Restaurant in Shanghai, China
Reliable mid-range burgers, Michelin-noted.
A Michelin Plate-recognised American burger spot in Jingan, Beef & Liberty earns its place at the ¥¥ price tier with consistent quality across two consecutive years of recognition. The compact, ground-floor room on Xiangyang North Road works well for late-night eating, and booking is easy — walk-ins are viable, particularly after 9 PM. Best for groups of two to four who want good food without formality.
If you want a reliable, mid-range American burger spot in Shanghai that punches above its price point and stays open late enough to matter, Beef & Liberty in Jingan is the right call. It holds two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), which for a casual American concept in China is a meaningful credential — the Michelin Plate signals consistent quality worth seeking out, not a forgettable meal. At ¥¥ pricing, it sits in a bracket where you can eat well without planning a special-occasion budget. The Jingan location on Xiangyang North Road puts it in one of Shanghai's more walkable, after-hours-friendly neighbourhoods, which makes it a practical late-night option when most of the city's more formal dining rooms have already closed.
The Jingan outpost occupies a ground-floor unit in a mixed-use block on Xiangyang North Road — street-level access, which matters when you're arriving after 9 PM and don't want to navigate a hotel lobby or a hidden staircase. The format is compact and counter-friendly rather than sprawling, which gives it a more social, drop-in energy than a sit-down restaurant that requires you to commit to a full evening. If you've visited once and found the room a little tight during peak dinner hours, the window between 9 PM and closing tends to run quieter and more relaxed , this is when the space works leading for a group of two to four who want to decompress rather than rush through a meal. For larger groups, the layout may feel constrictive, so keep parties to four or under for a comfortable experience.
Shanghai's late-night food scene has a credibility problem at the mid-range level , the options that stay open tend to be either too casual to be worth seeking out, or so bar-adjacent that the food is secondary. Beef & Liberty sits in a more useful position: it's a kitchen that takes the product seriously (the Michelin recognition backs that up across two years), it operates at a price point that doesn't require advance justification, and the American format translates well to late-night eating. Burgers, sides, and a drinks list don't require the same timing precision as a tasting menu, which means arriving at 9:30 PM doesn't compromise what arrives at your table. That's a more practical consideration than it sounds in a city where many kitchens quietly wind down service well before their listed closing time.
For anyone who has already done the standard Jingan dinner circuit , Taian Table for a special occasion, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana for a formal Italian evening , Beef & Liberty fills a genuinely different slot. It's not a fallback; it's the venue you choose when the occasion calls for something easy and good rather than elaborate and impressive.
If you've visited once and defaulted to the obvious order, the second visit is a good moment to pay more attention to the sides and the drinks list. American burger concepts at this quality tier typically invest more in the supporting cast than first-timers realise , the components that separate a Michelin-recognised burger spot from a standard fast-casual operation are usually in the details of preparation and sourcing rather than in a single signature item. The ¥¥ price range means that ordering more broadly across the menu carries limited financial risk, so the second visit is the right time to test the full range rather than repeat the same safe order.
For context on how American dining at this level compares to other parts of the world, Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco and Selby's in Atherton represent the American comfort-food end of the market in a different competitive environment , useful reference points if you want to calibrate expectations for what the category looks like at its most developed.
Booking difficulty here is low. At ¥¥ pricing with a casual format, walk-ins are a realistic option, particularly on weeknights and during late-evening hours. If you're planning to arrive at peak weekend dinner time, a reservation is a sensible precaution given the compact room, but this is not a venue where you need to plan weeks in advance. No dress code applies , come as you are. The Jingan address on Xiangyang North Road is well-served by metro access and within easy reach of the neighbourhood's bar and hotel strip, making it a natural pre- or post-bar stop.
For a fuller picture of Shanghai dining across price tiers and cuisines, see our full Shanghai restaurants guide. If you're planning a broader trip, our Shanghai hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest. For other strong options elsewhere in the region, Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou, and Ru Yuan in Hangzhou are worth adding to a wider itinerary.
Quick reference: ¥¥ pricing, Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025, Jingan/Xiangyang North Road, easy to book, walk-ins viable late evening, compact ground-floor room, leading for groups of two to four.
For a milestone dinner or a formal celebration, this is not the first choice. The ¥¥ price point and casual American format work better for a relaxed night out than a ceremonial meal. If the occasion calls for something more considered, Taian Table (Modern European, higher price tier) or Fu He Hui (Vegetarian, ¥¥¥¥) are more appropriate. Where Beef & Liberty does work for an occasion is the low-key celebration , a birthday group of three or four who want good food without formality, or a post-event meal when the evening has already peaked elsewhere.
