Happy Friday, diners and drinkers. Some openings tomorrow, some openings from the past, and some from the distant future. Also some beer news. More surprises after the jump.


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Now Open

Mack Ross’s new spot The Magnolia Room opened up recently. It’s a low-ceilinged, intimate speakeasy hidden down a staircase behind a cement sliding door set in the back of Tour. It keeps its concept in-line with its upstairs neighbor; unpretentious but elaborate cocktails paired with snacks and some fun gimmickry. For example, the menu is a lottery scratch-card where you can win a bottle of Chivas 18 or a grilled cheese sandwich. Bit cramped, but the cocktails are good, the bartenders are friendly and the little bites they pair with drinks are an interesting bonus.

EDM Cafe is a three-story coffeeshop on Jiangguo Xi Lu that opened up a little while ago. Coffee’s expensive but the space’s very nice.

Brut Cake Cafe is open on Yuyuan Lu. It brings the actual promise of cake in the original Taiwanese furniture store, while still having the furniture.

El Santo and Hooked are both open. We’ll probably be checking them out.

Pop-up gelato spot Bonus has opened up right next to Avocado Lady. They’ve got Maraschino Cherry, Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate and Chinese Walnut available at the moment, 20rmb for one scoop and 30rmb for two.

More than Eat is open again after its troubles back before New Year.

Now Closed

Nothing to report for two weeks in a row. Let’s not dwell on the past and instead, focus on the future.

The Word on the Street

We mentioned that Goose Island’s unimpeded take-over of Shanghai’s beer scene included their parent AB InBev acquiring Kaiba, and it appears their diabolical plans are already in motion as Kaiba Craft in Tianzifang opens tomorrow just downstairs from the Kaiba there already. A smaller spot where they only do craft beer and don’t serve food, the idea is that this’ll be the first of many neighbourhood Kaiba Craft corners opening up throughout the city. If you won’t come to Kaiba, Kaiba’ll come to you.

Cyclo is having its soft opening tomorrow. They say that if the original Cyclo represents the core, traditional dishes like pho and banh mi, this place is an expansion, including dishes from Laos and Cambodia and a generally more inventive attitude towards well-known dishes. Their Lak Mo and Fish Curry are worth a try.

That's it for now Shanghai. Check back next week for more scandalous, unsubstantiated F&B gossip.