user lucas78

Tue May 6th 2008

my favorite so far. great food & service.

user Charles3

Mon Dec 3rd 2007

service is indeed an issue in shanghai(even if the situation is getting better)for most of the restaurant.I think unfortunatly the lack of real passionate managers in shanghai is one reason (most of them are focused on showing off,trying too hard to be the face of their place),focusing on serving people and training their staff,the best exemple of this sadly is jean georges (but not only and since the last french GM left),the staff is completly left alone while all the expats (chefs,the bar girl,rest manager)are actually drinking at the bar,smoking,entertaining friends,and sometimes only themselves!!.Leaving the dining room without supervision.In a more modest rest,nobody would really care,but there with the price you pay it's shocking! finally the best result is hamilton house where acually a local owner is there going from table to table, making sure everyone is comfortable taking orders!! the owner!!The food is well cooked and more consistant than JG (less sophisticated also to be fair)!!! a shame for JG! So long story short stop pretending,and leaving the high life and do your work!

user shninja

Wed Nov 28th 2007

For all the hype JG has for being a quality restaurant with "quality" ingredients, my wife and I were extremely disappointed. The filet mignon was either a Chinese type of beef or some grass-fed Australian type as it had absolutely no flavor and was rather tough. The scallops we ordered were extremely small (do scallops have testicles? They may have been delivered instead of the scallop itself) and also had no flavor. The mushroom soup was akin to dirty dishwater. No wonder this Jean George guy makes enough money to open a bunch of other restaurants, super small portions, cheap sub-par quality meat, exorbitant prices = dragon boats of cash. I hope for JG's sake he wasn't really in the kitchen making these things. Next time I want some nice beef I'll stick to Laris downstairs---he seems to be doing something right with that!

user Clodagh

Mon Nov 19th 2007

Having heard the hype and then read the generally tepid reviews on this site, I wasn't overwhelmed with excitement when my visitors asked if we could dine at Jean Georges. I emailed to make a reservation, explaining that my visitors had never been to Shanghai and would love a table with a view over the Bund. I received a charming reply, welcoming my interest and assuring me that a nice table would be reserved for us. And that set the tone for what proceeded to be one of the most remarkable and enjoyable dining experiences I have had anywhere in the world (and I'm a greedy guts who has eaten in many many places). We booked for 8pm but phoned to say we would be half an hour late - no problem. When we arrived, we were shown down the narrow corridor, past the bustling open kitchens and into the glorious dining room, all muted gilded reds, to our corner table by the window with banquettes to settle into and crisp white linen tablecoths. The impression is one of restrained opulence, of luxury and glamour with just the right amount of dazzle. Our 'maitre d'", Cherry, was knowledgable and helpful. Between 6 of us, we chose both types of set menu with various dishes swapped for others to cater for mild (imaginary) allergies to scallops and general "I'll have the dressing on the side" type personalities - and then swapped again, all dealt with with good grace by Cherry. The amuse bouche came in a shot glass and was an exquisite dumpling like creation, filled with champagne and topped with a truffle - it exploded fabulously in your mouth in the most surprising way. Marvellous. The sashimi that came next was fresh and delicate, followed by mouthwatering black cod in a light yet moreish sauce. My neighbour's sea bass was also good, with a more robust lemongrass tang to the sauce. My memory becomes hazy on the next course (or was it two?) but the final savoury course was incredibly tender beef of just the right "cuisson" served with a dense mushroomy glaze and the most perfect pot of mashed potatoes (it's not a meal without potatoes...). Finally, the pudding was, for me, the only disappointment of the meal. I ordered expresso creme brulee and there are some classics that really shouldn't be messed with and creme brulee is one of them. Have an expresso on the side by all means but don't add it to the classic egg and sugar mix to form a rather anaemic coffee-flavoured mousse that lost all the creamy texture of a classic creme brulee. (It might have helped if I'd remembered that I hate coffee flavoured cake and puddings before ordering.) The other puddings (the chocolate tasting plate and the mango tasting plates) were huge hits. The whole pace of the meal was perfect - not too fast and not too slow. If one of our table went to the loo just before a course was due to be served, the service was amended so that the course was only served when we were all seated again, all in a seamless fashion. All six of us left the restaurant, slightly swooning from the experience, perfectly replete but not too full and very very happy indeed.

