous but not overly attentive and no one hung about our table watching us.
Liked that we got to pick our own sake cups. Sake was excellent too.
The food was DIVINE, Seriously. We started with a selection of sashimi. Excellently fresh and chilled. We ordered the Chef's special Oysters which where HUGE and FANTASTIC. Light and lemony, perfection.Possibly the best oysters I have ever had. We also ordered the chef's special tuna appetizer, which was 2 types of tuna, one of which was tuna tar tar with amazing sauce.
We had lamb with possibly the most delicious pepper sauce. Then we had soup. My friend had the lily root miso which was delightful and I had the foi gras soup which was heavenly. We had the eel and rice as well and that was good, Not too sweet, just perfect.
Overall it was fabulous. The way the tables are spaced helps to create a casually intimate atmosphere where you see everything but you don't happen to inadvertently start listening to your neighbours conversation or have to yell over the said people. Would definitely recommend it.
We went to Shintori about 3 weeks ago and were severely disappointed. I tried Shintori when I first arrived in Shanghai a year ago and was suitably impressed by the cavernous interior. This time, we were just looking for good food - and unfortunately never found it at Shintori.
Shintori tries to be inventive Japanese cousine, and fails miserably. It's more like Chinese food gussied up to be really expensive Japanese food. We ordered a variety of dishes and were shocked to see how awesomely each serving was. Perhaps their goal is to drive you to their People 7 next door for dessert? I actually left hungry and had to scrounge around for something to eat at home.
Service was lacking as well. We expected discreet and cool (to match the decor) but the service was no better than your average restaurant. We tried to speak Japanese to the wait staff but it was wakarimasen on that front. I gave the waitress my Enjoy card to ask if they took it, and she tried to use it as a credit card. Hmmm...
Beautiful decor, but bland food and poor value. We were a table of 6 and all decided that we would not be returning.
Well this certainly is a world class venue. I was expecting a real culinary treat but was very disappointed. The sake and the soup was cold. Everything we ordered was too sweet. I wonder if the chefs in this place are Japanese?
Shintori is OK.
Good things first: the food is pretty tasty, and the decor and service are both good, the bathroom is very cool.
Bad things second: There is very little "real" tradional Japanese food on the menu, the portions are very small meaning that you will not be full when you leave, and the fact that the restaurant is built around an open kitchen means that you will smell like food when you leave and they don't play any music meaning that the only thing to accompany your meal will be the sounds of sizzling food, clanking pots and orders being taken.
Your mileage may vary
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