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Barbarossa is one of the finer, if not the finest, upscale nightlife venue in Shanghai for its beautiful location in People's Park and its three floors of lush interiors. Classy drinks, hookahs and hip DJs keep Barbarossa on the nightlife map, and they also host a popular ladies night. Great for a relaxing night on a date or with friends, or dinner and drinks before something more serious.
I will add one bad note for the service, waiter and team leader almost complain at us for their mistakes.
We arrived at the place with a big smile and escaped of it with furious anger...
The manager shall be ashamed of that ! Please do something man ! Read the other posts...
Just go there for the deco... cheers
A fantastic spot to take out-of-town visitors, but book your shisha tables early! They're quite pushy about making sure you know there's a minimum. Oh, and get your shisha early, because they're notorious for "running out"/"all broken"/"waiting for new one to arrive"/"no coals left" etc.
Ever since it opened it's sad but Barbarossa has been consistently disappointing. It's a shame because clearly the venue is fantastic. Terrible service and overpriced food when it opened gave way to a time when there were some good parties (but never any that really lived up to how you imagine it could have been). Last time i visited it felt as if the venue has made it into the guide books i.e. is now full of tourists and business travellers - which would explain the poor service mentioned here. Too bad!
Spacegirl's review reminded me of how I felt towards Barbarossa around a year ago. I had only been in SH for a few months and this gorgeous exotic looking place was what I needed to relax or for a few post-work drinks (and occasionally, dinner - the cheap pasta alfredo is enjoyable). There was Simon once in a while, and TJ most of the time looking after us, chatting a bit, preparing the table we really wanted and bringing our cocktails quickly. They were usually nice and strong, and the relaxing terrace was making us stay much longer than anticipated, often ordering some food after a while. The real deal to relax.
Then we started to come for lunch and that was just mediocre (with an unpleasant service) so we decided to stick to evenings. We were bringing more and more people with us, up to 12 at times.
Suddenly we couldn't enjoy an aperitif outside but were rushed to order food or we'd have to move inside. It was taking up to 30 minutes to bring our drinks, with no smile or apology, but rather an arrogant attitude and never a polite tone in the voice.
In my last experience to date, probably around June last year, I came with 6 people (3 had never been to BBrossa). We sat inside to avoid the unpleasant and angry "when are you gonna order food?" every 5 minutes. We had a round, then a second. At 7h30, we ordered our third (happy hour finishes at 8). At 7h55, after our 3rd attempt, a waiter came towards us so we explained we were waiting for our drinks. He said he’d check. A waitress came to us at 8h05 saying: "what drinks do you want?" We were gob-smacked! We answered that we ordered our drinks more than 1/2 hour ago during happy hour. She looked confused and just said: “well, we don't have your order so tell me what you want now - and by the way, happy hour is finished”. Gob-gob-smacked!
What a shame. They have everything at hand for a perfect combination and to be loved by all: location, setting, decor, nice drinks, food is all right (some dishes are a bit too pricey?!), TJ is nice. But God, the kindness and smile of the toilet lady is better than all the rest of staff combined! They never smile, look bored and unpleased to be there, and don’t find it inappropriate to act rude.
This is such a shame! What a waste on a place that could be one of the best!
Barbarossa is one of the best bars in Shanghai - great location (middle of the lake), great drinks (specially on the 2nd floor).
However, the food could do with an overhaul (believe me, I've tried almost all the dishes and it's only the wagyu steak and the fried seafood (after 10pm). Never call the Chinese waiters over since you will hardly get any attention and even rude at that.
The drinks at Barbarossa might possibly be hands down the worst in the city. I also agree with previous reviewers that the Hookah at B-rossa is to be avoided (Try Mao for a decent hookah). If Barbarossa had some sense of what good service is and had a bar staff that could make a mediocre drink - I'd consider going back to give it another try. (I can't believe I went as many times as I did!)
A place whihc is hard to find for the first time.
Rude waitresses, dirty lake, huge fan, not bad drinks.
The place makes me think of someone, though i've never been here together with him^^
I concur that the service is atrocious. What it really came down to is a manager that passed judgement on how much its patrons might spend. As soon as we sat down (a large group fresh from a gallery opening) we were told that we must spend 1500rmb per table. Now personally I have no problem with a minimum and we would have greatly exceeded this amount but instead of serving us he basically served us one round of drinks and then never came back. A little hard to rack up large bills when nobody will serve drinks to those that want them.