user ms23

Tue Jul 10th 2007

i'm not a huge fan of french food, but decided to give JG a try cause of the hype. I ordered a "chicken" dish..and it was WAY too heavy for my palate. I thought ordering chicken would be the lightest thing on the menu...I did not want to bother the waiters with too many questions either..as they sometimes seem to be bothered when customers ask questions (from my experience). Anyway, it was loaded w/fat and grease in some type of oily broth, which seemed to just saturate the chicken and overpower the flavor of the meat itself. The wine, of course, is always good..(although a bottle is quite expensive)..and desserts are good too. next time, order a salad or small appetizer, and wine or dessert. also, don't order a bottle...order a glass. they keep pouring for you and it gets annoying. also, don't order water ..because it's like 70 rmb and they keep pouring that for you too. just order drinks by the glass, always leave something on your plate...take your time eating, and make room for dessert. you can always tell them that you don't want dessert right away either. hey..you know..this is china..a communist country still..and wherever you go, you will be watched..even at a high end establishment...ESPECIALLY at a high end establishment. if you don't want to be watched..dress up in rags, and frequent chinese restaurants, and "blend in". :)

user alobar

Mon Apr 23rd 2007

Hi all when I read the reviews about the Jeon Georges I could not other than write my review about our experience. My wife and I we celebrate actually on eof our aniversary and I must say at the beginning, I was astonished. We had dinner probably within the first month of the opening. While calling them to make a reservation, a lady with perfect English answer the call and helped me with my reservation. We arrived at the restaurant and our table was perfectly located and the service was from the beginning till we left, perfect. The bread served, fresh, tasty and crispy. In general I do not like to order a menue, but in this case we choose the menue, which was perfectly balance from the starter to the main till the deserst. The wine list is well equiped and balance, even though I found some wines are pricy. However, the location has to be paid too, as everywhere. For both of us the restaurant and the dinner was perfectly and that in a city like Shanghai, this place was like a oasis to us. Well we left with a 4500 RMB price tag, however I have not regret our choice, and we have just simple enjoyed a dinner that last more than 3 hours, including the cigar and whisky. I am in the lucky position to had and enjoyed different restaurants in cities around the world. It is seldom that a restaurant is that perfect and balanced. This is however one of them and we wil come back, and hopefully find that they still remain the servcie and quality at th esame level we have found it during our first visit.

user khs1954

Fri Mar 30th 2007

This is perhaps the most overrated, underwhelming restaurant I have eaten at in a long time. The only thing worthwhile is the view, but not at 0 U.S./pp. My appetizer, crab salad, tasted like it came out of a can. My wife's appetizer (foie gras) was mediocre and our main dishes (sea bass and salmon) reminded me of fresh/frozen fish from the supermarket. The service was pleasant, but slow and unimpressive. Long on hype; short on quality.

user ShanghaiDidact

Mon Mar 19th 2007

Having read ecstatic reviews in various Shanghai magazines and in no less than the New York Times itself, I was excited enough not to eat lunch on the day we were planning to have dinner there. The setting is beautiful, and the service is quite attentive. I would, however, fault Jean Georges for an overly hasty service. Fine cuisine is meant to be enjoyed at one's leisure, and I actually thought the courses were served--and cleared--a little too quickly. (Also, the habit of waiters removing one diner's plate before his companion has finished eating peeves me). The food was such a colossal disappointment. It simply wasn't any good. For example, overcooked salmon (well done when I'd asked for rare), that still managed not to have that yearned-for crispiness on the outside and boring flavors. We left without having dessert, so crestfallen were we by our first two courses. The homemade marshmallows which came with our check were probably the high point of the meal. Perhaps the laurel-covered Jean Georges himself is not visiting his Shanghai establisment as often as he ought?

