Top Shanghainese restaurants in Shanghai

Dragon Phoenix of the Fairmont Peace Hotel has reclaimed its status as the premier Chinese restaurant in Shanghai offering quintessential Shanghainese and Cantonese cuisine. The style and ambiance is of classical luxury. Guests will be transported back to a time of opulence when personalized butlers anticipated every need. Located on the 8th floor, Dragon Phoenix promises a nostalgic and impressive venue for guests and business associates. Four private dining rooms are available.

This is the "old" Jesse restaurant, the shabby but clean cornerstone restaurant of Shanghainese cooking that has since spawned a chain of "new" Jesse restaurants -- Xin Jishi -- in all corners of Shanghai. The original is still the best by far, with unfussy but delicious Shanghai staples like hongshao rou, braised pork shoulder, a braised fish head covered in fried spring onions, and plenty of others. Seating is cramped and reservations are absolutely necessary, but if you've only got time for one Shanghainese restaurant, it's tough to do better than Jesse.

Like Shanghai itself, Fu 1088 is modern, experimental and forward thinking but hasn't lost touch with it's roots. Contemporary Chinese cuisine with Western influences is served in a stately, classic, tucked away villa on the edge of Jing'an District.

This is one of the oldest Shanghai Cuisine restaurant and also one of the Shanghai must eat restaurants, with two branches. With simple and elegant decor as well as traditional local dishes, it is popular with local senior citizens.