I went to Chowhaus with my husband and friends who recommended the restaurant. The place is divided into cafe/lounge and restaurant. Beautiful decor and great ambiance. The food is thai/korean although the korean dish wasn't very exciting but most of the dishes were good. Prices are very reasonable. Worth trying it out!

I ordered delivery on Mealbay for Chowhaus, and I was pretty excited to try what they had to offer. I ordered a few pad thais(one veggie version) and a dumpling order.

Price: The food came out to around 170RMB which thai food is a bit on pricey side, but not unreasonably so.

Food: Wow, I have been in Shanghai for two years now, and I have had my fair share of stories of being ripped off, but nothing to this degree. The dumplings and the non-veggie Pad Thai were reasonablely sized, but nonetheless on the small side. the VEGGIE pad thai, was a total of 3-4 noodles, 7 bean sprounts, and 1-2 scallions....coming out to be around 1/4 the size of the regular Pad Thai I ordered Now I recognize that I ordered a veggie Pad thai, so it may be smaller in size without the meat and such, but 1/4....I felt like I had been given a colonscopy. Seriously disappointed and pissed off.

Went with my honey on a Friday night. It was our first time dining in Chowhaus. The decor is pretty sleek, I particularly like the different shapes of lamps they used. We started with a bottle of red wine, it was fine. Our orders were 1) Thai chicken wrapped with leaves (appetizer), 2) some kind of seafood sauce with fried sea bass 3)Pad Thai (with the thick noodles). All dishes are pretty tasty but definitely NOT authentic Thai cuisine. I am a Hongkongese and I KNOW the chef must be somewhat Cantonese. The taste and ingredient of their Pad Thai just like Fried noodle with beef in HK style - they put a small lime on top to fake it Thai, not even adding any lemongrass flavour. Is the chef trying to confuse his customers? The sauce Sea Bass taste like Hoi Sin sauce you can find in a HK supermarket; the dish tastes ok but definitely not Thai style. In addition, the portions were miserably small... thank god my bf is not American, otherwise he would need to order double of everything.
This restaurant can fool and fusion Laowai for Thai or Pan-asian cuisine, but they can't confuse me.

Heard good things about Chowhaus (the concept is certainly interesting enough), went in to investigate first hand.

Stayed firmly within the Thai menu, mostly from other reviews, and because the Thai dishes looked better on the menu than the Korean ones. The Papaya Salad was unlike any other similar salad we had ever had, and in a good way. Spicy and cold, stringy and substantial, it was a perfect balance of contradictions, particularly after a steamy Shanghai day.

The kale/bacon combo was simple and subtle, with just enough citrus to remind you that someone talented was in the kitchen. The cashew chicken was delicious, simply put. If you only order one dish, get the cashew chicken. If you order two, get the papaya salad.

The decor is sophomoric and the space expansive, but neither make it too uncomfortable or offensive. For a Friday, it was very empty, which unfortunately led to inattentive staff and long waits, particularly at the end of the meal. When it appeared that one of our dishes had not been entered into the computer and our wait was extended, the manager was kind enough to spot us two cupcakes, which were just the right kind of sweet. Certainly sweet enough to warrant a return trip (or at least a MealBay). Two people ate comfortably for 150RMB (nothing on the drink menu worth writing home about). Many individual parts shined, but the full experience is still a work in progress.

Went to Chowhaus last night to use my Wufantuan deal. Only problem: I ate lunch that day.

My friend and I sat down, chose our noodle dish and our drinks, and immediately the copious amounts of food began to arrive, there was barley enough room for it all on the table. Every dish was quite tasty, but the green curry chicken was really the star of this spread. Thick coconut sauce blasted with ginger and lemongrass flavor. I'm so used to average curry, that when I tasted this it was an immediate "Whoa". Even my picky, american dining partner was extremely impressed. I also greatly enjoyed the Pomelo Salad which included shrimp paste, something I usually despise, but with the fresh bursts of pomelo and herbs it was a pleasant combination, how I imagine it should taste, although sadly this flavor is a rarity.

I was not so impressed with the Kimchi dumplings, something I was really looking forward to. I think it was the dumpling wrapper that lacked something, it was too think and chewy, and although there was a nice spice in the kimchi, the flavors overall were disappointingly dull. Good concept but could use improvement. I felt this was as well with the fried banana, I have had this in so many restaurants, and its always just pointless and bla.

I took a look through the menu and this place does seem quite confused. They have Korean, Thai, and I even saw elements of europe with dishes like squid ink pasta. I have no complaints though if the food is good all around, and from what I saw it is, although it is different cuisines, it all comes together quite nicely. You can order for any desire, even really great american style cupcakes in many flavors! ( I was super stoked when I saw this).