user Illfindyou

Mon Aug 29th 2005

U can trust the Bluecheese when it comes to taste French things... But everything has a price and the Bleucheese didn't pay his last check. I'd propose a salad with bleucheese, and nuts made in Suzhou on it.

user yphilippe

Sun Jun 19th 2005

The setting is nice, but the food doesn't match the expectation (nor the price). The wild mushroom soup was your typical chinese soup (clear broth with a a few local mushrooms... note to the chef: the french don't make mushroom soups that way, and a local chinese mushroom isn't considered wild). Then went the main course; I took no risk, ordered a filet mignon. It came with some sauce that tasted like... pineapple!! I don't mind nouvelle cuisine, but there are limits to how ridicule you are willing to be. So no, pineapple doesn't fare well with a filet mignon. it goes without saying, Jean Georges was disappointing.

user rabelais

Thu Feb 3rd 2005

COURTESY OF BLEUCHEESE: Threesome Third input Three foot bong Three on the Bund Home to too many restaurants/bars/shops to list. Venue: Jean-Georges. Food: Asian inflected French Entrance on a side road adjacent to the bund (opposite the entrance to M). Up the cramped elevator (holds 6 uncomfortably) up to the 5th? floor. Opens to a hallway that goes left and right. No signs. No greeting. Two of us went left. Two went right. The right was in the right. Hostess and coat check woman standing by a podium in a dark corner. Dark is the general them of the decor. Hostess leads you through the GRAND ENTRANCEWAY into the bar area. Has kind of an old boys club vibe to it. Dark red seats. Seats maybe 70. Holds maybe 200. Absolutely deserted at 7:30. Through the other GRAND ENTRANCEWAY into the dining room. Mostly deuces by the windows. A few large tables. Banquettes scattered through the center of the dining room. Dark. Black window trimmings. Black curtains. Dark red accents. Dark red upholstry. Dark red banquettes. Black uniformed servers/waitresses. Muted copper colored ceilings. Dimmed incandescent lighting. DARK. Seated and I notice music.....bjork. Bjork? BJORK. They were playing Bjorks latest. Not too loud. But loud enough that I could make it out. And then 2 or 3 albums in the same genre. And then back to Bjork. I cant believe that they only had 3 albums. And I cant believe I was sitting in a Jean-Georges restaurant...listening to Bjork. Menu: Everyone receives one small menu and one large. On the small: left side is a 6 course seasonal menu for 598 (in bold print at the bottom..."price does not include service charge") Right side is the 7 course tasting menu for 798...again with the reminder. The whole table must take the tasting. On the large: 8 apps, 2 soups/salads, 5 meat, 5 fish. We opted for a la carte. Nice touch: One of the diners I was with asked the sommelier (who for all intensive purposes served as a captain) what 'squab' was in French. Rather than respond with the typical chinese 'I dont know. bye', she told my companion 'I have no idea but I will find out for you.' 5 minutes later she had the answer (caille). Though I suspect that 'caille' is quail and squab is NOT quail. Wine List. Simple. Not too extensive. Heavy on the French. Female sommellier (from Singapore) recommended a Bordeaux. I went with a Bourgogne: Louis Jadot 2000 Pinot Noir. Evain/San Pelligrino Wine went well with everything ordered. Served in Speigalau glasses. Bread: Suprisingly bad. 2 options: sliced whole wheat or rye/pumpernickel with dried fruit in it. Taste like they bought it at Carrefour. When they shouldve shelled out a few extra yuan for the ritz bakery. Amuse Bouche: Three shot glasses meant to be chewed/swallowed in one gulp. 1) Mandarin orange nectar with a goat cheese ravioli 2) Beurre Blanc with a lemon ravioli 3) Thai basil puree with galanga jelly The first one was interesting if a bit sweet. There was a noticeable hint of star anise that was a nice bridge between the tang of the goat cheese and natural sweetness of the mandarin. The second was fairly heavy on the palate. The beurre blanc not only coated my mouth but my throat and beyond. I love a nice