Big brands are pushing their way into Shanghai’s crowded restaurant scene with signature styles

Over the past decade, China has steamrolled forward economically, bringing with it a tide of new consumers clamoring for the latest and greatest. It’s an exciting time for “why not?”-type enterprises, so it’s not surprising that retail powerhouses Mattel, Sixty Group and Shanghai Tang are making their first forays into our fair city’s restaurant industry.

The Barbie Café, for example, plays an integral role in extending the brand’s identity. “In the West, Barbie is seen as mainly for kids, but here at the flagship store we have multiple elements that come together to make the experience appealing to adults as well,” explains Head Chef Tessa Thompson. Occupying the top floor of the behemoth Barbie store and boasting a dining room that looks like fashion house Viktor and Rolf hijacked a Barbie playhouse, the café is a little bit cute, a little bit haute couture and a good bit of fun for all ages.

For Sixty Group, the parent company of brands like Miss Sixty and Energie, the idea to open a café stems from the desire to make fashion into a multi-sensory lifestyle experience. “Sixty Group is about defining trends, and so our café reflects those values,” says manager Massimo Marin. “We are always looking for ways to give customers something new, something fashion.”

So just like the clothing collections inside Sixty Group’s stores, café diners can expect the menu and the waitstaff’s outfits to be updated every season. Marin and his chef have also included little twists in the menu to surprise customers, such as accessorizing their signature cocktails with mini amuse-bouches.

Like the Sixty and Barbie cafés, Shanghai Tang’s new restaurant venture borrows liberally from the parent brand. Even the décor, with its plush candy color silks and gleaming black lacquer, looks as if it’s taken straight out of the Shanghai Tang home catalogue. “[Shanghai Tang Café] shares the same philosophy as our retail stores, where we interpret inspiration from Chinese cultures to deliver vibrant sophistication that’s modern and chic,” says Jereme Leung, the former chef at Three on the Bund’s Whampoa Club who’s been hired as a consultant for the eatery.

Definitely more upscale restaurant than café, and the brand puts their signature modernist spin on classic Chinese cuisine with playful menu offerings like swan-shaped curry turnip pastries and shrimp dishes topped with pomegranate pearls.

These big brands are all new to the restaurant industry here, but their success is already fostering plans for further expansion. After all, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.