Within the ¥¥ bracket, Yè Shanghai is the most direct alternative if you want Shanghainese food at a comparable price point with comparable accessibility. For Chinese cuisine at one tier up, 102 House (Cantonese) and Xin Rong Ji (West Nanjing Road) (Taizhou) offer more local specificity if that's what the visit calls for. If you want to move up in price and formality, Fu He Hui at ¥¥¥¥ is the most distinctive option in the city's upper tier for non-meat eaters. For American-style dining in other cities, see also Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco.
Arrive knowing that this is a mid-range American burger concept, not a fusion or Chinese-American hybrid , the menu is direct American comfort food, and the Michelin Plate recognition reflects consistent execution rather than culinary ambition. At ¥¥ pricing, you can order broadly without anxiety. The room is compact, so arriving slightly off-peak (early evening or after 9 PM) gives you the most comfortable experience. Walk-ins are generally viable, but if you're coming on a Friday or Saturday at 7 PM, a reservation is sensible. The Jingan location is easy to reach by metro and sits in a neighbourhood with good bar options before or after.
Beef & Liberty is a casual American concept, not a tasting-menu format restaurant. If a structured multi-course experience is what you're after, this is the wrong venue , look at Taian Table for that format in Shanghai. What Beef & Liberty offers is direct à la carte ordering at a price point where the Michelin Plate credential confirms the kitchen is doing the basics properly. That's a different value proposition, and a useful one, but not a tasting-menu experience.
The database does not include confirmed menu details, so specific dish recommendations would be speculative. What the Michelin Plate recognition across two years signals is that the core product , the burger , is the thing to anchor your order to. At ¥¥ pricing, ordering a main and at least one or two sides to share is the standard approach for the format. On a second visit, testing the drinks list and the supporting items more thoroughly is a reasonable way to get more from the menu.
Yes, with a qualification. The compact, counter-adjacent format suits solo diners better than many full-service restaurants in Shanghai's mid-range tier , there's no social pressure attached to a table for one, and the casual American format doesn't require you to navigate a long menu or a multi-course structure. At ¥¥ pricing, a solo meal is financially painless. The late-night angle also works well for solo visitors who want a solid meal after a long day without the overhead of a formal booking or a long wait.
At ¥¥, yes , the Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 confirms that the kitchen is delivering consistent quality at a price point where that recognition is relatively rare for an American-format concept. You are not paying for fine-dining service or an elaborate room, but you are getting a product the Michelin guide considered worth flagging two years running. For casual American food in Shanghai, that's a meaningful signal. Compare that to Yè Shanghai at the same ¥¥ tier for Shanghainese food, and the decision comes down to cuisine preference rather than value calculation , both represent solid spending at this price level.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Beef & Liberty (Jingan) | ¥¥ | — |
| Fu He Hui | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Ming Court | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Royal China Club | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Scarpetta | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Yè Shanghai | ¥¥ | — |
A quick look at how Beef & Liberty (Jingan) measures up.
Not really. At ¥¥ pricing with a casual, walk-in-friendly format, this is a solid weeknight dinner or late-night option — not a celebration venue. If you need a special-occasion meal in Shanghai, look at Fu He Hui or Yè Shanghai instead. Beef & Liberty holds two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–25), which signals consistent quality, but the format is relaxed by design.
For a step up in occasion and cuisine, Fu He Hui (vegetarian fine dining) and Yè Shanghai (Shanghainese) both offer a more formal experience at a higher price point. If you want to stay in the casual American lane, Beef & Liberty has multiple Shanghai outposts worth comparing by neighbourhood convenience. Ming Court and Royal China Club are better suited to Cantonese dining occasions entirely.
Walk-ins work here, particularly on weeknights — booking difficulty is low at this ¥¥ price point. The Jingan location is on Xiangyang North Road, ground floor, with street-level access. It holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, so the kitchen is consistent. Come expecting a casual American burger format, not a full-service dining experience.
A tasting menu format is not part of the Beef & Liberty concept — this is an American burger restaurant operating at ¥¥ pricing with a casual, à la carte structure. If a set menu or tasting format is what you're after in Shanghai, Fu He Hui is a better fit.
The core of the menu is American-style burgers, which is where the kitchen earns its two consecutive Michelin Plates. Beyond the main, the sides and drinks list are worth attention on a return visit — the first order is about understanding what the kitchen does well. Specific dishes are not listed in the available venue data, so check current menus on arrival.
Yes. A casual burger format at ¥¥ pricing with walk-in availability makes this one of the more practical solo options in Jingan, particularly later in the evening when other kitchens wind down. The ground-floor, street-level setup suits quick, low-commitment visits.
At ¥¥, yes — Beef & Liberty Jingan delivers a Michelin Plate-recognised American burger experience without the commitment of a reservation or a formal dining budget. It is not a fine-dining destination, and it is priced accordingly. If you want Shanghainese cooking at a similar spend, Yè Shanghai is the comparison to make; for pure burger value in Shanghai, this is a dependable choice.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