The venue its self was simple, classic, trendy and HUGE. When full I bet the space looks great, but if it is empty it could be dull. One of those venues that really relies on the people to make the atmosphere. I went on a Wednesday and it was about half full and not bad at all.

So overall, food was tasty, great variety, and this Wufantuan deal gave an exceptional assortment which is how this place must be enjoyed. Try many things, get many flavors.

What an excellent choice - Thai & Korean cuisine together, Brilliant! - both of them are my favorite cuisine.

Overall, the ambiance was better than the food.

Thai cuisine was quiet nice. Other people mentioned about portion of each dish, but for me personality i prefer small portion with reasonable price. So I can try it first, and order more if I really like. We tried Pomelo salad, satay, BBQ pork neck, green curry, red curry and Phathai noodles. Pomelo salad serves with two grilled shrimps nicely, the curry has good rich aroma, Satay was not impressive but it has authentic satay sauce. All dishes were quiet nice.

Korean cuisine was a bit disappointed. It was not that authentic.

The beef BBQ (called Bulgogi) was served with greenbean sprouts. The beef was actually Yoshinoya quality, very thin sliced beef and it was not authentic at all. If it served with glass noodle (called Jab-Chae noodle), it might be more real Korean style.

We ordered the steamed pork wrapped with cabbages. It served with Kimchi and homemade sauce. It's a bit creative dish, quiet similar as Steamed Pork (called Bo-Ssam in Korean). The tastes was not impressive but how they present the food was nice.

I guess most of people normally order Korean glass noodles (called Jab-Chae) when they go to Korean restaurant - it's one of famous dishes, but it was very over-cooked. The glass noodles were swollen and it was a bit oily with a little of veggies. This dish was very disappointed. I definately say this dish needs more veggies and shredded pork - less sesame oil, please!

Rice-cake with spicy sauce - called Ddok Bok Ki, Chao Nian Gao - was quiet nice. When I tried this dish first time 2 weeks ago, it had strong sesame oil taste but last Saturday (my 2nd time) was very authentic and tasty.

Service: I booked the table for 12 people but the manager made a mistake and the table was booked only for 7 ~ 8 people - initial booking was 8 and changed to 12, and the reservation list said 8 people + 4 more but it was just booked for 7 ~ 8 people. It took some time to arrange the bigger table. While we were waiting for bigger table, my friends were standing and waiting in the dining area for a while. Luckily it was not business dinner, otherwise, i might complained seriously for bad arrangment. But I think the waiters and waitresses were very attentive and friendly.

I wouldn't mind to bring other group of friends and try more dishes. It still has many dishes I haven't tried yet. The bar and lounge side is quiet nice - it has hidden sofa area very inside of lounge. I think wine and food price is quiet reasonable. If you are in a group of friends having a glass of wine, the average will be around 150 ~ 180RMB per person.

Well, The Chowhaus is not very impressive but I am sure it might be better after some reviews and advice by foodies. I will go there again and try another dishes this Tuesday.

What makes an enjoyable dining experience may vary from person to person, but there are some key characteristics every restaurant needs in order to succeed:

1.) First and foremost it is of course the food. Fresh ingredients of superior quality cooked to perfection in order to keep original flavors alive and at the same time stimulating your taste buds presented nicely are usually the best way to create a lasting experience and will makes diners craving for more
2.) If the food is great than there also needs to be the right ambiance. Design, style, charm and of course cleanliness of a place all ad to create the right atmosphere and complement excellent food.
3.) And then of course there is the service! It should be discreet, attentive to the right level and from entering a restaurant until you say goodbye staff needs to ensure you feel welcome, comfortable and looked after.

As for the food “The Chowhouse” does ok, but there is too much deep frying and no enough unique flavors. To sum it up, food at “The Chowhouse” is nothing to write home about and in a city like Shanghai with so many wonderful dining options I do not see a reason to come back for the food.
Then there is the design! The interior designer created a lovely, quite relaxed atmosphere and it almost feels like you are walking in someone`s living room. Cozy, warm colors and lots of wood create a nice feel. Well done!

However “The Chowhouse” is another example that only focusing on the design of a place does not necessarily make a restaurant good.
Whereas Customer Service can certainly make a lasting impression and in the case of “The Chowhouse” this impression certainly was not a good one!
An entrance guy who is more interested in playing with his mobile phone than taking care of guests, the same guy finally putting guests in the last dark corner of the restaurant behind a wall although the restaurant is almost empty; a bartender who is picking his nose with no worry in the world and the grabbing the glasses for our table; another waiter who does not know how to use a bottle opener; bar staff with their heads resting on the counter and finally a member of staff who starts smoking right next to us.
Maybe someone should remind the manager that it is called hospitality for a reason!