Certainly a beautiful area but the bar is one of the worst I have ever been too. Amazing they stay in business.
Do not order a hookah, they clean them at b-rosa about as often Hailey's comet. You will end up getting a mouth full of sediment from sucking too hard because the pipe is clogged with year old tar.
Do not order a drink that is not on the menu. The wait staff shares a single brain cell, giving your drink a chance at life similar to a snow ball in hell.
Decor is nice, and the food is so so.
As you can order a Shisha water pipe we did so up in the lounge. I can't say it was working very well leaving half of us either breathless or disappointed.
It seems we were lucky not to order food there. Drinks were fine.
One of my favorite places for a chill night. Yummy food, great wine selection, and their cherry flavored hookas are great. It's nice to just get away from the buzz of the city. I always call Simon the manager direct to reserve a table and he's always there waiting when I arrive. Its expensive, but the service and atmosphere is worth it.
i wanna say "easy tiger" to the head bartender who pours like he knows the walls are made of liquor, but i'm too weak toooo weak, i say, tooooo weak.. for the weak drink. so, if u want it tasty and strong, sitting long with the cicada orchestra hung over by trees leaning against a bar, fanned out on a cushion or whatever,,, yes yes yes
Oh yeah, the food sucked-ass! (I've dined there at least 3 to 4 times) I thought nothing could go wrong with a simple dish of spaghetti this time, boy, was I wrong... it was thick and dry meat paste... Anyhow, cool place for having a drink at night, make sure your first drink give you a really good buzz b4 the waitress piss u off with their rudeness.
Barbarrosa.... aaah, I'be been there too many times for a couple of drinks after work, probably one of my favor place to chill in Shanghai. Recently I've being dinning in with a few friends of my... I gotta say, the waitress are rude, I think they are some what spoiled by the waiters and the management over there, they were all sitting around giggling and when you ask her to refill your drinks she came with a shit face. After the dinner I asked for a check, she came back and slammed the change on the table... I got up left the place and gave her tip to the bum that was waiting outside of the front door. I don’t think there are bad soldiers in a war, just bad generals, in this case, bad management.
A shame.
The owner or management seems to totally overview the unique opportunity they have to run a really great place with its own and particular atmosphere in an amazing location.
Imagine you are laying on cushions, smoking a nice water pipe to help you digest your couscous, in a Morocco-like surrounding, great isn't it?
Unfortunately you will also have to deal with a terribly loud and inappropriate music, with a fancy/gay/beautiful-people crowd probably dragged there by the snobbish attitude of the staff, and the pretentious menu.
A total misfit. Please let me run this place!
The manager over there is fucking snobby.
I've called Barbaross to reserve a place for a big Brunch party but was pissed off. I was originally going to write a description in the invitation email for those who are not familiar with Brunch. The manager refused to fax me a menu for business confidential reason! How ridiculous! And his attitude is so snobby in the phone that make me annoyed.
Great he lost revenue for over 20000rmb!
Great martinis, rude staff, great ambience, cluttered bar, clean bathrooms, super smoky inside, comfortable couches, uncomfortable bar seating...all in all, probably not first on my list of places to go next weekend.
Great location and layout, decent drinks tho, as usual, overpriced. Stood at the bar (one other person waiting) for 4-5 minutes before I was served, despite two bartenders behind the bar, of of whom seemed more interested in THROWING BOXES OVER THE BAR onto the balcony. Bad enough as it is, but ignoring a customer at the same time?
Same old Shanghai story - please, if you're going to charge rip-off prices for your drinks, at least give us some value-for-money and service.
The place is a cool venue, but I think it stops there, damned expensive, for mediocre drinks, food and service. For this kind of environment and price they should just spend a bit more on training and this place would be excellent!!
After checking out a number of places in SH, i've gotta admit Barbarossa is my favourite. Good music, cool people, and let磗 face it... I love the drinks! Chilled out environment makes you feel like you're in an oasis. The music transports you to fun and exotic lands... And drinks like the Feng Shui are sweet and sexy! Seriously the best place in Shanghai!
