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6-7/F, Mission Building, 169 Yuanmingyuan Lu
圆明园路169号协进大楼6-7楼
near Beijing Dong Lu
近北京东路
This upscale restaurant and bar is an import from Hong Kong--the original spot was awarded two Michelin stars in its first year and now has three, so set your expectations high. You'll get some of the best Italian fare and some of the best-made drinks in town here.
After gaining huge success in Hong Kong, Chef Patron Umberto Bombana has decided to open the first 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA in Mainland China and he has chosen one of the most unique and exclusive location in Shanghai : the Rockbund area. Joined by talented Executive Chef Alan Yu, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA Shanghai is promised to offer traditional Italian cuisine with a touch of creativity. Umberto, who has been recently awarded the Miele Guide’s Chef of Chefs in Asia, together with his gifted and passionate team, is ready to serve the clients with the utmost delicious Italian fine cuisine. Without limitation in choice, Chef Owner Umberto Bombana, Executive Chef Alan Yu and Italian Chef Silvio Armanni search and select products from all over the world, allowing customers to experience the Italian fragrant and tasty landscapes from their first bit. Italian General Manager and Sommelier Gian Luca Fusetto, has selected 400 unique etiquettes from all around the world, while Bar Manager and Mixologist Dario Gentile will delight you palates by creating special cocktails to begin your fare from our Cocktail Bar. This will definitely make it another top luxury tasting in Shanghai. Overlooking the Huangpu River and the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Restaurant occupies 450 square meters and offers an unforgettable view and unique experience. The elegant ambience and delicate interior will also add to amazing banquet and intimate experience.
Published by at001 on 02/08/2012
OUTSTANDING!! Intimate design. Incredible lobster tagliatelle. Even the bread is fresh and good. I love the cocktails there.
And not too highly priced.
Top class Italian restaurant. I could not not-vote for it! It's really one of the best restaurants in Shanghai.
Exprience in Hong Kong was better. This one run by Chef Alan Yu is still outstanding though. Food were well presented, service was attentive.
There is nothing much to say... just go there and enjoy
Here hospitality has a meaning!
Absolutely one of the best restaurants in Shanghai. I hope it will keep up the high standards!
food was great price is fair cocktail is super good !!!!
Underwhelmed. For a restaurant with True Michelin cred. It was pleased with my meal, but then just felt let down. There wasn't a particular thing that I didn't like, but at the same time, there was nothing that I really did like. At this price point I expect a bit more value.
Food is Good, Service is Good, Ambiance is Good. That's the problem with it, it was only just good.
Lobster Tagliatele, the pasta was great (fresh and perfectly cooked) however the flavor profile was so simplistic. A dish that was just good.
I thought the risotto was slightly overcooked, when I mentioned it to the server the explanation was "Chinese local like it a softer" so I just shrugged my shoulders.
Dessert, again, good, not Michelin good.
went there around when it first opened. My wife and I loved it. When the bill arrived i was pleasantly surprised as I thought that it was worth every penny...
Dinner is a pleasant and enjoyable experience at Otto Mezzo. It is an intimate space that is sophisticated and contemporary in design. Upon being sitted, our server was quite friendly and helpful in describing the menu and highlights. But for a few hiccups - such as, cutlery was placed in haphazardly on the sharing plate, and two different people came to explain the dishes, the service was consistent throughout the course of the meal.
Highlights included the bread basket, iberico ham, caviar, crab bisque, wagyu beef and most of the pasta dishes, including the lobster tagliatelle, seafood pasta and ravioli dish. As the bread and pasta tasted so obviously fresh, it is a welcomed surprise that the hype is not unfounded. Avoid the amuse bouche (which on the night we went was a seared fish akin to ahi that was neither flavorful nor memorable), forgettable beef cheek risotto, and disappointing desserts.
I must say I was really disappointed with the desserts... they lacked the refinement and taste that are usually presented by Japanese pastry chefs. The chocolate fondant pales in comparison to Jean Georges' signature cake, and the other sweets in the grand cru chocolate dessert plate including the chocolate gelato with jelly and ganache were average at best. I liked the concept and presentation of the dissected tiramisu here, but the taste was neither better nor worse than any tiramisu served at higher end Italian restaurants around the city. The apple strudel suffers a same fate, as it is neither here nor there despite the presentation of thinly cut apples beautifully laid over a bed of (soggy) pastry. Even the petite fours (chocolates, turkish delights, macarons and molecular gems) were lackluster in execution and taste. I must say there was one saving grace for the desserts, which was a complimentary melon sorbet to clease the palate prior to dessert.
I intend to return for the delicious bread basket and pasta dishes, and will try more of the entrees as this visit only included the degustation menu's wagyu beef as an entree. Be prepared to pay at least RMB1000/head if you have three courses each and a bottle of wine. Also, note that there are no Michelin rankings in Shanghai, so your expectations for this restaurant should reflect the same.
Dear “roberta”,
I am Clelia Di Casola, customer & media relations manager at 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA Shanghai. I am very sorry to read your experience at our restaurant was not satisfactory.
First of all, let me clarify some of the points you made.
The pasta dish you ordered is not made with trofie, nor is it advertised as trofie anywhere, so I guess there was a misunderstanding. Like the menu says, it’s trenette with red tuna, a kind of flat, long pasta, a little bit similar to linguine just as you said.
