Jade on 36

Address: 36th Floor, Grand Tower, Pudong Shangri-La, 33 Fucheng Lu/Fucheng Road, near Minsheng Lu/Minsheng Road, Shanghai, 浦东富, China
Tel: +86 21 6882 3636
Website: view Jade on 36’s website
Style: Cocktail bar

Review

Work your way through the warren of marble, retail and dining that sits at the base of the enormous Pudong Shangri-La hotel and take the lift to the 36th floor for some of Shanghai's best views and very palatable cocktails too.

Beverage manager David Shoemaker came here from the Talk of the Town group in the US, and has brought his sommelier-bartending skills to bear on what is, despite the view, a difficult space to work with.

The central bar, an enormous padded leather affair, was designed as a jewellery box, with the bartender as the jewel in the centre, but feels more like a blockage obstructing both movement and view.

Barrels of aged cocktails - one sweet "starter" Negroni, one impressive Manhattan - provide a welcome attraction on the bar top. and the attention to detail extends to home-curing cherries for Manhattans. There is a well-balanced cocktail list, too, plus good wines and champagnes.

The skyline views over the hubbub of Pudong, across a couple of blocks to the iconic Pearl Tower and down to the flow of traffic on the river, make this well worth a visit for a skyline bevvy or two. There is live music late and at weekends.