Our picks for July 2013 are in. This month we bring you a study in the raw and the fried at Osteria, and exploration of your inner child at The COOK and two on the Bund: Shook!'s budget brunch and Unico's lazy late-risers' Sunday. ***

Osteria

Osteria’s brunch is generous and extremely reasonable… if you can resist the temptation to scarf down a plate of raw bivalve mollusks along the way. The standard deal offers two courses for 118rmb or three for 158rmb. Starters are light: Ceasar salads, bruschetta, a plate of cured meats or a very generous tuna salad. That glides into an egg course with omelettes, a fry up (eggs any style, bacon, tomatoes, fried potatoes) and eggs Benedict with snow crab, spinach or prosciutto. The third round has burgers, pasta, risotto, a spicy Sicillian chicken dish, steak and eggs or sea bass. So for 118rmb you could have the eggs and then a main, and they throw in free-flow coffee or a juice. That’s quite a lot of protein for your pound. But then we ordered a 400rmb plate of oysters and all attempts at economy went out the window. Once you see platters of those little fellas rolling up to the other tables it’s hard not to join in. However, a couple of oyster-lovers hankering for some breakfast food could easily share a three-course set, and a selection of freshly shucked oysters, and split both for a good mix of the raw and the fried. Add in a couple of bloody Marys (65rmb) and you’re flying. Sat & Sun: 12-4pm For a full brunch listing click here.

Unico

There is a broad swath of the Shanghai population that never rises before noon. Factor in the showering, shaving, primping, preening and selecting which sunglasses will best shield bloodshot eyes and Sunday brunch really isn't even an option for these people anymore. Most restaurants' brunch service shuts down before they've even left their apartments. Unico, however, has identified and filled this gaping hole in the market. Brunch here starts at 2pm, slowly introducing food into your weary system. It begins with pastries and freshly squeezed juices, each selected for its supposed healing tonic properties. You have about an hour and half to regain total consciousness. Then, at 3.30pm, they start bringing out more substantial bites like charcuterie, smoked salmon and oysters. All of this is preparation for the mains, a rolling selection of breakfasty dishes like eggs Benedict or an omelet to steak fresh cuts of seafood dishes. That's all for 345rmb per person. For hair of the dog they offer a selection of cocktails like the "72-Hour Slow Cooked Bloody Mary" or the "Crazy Oven Pineapple" all made by bar manager Hektor Monroy at 60rmb a pop. For 260rmb extra they'll throw in free-flow bottles of Mumm. Should you choose to linger for longer, subsequent bottles of Mumm go for 480rmb. Sun: 2-8.30pm For a full brunch listing click here.

Shook!

The Shook! brunch is arguably one of the best deals on the Bund. For only 98rmb you get a choice of two courses. It's a smallish menu, but there is enough to make everybody at the table happy. There are starters like cherry tomato gazpacho, a classic Caesar salad, a Pacific salmon tartar (pictured). For mains there are sweet standards like brioche French toast with maple syurp or wild berry pancakes with chantilly cream. On the savory side they offer a poached truffle egg with warm new potatoes, grilled asparagus, frisse salad and a champagne vinaigrette. For indecisive types, there's the "Tasting of Eggs" done three different ways: poached and wrapped in prosciutto with hollandaise, soft boiled with salmon roe, and a sunny-side-up quail egg with smoked salmon. For an extra 88rmb they'll do cabernet-braised wagyu beef with sauteed spinach, potato puree and a horseradish veloute. Drinks are a deal, too. Brunch cocktails like mimosas, Bellinis and bloody Marys are all two-for-one. Sat-Sun: 11.30am-2.30pm For a full brunch listing click here.

The COOK

Sunday brunch at The COOK kind of feels like a playground — especially on the dessert side, where a ton of kids are carrying fistfuls of frosted cakepops while staring at chocolate fountains and some dude making crepes. On the other (quieter) end, 11 stations serve savory food. Typical buffet fare like soups, stir-fries and vegetable sides are ready-made and sitting under the warmth of heat lamps, but you can also request made-to-order dishes from the regular menu. You can get tandoori chicken from the Indian station, laksa from the Malaysian one, pizza and pasta from the Italian corner and, in the week that we went, shawarma from a visiting Lebanese chef. Note: Some selections from the regular menu aren’t available during brunch. Otherwise, you can grab stuff from the sushi, seafood and salad bars, as well as the cheese, cold cuts and carving stations. As you eat, bussers come by with trolleys carrying highlights from the kitchens, slicing off cuts of prime rib or assembling caviar-topped seafood salad for you at your seat. Same with beverage carts. You don’t ever have to move if you don’t want to, really. The attentive service can become a bit of an overkill if servers repeatedly try to clear off plates you haven’t finished yet, but maybe that’s just because we overloaded ourselves. In any case, at 438rmb per person, including free-flow drinks, craft beers and wine (100rmb more for Taittinger champagne), Sunday brunch at The Cook is a pretty solid choice if the huge variety and good service of a hotel buffet is what you're looking for. Just be prepared for it to be a bit of a noisy, slightly chaotic atmosphere with all those kiddies running around. Sun: 11.30am-3pm For a full brunch listing, click here.