beurre blanc with dishes on the lighter side (and the lemon ravioli was beautifully delicate) but a healthy gulp of melted butter and cream from a shot glass.... The third one....was not to my liking. The shockingly intense flavor of the basil fighting for attention with gellatinous exotic ginger tasting slithery globules. To each his own. Apps: Crackling sesame crusted sea scallops. Sauteed Foie Gras, Chestnut and XO sauce Crab Cake with Lemon Ginger Broth, pickled cucumber, avocado puree Foie Gras Brulee, Cherry compote Observation: SMALL portions. Smaller than T8. Smaller than M. Smaller than any joint in Xintiandi. Smaller than NYC Jean Georges. Crab cakes were decent- jumbo lump crab meat. No BS filler from what I could discern. Sauce had a nice asian NATURALLY sweet sour thing going on. I finished them in four bites. Sea scallops (4 of them) were overcooked. I think they were going for a nice light crunchy sesame crust with the tender delicate sweet meat of the scallop within. They failed. Perhaps they shouldve used jumbo scallops and seared them. The Sauteed Foie Gras was excellent. But again, in three bites it was finished. The Foie Gras Brulee, I didnt sample. We finished our appetizers (and the first bottle of Pinot) in about 15 minutes flat. New bottle of Pinot (same...2000 LJ). The female server correctly brought a new glass and I had a companion do the tasting. Approval. Then the waitress, to my astonishment, tops off everyones glasses (half filled with the FIRST bottle). When she goes to take the tasting glass away, my companion, not realizing that she had just mixed his intitial glass, explained 'No. I need that glass. Thats the new bottle.' I gently told him to let it slide, she already mixed the wines in everyones glasses. Silence and confused looks as she walks away and after 30 seconds, a dreaded statement from my guest of honor: 'Hey, we shouldnt be too hard on them. I mean this is China.' Entrees: Black Cod Veal Medallions with a smoked chili glaze Squab with foie gras Garoupa Forgot most of the sides. Forgot the sauces. Mine, the Veal, came with baby bok choy (or cai sin in mandarin). 3 tiny baby bok choy on a side plate. The winner was DEFINITELY the black cod. Succelent, as fresh as can be. I remember it being served in a light broth. Excellent. My veal was cooked expertly and had a nice subtle yet not overpowering smoky flavor throughout. My guest commented that the 'garoupa' (or grouper as we call it) was nicely done but....small. Desserts: A choice of 4 dessert tastings: Tropical Seasonal Chocolate Vegetable Or a selection of cheese. No ala carte available. One vegetable dessert plate. One chocolate. The vegetable dessert plate had 4 different items that went into the blackhole that is my memory. The chocolate plate had 4 desserts: a warm chocolate cake, a brownie with a beet sauce, an ice cream (i think white chocolate) and something else- I believe a mousse. Desserts were...okay. Nothing all that special. Even the famous Jean-Georges Warm Chocolate cake (he is the originator) didnt pitch a tent for me. I think the brownie was actually the winner. 3 glasses of Taylor 20 year old Tawny Port. Petit-Fours 16 petit fours served. Most had nuts. I refrained. Homemade marshmallows. Coffee, Rose, and Vanilla marshmallows cut tableside. A cute trick that closes all Jean Georges meals. Service. One might expact European professionalism. But the two words that best describe the service at JG are: Chinese efficiency. Taken to an extreme. The exact moment the last of us finsihed a dish, two servers would appear out of nowhere and pull the plates and reset the table. I think the whole meal took about an hour and 15 minutes. I didnt feel rushed but I didnt feel relaxed either. TOTAL: 3332 + 368 (tip) = 3700rmb Verdict: Quarter-erection. Admittedly, I expected ALOT from Jean Georges. I walked in there fully prepared to moan in ecstacy and cream in my pants. I thought it would be the standard for fine dining in Shanghai, the restaurant by which all other haute cuisine joints would be measured against. Once again, I was wrong. I went home and fried up a steak.