Area:

is at 385 Yongjia Lu, near Taiyuan Lu. Neighborhood-wise it’s all local little shops and modest residential housing. Nothing particularly unique about The Chalet’s neighborhood -- it’s a busy and leafy little part of town similar to other busy and leafy parts of the FFC and other busy and leafy parts of Shanghai in general. Down the road is Surpass Court, home to several bars, restaurants, and things. Inferno is in the vicinity as well.

What is it:

The Chalet is a smallish bar and lounge hang-out with decent drinks, a good wine list, and a nice Western menu. It’s owned and managed by Denis Ni who comes with 10 plus years experience in F&B, and this is his only place in Shanghai. He took over the space a few years back from when it was called “The Hut”, which was more of a divier place. Denis smoothed out the rough edges a bit and gave it a new theme -- a chalet. See the ceiling? Since it’s become The Chalet, the bar has gained a real traction with a diverse cross-section of expats from across the board, young and old -- English teachers, architects, designers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, students, business types, faux journalists, and whatever else -- on word-of-mouth and a real good happy hour deal (3pm to 9pm, 7 days a week -- 20rmb beers and mixes, 30rmb cocktails). It’s a buzzing place on weeknights and weekends, good for relaxed conversations, low key dates, business drinks, and group of friends.

Why it’s good:

When we started this column, The Chalet was the place we had in mind. The Chalet is the neighborhood bar for all of Shanghai. Everyone knows this place. Everyone likes this place. Everyone likes this place specifically as an alternative to the hyped-up grind of Shanghai nightlife, which chases you into club and bars for whatever event, band, DJ. All that stuff is well and good, but if you just want to drop out for a night, get some drinks, and hang out with friends, ‘avin’ a laff, The Chalet is one of the more comfortable places in town to do that at. A real owner-operated place, Denis is basically there all the time, greeting you when you come in the door, and it’s very much the dictionary definition of a “neighborhood bar”. It’s the same every time you go and it’s a welcome sameness. Drinks are good. Food is good. Prices are good. Couches are comfy.

Atmosphere:

Friendly, cozy, relaxed, and even though prices are lower than most lounge places in town -- particularly when that happy hour deal is going -- The Chalet, thankfully, doesn’t import that dive bar dank heaviness with the cheaper prices. It's more mature, nicer, and less concerned with looking cool. It’s laid-back enough to appeal to a wide range of tastes, but at the same time it’s not generic. It’s got its own feel and personality. For the majority of clubs and bars in town the end goal of getting blitzed drunk is sort of underwritten in the process of going to them. Clubs are set up to get wasted in. That’s the point. With The Chalet, however, blind drunkenness isn’t necessarily the goal. You can do that if you like, but people tend to rein it in at The Chalet or go someplace else. Thus, again, it’s an alternative to the majority of what’s out there in Shanghai because the crowd isn’t completely wasted and you can have decent conversations with people.

Prices:

Well, that happy hour deal is seven days a week, 3pm to 9pm. 20rmb wine, beer, bar mixes and 30rmb cocktails. During non-happy hour times, prices are standard. Bottles of wine start in the 250rmb range. For food it’s a snacks menu -- fries, bruschetta, calamari, wings -- in the 25rmb to 45rmb range. Pasta is 45rmb-ish. Burgers and sandwiches are 50rmb-ish. Mains, like the Chalet Garlic Stuffed Pork Steak, start at 60rmb.

Ordering Recommendations:

I basically get the cheapest beer. Yes, that’s what I do. Unless I’m with a large enough group of friends that I think I can get away with sneaking off to the bathroom when the bill comes, and then I get fourteen gin and tonics. We asked Denis what he thinks is good at his bar. He likes the mojitos for drinks ("they're very refreshing") and for food, he recommends the nachos for snacks to split with friends and the fajitas if you’re having dinner. Photos by Joshua Tintner.