Many of our dishes include a large number of ingredients that cannot be all listed on the menu, so we encourage customers to let us know in advance if they have an allergy or if they particularly dislike some ingredients. In this case, the pasta contained a bit of lemon zest to lighten the rich taste of tuna and bottarga.
Finally, the Cherry Cannelloni has both ice-cream and sorbet inside the tuile, that’s why it may have seemed “a bit iced” to you.
Said that, we strive for perfection in terms of food quality and service, and I apologize for the problems you encountered, like not being served sugar with your coffee.
We would be very happy to invite you back to try our restaurant again and give us another chance!
Best regards,
Clelia
From a Michelin 3 star I was expecting more and more. Yesterday evening I had a dinner in 8 1/2 Shanghai. This morning I have problem to remember what I ate. I'm Italian and I traveled all around the world. I ordered Trofie with Mediterranean Tuna. First of all it was not trofie (a hand made pasta like gnocchi) but linguine. Second: there was a big lemon flavour not written in the menu. What about the possibility I'm allergic to the lemon? At the end in my mouth only the lemon flavour. After I tried the lobster. Not so bed but nothing extraordinary. The lobster was too crunchy and the vegetable around had the same flavour. Better the dessert, with the cannolo alla ciliegia, even if the ice cream inside was a little bit iced. So, not an extraordinary experience from a 3 star restaurant. I'm still waiting for the sugar for my espresso. Good choice of wine and spirit.
Very, very pleasant experience!
The main bartender took care of us all the way, making us great drinks and providing super friendly atmosphere.
As it turned out, one of the chefs is an old friend of mine, which just made our night even better!
Great venue, great service, great quality!
best cocktails in the city !!! j'ADORE....
The Rock Bund locatin is still very underdeveloped. Practically Mezzo is the only restaurant there. Nonetheless you can still get a spectacular table side view of the bund.
I expect to find loop holes in their service but I couldn’t find anything on the smallest details. I expected 81/2 to be heavily criticized by critics and food bloggers for their poor service and then eventually improve in the next year or so, but who would of thought they got it right the first time? What they did in a week took other fine dining restaurants a year to get it right, or for some who still struggle to get it right. Best of all… no service charge. As far as the food goes it ranges from good to excellent, but nothing really blew my mind like its other Hong Kong Michelin competitors. The Bluefin Tuna, Hokkaido Scallops, Porcini Risoto were wonderful and executed near perfection. The mains were a bit worse. The seabass had a fishy taste and tajima bef tenderloin was very unintersting and predictable. The desserts were a blessing. Petit fours hit the sweet spot, so did the apple strudel. Paper thin applce slices coated in sugar. and had a crisp pastry underneath. The food was a bi more Japanese than Italia (from the tasting menu). The menu is well priced and significantly cheaper than "Bund" prices. I will be back shortly to give the pasta a try!
For full Review and Pictures please visit:
http://fattoro.com/2012/02/27/8-12-otto-e-mezzo-bombana/
See all 12 photos for this venue
Total reviews: 14
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Restaurant Review:
When Umberto Bombana set up Otto e Mezzo (8½) in Hong Kong, the gastronomic sphere went into frenzy. Michelin awarded it two stars in its first year, then another. History was made—it was the world’s first three-star restaurant outside of Europe.
Bringing his right-hand chefs, building contractor and a love for the truffle, Bombana has now come to Shanghai. As the first tenant of the new Rock Bund development, this could be where the Chinese Mainland truly embraces echelon Italian dining. Fully booked since its opening, it’s receiving an emphatic Shanghai welcome. Leaning on executive chef Alan Yu’s Shanghai experience, the menu is a fanfare of luxury ingredients, from 36-month aged bellota Iberico ham (RMB190) to Boston lobster tagliatelle (RMB190) to Oakleigh Ranch beef rib eye (RMB1,300).
For those who wish to follow Bombana’s select story, there’s a five-course degustation menu (RMB1,488 per person with wine pairings). Delicate wasabi themes flow through the masterpiece Napoleon of bluefin tuna. Balanced Parmesan and porcini gather amongst fine risotto. Heavy truffle and foie gras go head to head against perfectly succulent Wagyu Tajima tenderloin. It’s a narrative paralleling Fellini’s 1963 film, the restaurant’s namesake.
Topped by pastry chef Sohya Takahashi’s phenomenal apple tart and molecular petit fours, this is a story indeed. A chat with pasta specialist sous-chef Silvio Armanni confirms our only misgiving; a ravioli course would have added an overlooked chapter.
Is this Akelarre? No. Is it global Michelin quality cuisine served in a country not famous for its international-friendly produce, palate or refined service? Yes. Ranked against almost everywhere in Shanghai it’s very, very good—five stars. Against other Michelins? Almost there. Perhaps this is a discussion to be had over a tremendously well-mixed cocktail (RMB80-120) at 8½’s seductive bar.
Our rating: 5/5
Reviewed in Feb., 2012
Bar Review:
It’s no surprise that the sumptuous bar at the city’s newest Italian restaurant has a vast array of fine and rare spirits. Master mixologist Dario Gentile has stocked his temple beautifully with aged vermouths, moscato, meticulously blended powders and homemade infusions. An enormous 90kg block of ice is an ethereal centerpiece on the bar. The chemist displays his expert showmanship as he rediscovers and revises classic cocktails with a modern twist and luxuriant presentation. Connoisseurs will find great enjoyment here sipping a Martinez (RMB100) or Vintage Negroni (RMB100).
Our Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewed in Feb., 2012
