Restaurant in Shanghai, China
36th-floor Italian with Michelin recognition.
Mercato earns its Michelin Plate status at the ¥¥¥ tier with consistent Italian cooking from chef Kelvin Chai, set on the 36th floor of Three on the Bund. The combination of a Pudong-facing view and back-to-back Michelin recognition (2024 and 2025) makes this one of Shanghai's more reliable Italian addresses. Book a window table for the setting, or request counter seating if the kitchen experience matters more than the panorama.
At the ¥¥¥ price point, Mercato earns its place as one of the more considered Italian options in Shanghai — and the address alone tells you something about its positioning. Sitting on the 36th floor of Three on the Bund in Huangpu, this is a room with a view that most restaurants in this city would use heavily as their main selling point. Mercato does not need to. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) and a Google rating of 4.7 from reviewers suggest the kitchen is doing enough work to justify the spend, independent of the Pudong skyline framing the windows. For a first-timer deciding between Italian options in Shanghai, Mercato is a strong default choice at this tier.
The first thing you register at Mercato is elevation — both literal and tonal. The 36th-floor setting means the room is filled with light during lunch service, and after dark the view across the Huangpu River toward Pudong becomes the dominant visual. This is a grown-up dining room: not a casual trattoria, not a white-tablecloth formality exercise. The Italian format here is modern and social rather than ceremonial, which matters for how you should dress and how long you should plan to stay. For a first visit, arrive with time to settle in rather than treating it as a quick dinner stop.
Chef Kelvin Chai leads the kitchen. The cuisine type is Italian, which at this price tier in Shanghai means you are in a category where execution and sourcing are expected to do the heavy lifting. The Michelin Plate recognition , awarded by inspectors who are specifically assessing quality of cooking rather than ambiance or service polish , confirms the kitchen is meeting a credible standard. That distinction matters here because Mercato's address and view could easily carry a weaker operation; it has not needed to coast on either.
One of the more practical decisions you will make when booking Mercato is where in the room you want to sit. The counter or bar seating option changes the experience in a specific way: it puts you closer to the kitchen's rhythm and gives the meal a more interactive, less formal register. For a solo diner or a pair who wants to watch the operation rather than face each other across a table, counter seating at Mercato is worth requesting. It is a different pace from the main dining room , more immediate, better for conversation with staff, and a useful way to understand how the kitchen is organised.
If you are visiting for the first time and want to get a genuine read on what Mercato is doing well, counter seating is the more informative choice. The trade-off is that you lose some of the view, which from a window table at the 36th floor is genuinely worth having. That is a real decision: the view versus the kitchen proximity. For food-first diners, the counter wins. For occasion dining where the setting is part of what you are paying for, request a window table instead.
Shanghai has a competitive Italian restaurant tier at ¥¥¥ and above, and Mercato sits within a cluster of addresses that serious diners move between. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana Shanghai is the higher-end reference point in the same city , Michelin-starred, higher price tier, more formal register. If budget is not the constraint and you want the most technically ambitious Italian meal in Shanghai, that is where you go instead. Mercato is the better call when you want the ¥¥¥ tier done properly without the full commitment of a starred tasting menu experience.
Within the Bund and broader Huangpu dining cluster, Arva and Scarpetta are the other Italian addresses worth comparing directly. Cellar to Table and Frasca offer different registers within the broader European dining category in this city. None of those alternatives hold the combination of Bund-facing elevation, consecutive Michelin recognition, and the specific social-Italian format that Mercato has settled into. That combination is what you are paying for.
For context on how Mercato fits into Asia's Italian dining tier more broadly, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto represent the regional category at its upper end , both are useful reference points if you are calibrating what Michelin-level Italian looks like across different Asian cities.
Mercato is a modern Italian restaurant on the 36th floor of Three on the Bund, which means the setting is part of the offer from the moment you walk in. The format is social and accessible rather than formal, so you do not need to approach it like a tasting-menu occasion. Two Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) confirm the kitchen is doing serious work at the ¥¥¥ price tier. Arrive with time to settle in, decide early whether you want counter seating near the kitchen or a window table for the view, and treat this as a full evening rather than a quick stop.
At ¥¥¥, Mercato is a justified spend for Italian food in Shanghai. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 means you are paying for cooking that has been independently assessed, not just for a premium address. If you want the most technically ambitious Italian meal in the city, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana at a higher price tier is the comparison. Mercato is the better value call when you want Michelin-recognised quality without the full commitment of a starred experience. The view is part of what you are paying for, and at this address it is hard to argue it does not add something real to the occasion.
Booking difficulty is rated as easy, which means you do not need to plan weeks out the way you would for a starred restaurant in this city. That said, window tables on weekend evenings at a Bund-facing address will fill faster than the room average, so if a specific table position matters to you , especially for the Pudong view , book a week ahead and note the preference at the time of reservation. Weekday lunch is likely the path of least resistance if you want flexibility.
Counter or bar seating is available at Mercato, and it is worth considering deliberately rather than defaulting to it. For a solo diner or a pair who wants a more interactive experience and a closer read on the kitchen, the counter delivers a different pace and register from the main room. The trade-off is reduced access to the panoramic Huangpu River view that window tables provide. If the setting is a primary reason for your visit, request a window table. If the food and kitchen energy are your priority, ask for the counter when you book.
Mercato's Three on the Bund address and the size of a 36th-floor dining room at this tier suggest it can handle groups with reasonable notice, but specific private dining or large-table arrangements are not confirmed in available data. For groups of four to six, a standard reservation with advance notice should work. For larger parties or event dining, contact the restaurant directly to confirm capacity and table configuration. At ¥¥¥ per head, a group dinner here is a credible occasion choice on the Bund, particularly if the view is part of the pitch to your guests.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Mercato | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Fu He Hui | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Ming Court | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Royal China Club | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Scarpetta | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Yè Shanghai | ¥¥ | — |
Comparing your options in Shanghai for this tier.
Mercato's 36th-floor room at Three on the Bund has enough spread to handle groups, but the format leans toward smaller parties of two to four who can make the most of the view seating. Larger groups should check the venue's official channels well in advance — a room with this address and Michelin Plate recognition fills quickly for private events. For groups of six or more, ask specifically about dedicated table configurations rather than assuming availability.
The address matters: Mercato is on the 36th floor of Three on the Bund, so arrive a few minutes early to account for building access. Chef Kelvin Chai leads an Italian kitchen that has held a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, which sets a clear expectation for the cooking register. At ¥¥¥, this is not a casual drop-in — come with a reservation, and if the view is part of your reason for booking, ask for window seating when you confirm.
At ¥¥¥ with back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025), Mercato justifies the price for diners who want considered Italian cooking in a room that earns its setting. The Bund address adds a premium that you are partly paying for, so if the view is not part of your criteria, there are Italian options in Shanghai at the same tier without the location surcharge. If you want the full package — chef-led Italian, top-floor Bund dining, Michelin-tracked quality — the price holds up.
Book at least two to three weeks out for a standard dinner reservation, more if you want a specific table position or are visiting on a weekend. A Michelin Plate venue on the 36th floor of Three on the Bund draws both local regulars and hotel guests, which keeps the room competitive. Lunch on weekdays tends to be more accessible, but do not count on walk-in availability at this address.
Bar or counter seating at Mercato is one of the more practical choices in the room — it changes how the meal feels, shifting it toward something more casual without dropping the quality of the kitchen. This is a reasonable option if you are dining solo or as a pair and want flexibility over a full table commitment. It is worth requesting this specifically when you book rather than assuming it will be offered on arrival.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
