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Hey, drinkers and diners. It’s that time again. A bunch of fancy new places open, old places close, also there’s now a food delivery service available for your dog. God bless you, Shanghai.

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Now Open

First off, new Pret A Manger opened up in IFC Mall, just a short while after the one in K11 closed down. This one has a little meeting room for you desk warriors who desperately need to get out of your Lujiazui high-rise office to spitball some paradigm-breaking, disruptive ideas with your team.

A place called Biggie Union on Nandan Lu just got listed on our site. There used to be a Biggie Cafe and a Beer Union next to each other at that address, so we’re going to guess they just knocked down the wall, physically and metaphorically. They say they’ve 1,200 kinds of beer available, so… yeah, we’re probably gonna go check it out.

Mark from OH MY KEBAB on Yongkang Lu has reopened the exuberantly named kebab/bar place on Yongjia Lu. He’s also threatened to open on Laowai Jie too, we’ll let you know what happens there.

You may have read that The Caxton, Shanghai Republik and Above the Globe are open for proper business. They have been covered in our OTR.

Goose Island Brewhouse has opened its doors. Go pledge yourself to your new feathery overlord.

Truck Stop Grill opened up. Looks like an all-American diner sort of thing, burgers and comfort food of the US variety.

The folks from Cyclo opened up a new Vietnamese sandwich shop serving banh mi on Wulumuqi Lu right next to Avocado Lady, called Mr. Banh Mi. Edit: So it’s not actually open, it’s just under feverishly-paced construction. My bad. Keep an eye on this spot.

The Chop Chop Club from Paul Pairet is open but by reservation only and it’s (naturally) booked out for the next little while. We’re proactive and got a reservation for this weekend. Check back on Monday to see what we think.

Foreplay is a thing. With that kind of name, we were guessing it was going to be nothing but appetizers, but it’s actually a Spanish-Italian place, set in an impressive-looking lanehouse.

And for your canine/feline friends, pet food delivery service Pawsome is a thing. They deliver what they say is species specific nutritional diets. I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of socioeconomic law stating that the final stage of urban development is pet-food delivery. Congrats, Shanghai.

Now Closed

Xi’an place Suzakumon on Dagu Lu is closed, to be replaced by a Shanghainese xiaochi place. The place was fine, nothing amazing, this only matters because Duo Duo’s had been sharing that spot with them for about 6 months, after their place on Aomen Lu was gutted. Ouch. Duo Duo himself still has his place Pin Yi Pin in Baoshan, though, so you’ll have to trek to the end of the Earth to buy him a drink.

There was something about a mass of closings on Qingxi Lu and Hami Lu but we haven’t had time to check. We’ll get you the deets next week. I’m sure a lot of other things closed, but let’s start CNY off mostly positive-like.

The Word Around Town

There’s a fusion sushi place opening on Fumin Lu. The sign on the scaffolding says “just eat it” but that… can’t be the name. Can it?

Next to Goose, we’ve got some hint of a boulangerie called Briant, as well as much more complete-looking contender on the rotisserie chicken scene Heat French Rotisserie and Bistro.

Pera, that Turkish restaurant in Found 158 has a soft opening February 10 and 11 (tonight and tomorrow). You can try out their dishes and get unlimited drinks for 250rmb. Ambitious. Reservations at 18616864023.

Seems like Shanghai's favorite BBQ masters have hit a snag in the road with their planned Wuding Lu venue. One of their investors backed out and they've had to put their plans on hold for the near future. They're back in the old space at and are currently searching for a new location.

Blackstone Magic Bar finally announced its opening; as of February 17, Blackstone (the cocktail bar portion) will be open every night except Monday nights. Blackstone Theater (that’s the close-up magic shows part of the place) opens on February 24 and has 1 show every Thursday, Friday and 2 shows on Saturday.

By the way, this is the flyer they sent us.

Topical.

And finally, Farine LAB has finally got their pastry chef in, who’s hard at work making sweet things that are, apparently, “completely opposite to Farine pastries.” More fun, they say, more playful. Lovely.

Hang about, this just came in over the wire (man this is getting long):

"Behind the scaffolding cocoon on the street level of the building neighboring popular place-to-look-around-the-room-and-see-what-other-people-are-wearing and have cocktails, , is a restaurant called Vanilla. Can’t tell you much more than that other than it’s also been co-branded with a Hong Kong fashion house initial: The Unusual Experience. From their biog: “the initial concept is not limited to the customer’s closet; it extends to the pursuit of exquisite style and fashion in all aspects of life.” So, sounds like another classically humble and self-reflexive Bund venue moving in right below and next to The Nest."

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