user Brad

Sat Dec 1st 2007

Des Lys is one of my regular and favorite lunch spots. Yesterday I finally tried Des Lys for dinner with 2 friends and we left very satisfied. We had the Steak (90rmb ish), the Beef Tartar (80rmb ish) and the fried Prawns (80rmb ish), plus the very delicious Creme brulee (35rmb). Together with a bottle of their house wine the total damage was 450rmb which is very fair. Service was excellent. Note: It's a French restaurant, so better order your steak "well-done" otherwise you'll get it very raw.

user shanghaicritic

Thu Nov 22nd 2007

Probably my favorite restaurant in Shanghai. Just love the lunch specials and the chicken. Reminds me of my summer studying in France and learning about wine, French food, and other delights in France. Recommend this restaurant in strongest terms.

user Michellezu

Mon Nov 5th 2007

It was delicious.It was witty. It was just pure unadulterated high dining fun eating in Des Lys. I've been to the other place to eat Choclate Fondant, But can not forget the taste of Des Lys ' Fondant. The choclate smell out of it inspired people think of Love France. Not too much sweet not too much heavy, only make you enjoy it.

user Lynnn

Mon Nov 5th 2007

It's a good choice if you want meet the friends and have French food. The place is nice and warm, the food is delicious and attractive, the price is reasonable and even lower than lots of French restaurant, and the service is professional and amiable. Highly recommend my friends go to the restaurant and enjoy the life.

user oinkoink

Tue Sep 11th 2007

I decided to have dinner for my wife's 30th birthday at a nice French restaurant in Shanghai and rather than try the way over-priced Jean-Georges or other restaurants on the Bund, I read some reviews online and found Des Lys. It sounded like a little gem with authentic French food. I favor the smaller bistro types over the hyped-up mega French restaurants any day. We arrived and I was nicely surprised by the setting. Nice bright red seats and dim lighting to put us in a nice romantic mood. The manager mentioned my name when I entered the restaurant which added a personal touch...I did have a 6:30pm reservation so there wasn't too many other people to remember. The menu was extensive and we were shown a "specials of the day" on a board. Everything sounded tasty and I always order the duck dish at a new French restaurant but it was awhile since I had a good steak and the rib-eye (steak frites?) on their regular menu was calling to me. My girlfriend loves scallops so she opted for what was on specials menu. I wanted to try the escargots as well to see if they tasted like the ones in NYC. Well...when the escargots came, they were these puny little morsels of snail meat in butter and parsley. They were pretty tasty but they looked like slivers of snail meat rather than a whole snail. I could have gotten more snail meat out of 2 escargots in a NYC restaurant then the whole 1/2 dozen in the order I got. At least I got to dip my bread in the butter and parsley which tasted like it should. When the mains came, I was pretty disappointed at how my steak came out. It looked (and tasted) like it was defrosted in the microwave and then grilled just to get the criss-cross marks on the outside. I ordered medium and it came out more medium-well...the steak was so thin that it must have been hard to cook it medium...especially after being defrosted in the microwave. My wife's dish, on the other hand, came out great. She loved it and it was just perfect for her...her only complaint was that it was just a tad too salty for her...but she has sensitive taste buds. We shared a chocolate fondant for dessert and it was delicious. I mentioned earlier to the manager that it was her birthday so when it came out, they wrote "Happy Birthday" on the fondant. Nice touch. The service was adequate and we got waitresses that spoke both English and Chinese. It was a hit/miss experience so I think I'll spend my money at another restaurant next time.

user ToineSH

Mon Aug 20th 2007

I went there on a hot summer Shanghai's night. In the French concession ,in the Xin le lu street witch is on of my favorite in Shanghai, we find this place witch remind me my walking in the montmartre concession of Paris.We find here a special atmosphere with all this picts on the walls and this amazing nice music selection. The waiter who take care of us was new but his service very good. The prices are very low for French Food in China and the Food are Amazing for the price quality ratio. Try the Sole fillet with mushroom confit and lemon and butter sauce!!! or the Deslys Goose live.You will not regret it. You must go there and enjoy your time around a glass of wine.

user Daggel

Mon Jul 16th 2007

Great food, great atmosphere! I got there on a regular base for dinner and was never disappointed. Especially the food is great and the prices are still reasonable (but not cheap). Wine selection is small, good and affordable. Staff is ok, never had any problems. If you enjoy French food – you will not be disappointed! One of my favourite places in SH.

user bizzyb1555

Tue Jul 10th 2007

Last night my friends and I decided that we wanted to go to a nice, trendy French restaurant for dinner. When we first walked in, the place seemed nice even if the decoration was a bit extreme. By this I mean bright red seats and pictures covering all the walls that looked like the photographs that come in the frames when you first buy them. (Aka.. Close up cliché pictures of different people with very silly, fake smiles on their faces.) Despite this, we were initially impressed by the excellent selection of food. That’s the last thing that impressed me about Des Lys. When you are eating at a place that prides itself on being classy, you expect excellent service. When we first ordered a bottle of wine, we were given a glass instead. Despite our kindness to the waitress, she preceded to be extremely rude and blame us for this mistake. I was completely willing to let this blunder go especially after another waiter apologized for her behavior on her first day, but things just continued to get worse. When the food was brought out, only three of the four meals were brought. She had completely forgotten to even place one of the orders. Seeing how she may have thought one of was satisfied with simply a glass of wine and a Martine, we again were polite and patient with this mistake. However, when we finally asked for the bill, we were charged for two orders of the meal that was forgotten as well as the bottle and the glass of wine. The waitress tried to argue with us that it was our fault, and we had to go through not ONE but two levels of management to have the check cleared up. Bottom line: Don’t waste your money here. This place sucks. Even if the food was good, it isn’t worth the awful service.

user busylizzy

Thu Jan 18th 2007

On a cold night in Shanghai, Des Lys provides an oasis of warmth with French comfort food to match. Huge salads with really tangy cheese and nuts or warm shredded duck were a great start. Main course of sophisticated Shepherd's pie - not at all like the English variety - had succulent duck beneath creamy mashed potato. Duck with orange wasn't at all 1980's in taste but very gorgeous. Nice staff and a great place to go anytime of the day. They'll also deliver to your house (even to Pudong for a fee!).

user janeinshanghai

Tue Nov 21st 2006

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous steak frites. Brilliant lunch deal - steak, chips, salad and yummy black pepper sauce, plus a drink (including wine) for only about RMB78.(Lots of other lunch sets too, but I just can't resist the steak.) I don't know where they get their beef, or what they do to it, but it's extremely tasty. Nice Shephard's Pie and salads too. Staff are always pleasant. One of our favourite relaxed eating places.