I just visited Barbarossa last night for the first time, and I would definitely recommend visiting it at least once. The facilities are ideal; it's located in the People's Park, so the view from inside the park is incredible. Additionally, the club itself is surrounded by a small pond, so you can stand on one of the many balconies and look out over the water and the lush vegetation to see the city lights in the distance. Perfect.
Barbarossa has a good feel to it, as well - it's definitely not a place where you'd want to go to get drunk, but has more of the lounge mentality. You can buy food, get a hookah, or just sit on a couch or by the balcony and enjoy your drink. The drinks are more on the expensive side - a bottle of Tsingtao is 50 yuan and mixed drinks start around 65 yuan - but we went on a Thursday, so ladies drink for free. (Guys, unfortunately, still have to pay.) I didn't try the food, but it didn't look like any special. Overall, Barbarossa has a good ambience for a lounge, and is definitely a good place to sit back and have a few drinks with your friends.
Barbarossa is pretty much what the other reviewers said it is. It's a really cool place to hang out and lounge but better bring the moula. Eating at Barbarossa is definitely not recommended because the amount of food you get isn't value for money. I am sorry but if you pay for a main meal you'd expect to be at least half full but instead I got 5 strips of chicken and some potatoes and I am not exagerating here. So if you want to chill out then yeah maybe but don't even think about ordering food there!
Just got back from Barbarossa after a very late lunch. The experience was so bad that I felt compelled to write about it straight away. (And bear in mind, this is the first time that I've done this so you can understand how bad it was.) Lunch was just downright awful! One of us ordered a veggie panini and it came presented in ... wait for it ... a HOT DOG BUN. And when we highlighted this slight error to the waitstaff, we were told that it was us who were wrong and that was in fact a panini. Or rather, that was the "Barbarossa" panini. Okay, maybe the Chinese know better. Then the caesar salad. The salad dressing was so thick that it could've been garlic mixed with mayonnaise. And RMB 35 for half a pint of vanilla milkshake made it the most expensive milkshake ever ... almost equal to the price of the veggie panini! Please tell me they were using Haagen-Dazs. And to top the meal off, the service was terrible. We waited 20 minutes for our drinks and napkins were something that were not standard issue. The final verdict: maybe they should stick to what they know best - drinks.
the music they play now sucks big, nothing LOUNGE anymore, it seems they are trying to become another VIP ROOM however not enough room for dancin-crave animals to jump around. Drinks are getting worse too. disappointed..
I love the location, the ambience. The drinks are not bad and I like the hospitality of the manager and assistant managers. The only problem is not being able to have sangria served on the 3rd floor. But everytime I go, I enjoy myself immensely. I bring all my out of town guests to this spot and they are all equally awed.
Amazing place,...exactly what Shanghai was missing. Relaxing and trendy, with really cool bartender, and good DJ selection. Definatly one of the hostest spot of Shanghai night life!! A place to brinmg visitor, even tif it s middle eastern style and not chinese style!!
The Location is Breathtaking, the Decor is at Par, You could almost imaginge your self in Casablanca or any other Moroccan outpost, the aromatic smoke from the Sheesha ( Water Pipes) drift lazily around the dimly lantern lit casbah 'ish room, a nice bedoin tent on teh roof for sipping on some delectable cocktails...
.. it couldn't get better..
NOPE... its just goes down the dump faster than you can imagine... our group 20 minutes in awe of the decor and the 3 hour sbitching about the service and the food.... The manager was only one to save the day by helping out stranded guests...
The servers and attendants where muddling about the service floor in daze, it took 50 minutes to get a drink, and another 20 to get it right, soe of the the drinks we ordered never showed up at all...
The food, are whatever they where tryingto pass of as food as North African as Kung Pao chicken.... The starters had a jumbo HotDog, Chicken wings and fried seafood bait... teh only item remotely close was Pita with dip... and the pita bread was actually almost like a breakfast bun with a very tired Hummus and Babba Gannoush.... The Menu was mostly sandwiches... The Sea Bass Sandwish turned out to be Tilapia or whatever drudge fish they could find....
the food got proggressivly worse as worked our way through the menu... I ended up with the Rack of lamb, that was though well marinated, 3 fatty lamb chops... which by the way showed up an hour and 20 mins later......
in Conclusion... its the place for a nice drink and relaxing with a few friends oking on teh peace pipe... would never consider eating there again, untill they change the menu and the chef....
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