Glamour Bar

If you could get over the fact that you were drinking in a place that called itself "Glamour" with a straight face, this was a solid Bund destination. Glamour was the kind of place you went to when you wanted to pretend you were an adult. Drinks were always expertly done. Service was usually all smiles. The Bund truly suffered a loss with this closure. Whatever next tenant that can afford the rent in this place has some big shoes to fill.

Shiva Lounge

If you remember anything that happened at Shiva, you were showing up too early. For the rest of you, here is how every night you spent at this after-hours lounge transpired:
Nnn tttsss, Nnn tttsss, Nnn tttsss. "Let's go the the restroom."
"Sniiiiiiffffff!!!!"
Nnn tttsss, Nnn tttsss, Nnn tttsss.
"Restroom…"
"Sniiiiiiffffff!!!!" Nnn tttsss, Nnn tttsss, Nnn tttsss. "Holy fuck! When did the sun come out?!"…"Hashish?"…"Marijuana,?" …"massage-y?"

….Yeah. You didn't miss so much.

No. 88

Another tragic loss for Shanghai. There really was no other place in town to go if you you wanted to get ear-fucked by EDM hits from four years ago before getting assaulted by surly locals. You will be missed, 88.

Dakota

Dakota had a strong start, with a decent burger and a competitive happy hour, but before long, it simply became that place you walked through to get to Monkey Champagne. A radical transformation from a bistro to a glorified snack bar, where apathetic staff served almost nothing but fryolated foods was its ultimate downfall.

Samfaina

Restaurants like Samfaina are God's way of telling investors that they have too much money. This is what happens when you refit a TCM clinic with a three-floor kitchen and then give your chef carte blanche with high-tech molecular cooking equipment and let him write a menu that features not one, but 10 tartares.

Issimo

Once a destination restaurant helmed by Chef Enzo Carbone, Issimo slowly suffered benign neglect. Finally it was quietly killed and turned into JIA Hotel's continental breakfast counter. A sad loss, to be sure. Thankfully, what made it good still lives on at Carbone's more recent project, Capo.

The Geisha

Collective Concepts' had a great concept in The Apartment, which is why it still stands today. But an overly ambitious expansionist policy brought us places like The Food Central and later the Geisha. TFC fell by the wayside at the beginning of 2013. Geisha held out until this year, but was forced to commit seppuku this July.


Click here for SmartShanghai's list of all venues that closed in 2014.

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For more of our year-end content, check out:

2014: Best And Worst Shanghai Art
2014: Best And Worst Music/Events
2014: China's Best Albums
2014: Shanghai's Favorite Eats And Drinks
2014: Best New Restaurants
2014: Best User Review Quotes
2014: Best Flyers
2014: Worst Flyers