Restaurant in Shanghai, China
Serious Italian with a wine list to match.
Scarpetta is Shanghai's most wine-serious Italian restaurant at the ¥¥¥ tier, holding Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025. The Italian cellar runs to 470 selections and 3,500 bottles, with depth in Piedmont and Tuscany. Worth booking if Italian wine drives your decision; for food alone, alternatives exist at lower prices.
If you have been to Scarpetta once and left satisfied, a return visit will likely confirm what you already suspected: this is Shanghai's most serious Italian wine destination, and the food has been sharpened to match. Under chef David Fricaud, the kitchen has found a cleaner register than earlier iterations of the brand, and sommelier Diego Vásquez and Caleb Anderson now oversee one of the deeper Italian cellar programs in the city — 3,500 bottles, 470 selections, with particular strength in Piedmont and Tuscany. The Michelin Plate has been held in both 2024 and 2025, which tells you the fundamentals are consistent. At ¥¥¥ pricing (two courses typically ¥66 or more per person, not including wine), this is not a casual weeknight choice, but it earns its position for anyone who takes Italian wine seriously or wants a European dining room that does not feel like a hotel fallback.
Scarpetta occupies a specific corner of Shanghai's dining market: Italian, wine-forward, and formally staffed, positioned for the diner who wants depth in the glass rather than a scene. The address on Mengzi Road in Huangpu puts it slightly outside the highest-traffic restaurant corridors, which is both a practical and atmospheric advantage — the room tends to operate at a pace that allows proper attention from the floor.
The wine program is the clearest reason to return. A corkage fee of ¥350 (listed as $50) is high enough that it should push most diners toward the list rather than BYOB, and with 470 selections across 3,500 bottles in inventory, that is a reasonable trade. The strength is Italian: Piedmont and Tuscany are singled out as the cellar's two pillars, which in practice means meaningful depth in Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, and the major Super Tuscans. For a first visit, the list breadth is impressive; on a return visit, the value play is finding mid-tier Tuscan producers that do not appear at Shanghai's more generalist wine bars. If you are comparing wine programs across Shanghai's Italian options, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana Shanghai has the prestige cellar and the trophies to match, but Scarpetta's list is more navigable and the corkage policy gives you a clear sense of where the restaurant wants you to spend. For regional Italian comparison further afield, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto show what Italian fine dining looks like in this part of Asia at full stretch.
Chef David Fricaud runs the kitchen , a French-trained chef leading an Italian menu, which is a combination that appears more often than you would expect in Asia's leading Italian rooms. The relevant question for a returning guest is whether the food has evolved. The answer, based on the back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition, is that the technical level has held steady. The cuisine does not appear to have shifted toward a tasting menu format as its primary mode; dinner is the main event, running until 9 or 9:30 PM on most weeknights, extending to 10 PM on Fridays and Saturdays. General Manager Fabian Forlini adds to a floor team that is unusually complete for Shanghai's Italian dining tier , having a named GM and two named sommeliers on record signals an operation that is run as a serious hospitality business, not a concept.
For the Shanghai context, Mercato and Arva sit at different price points and serve different purposes: Mercato leans more casual and is easier to walk into, while Arva skews hotel-dependent. Frasca offers another point of comparison for Italian in the city. Scarpetta's clearest advantage over the mid-tier competition is the wine infrastructure , neither the depth of list nor the sommelier bench is easy to match. If wine is not your priority, Cellar to Table is worth considering for its wine-focused format at a different price anchor.
Lunch runs Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Sunday from 11:30 AM to 3 PM, and Saturday is dinner-only from 5 PM. For a return visit, Sunday lunch is a different experience from a Friday dinner: quieter, better paced for extended conversation, and possibly more accessible for working through the wine list without the noise level climbing. Saturday dinner is the natural booking for someone who wants the full room and the kitchen at full intensity, but availability should be checked early in the week.
Beyond Shanghai, if you are tracking Italian programs across China and Asia, the Pearl network covers comparable fine dining at Xin Rong Ji in Beijing, Xin Rong Ji in Chengdu, and Ru Yuan in Hangzhou for regional Chinese alternatives. For high-end dining in Macau and Guangzhou, see Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou, and Dai Yuet Heen in Nanjing.
See our full guides to Shanghai restaurants, Shanghai bars, Shanghai hotels, Shanghai wineries, and Shanghai experiences for broader planning.
| Detail | Scarpetta | 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana | Mercato |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | Italian | Italian | Italian |
| Price tier | ¥¥¥ | ¥¥¥¥ | ¥¥ |
| Michelin recognition | Plate (2024, 2025) | Star (multiple years) | Not listed |
| Wine list depth | 470 selections / 3,500 bottles | Extensive prestige cellar | Moderate |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Moderate | Easy |
| Lunch available | Yes (Mon–Fri, Sun) | Yes | Yes |
| Address | 33 Mengzi Rd, Huangpu | Shanghai IFC | No. 3 on the Bund |
Booking is rated Easy, meaning you can typically secure a table within a few days rather than weeks out. That said, Friday and Saturday dinners fill faster than midweek slots. For a specific Saturday night or a larger group, book at least a week ahead. Sunday lunch is the most reliably available time if you are flexible on day.
At ¥¥¥ (two courses typically ¥66 or more, before wine), Scarpetta is priced above Shanghai's casual Italian tier but below 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana's full-luxury positioning. The Michelin Plate recognitions in both 2024 and 2025 confirm the kitchen is consistent. The clearest value case is for diners who also want serious Italian wine: 470 selections and a 3,500-bottle cellar at this price point is competitive. If food is the only priority and wine is secondary, you can spend less elsewhere.
Scarpetta is a ¥¥¥ Italian restaurant with Michelin Plate recognition and a wine program that is the centrepiece as much as the food. Come with an interest in Italian wine , the cellar is strongest in Piedmont and Tuscany , and plan around dinner, which is when the kitchen runs at full capacity. The corkage fee is ¥350, high enough that you should commit to ordering from the list. The floor team includes two named sommeliers, so do not hesitate to ask for guidance.
The venue data does not confirm a bar-seating option. Given the formal staffing structure and ¥¥¥ positioning, Scarpetta is set up as a full sit-down dining room rather than a drop-in drinks-and-snacks venue. If bar seating is important to your visit, contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability before showing up without a reservation.
Dinner is the stronger choice if you want the full kitchen output and want to properly work through the wine list. Lunch (Monday to Friday, 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM; Sunday, 11:30 AM to 3 PM) is a lower-pressure, likely quieter experience , practical for a business meal or for visitors who prefer a lighter pace. Saturday is dinner-only, so if your schedule only allows a weekend visit, the choice is made for you.
The venue data does not confirm a tasting menu format at Scarpetta Shanghai. Cuisine pricing is listed at ¥¥¥ for dinner with no tasting menu specifically noted. If a structured multi-course progression is your priority, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana Shanghai is the more tasting-menu-oriented Italian address in the city.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is listed in the venue data. Italian kitchens at this level typically have the flexibility to adjust for common restrictions, but Scarpetta does not publish a website or phone number in the record. The safest approach is to contact the restaurant directly at the time of booking and confirm what the kitchen can do.
With Michelin Plate recognition and ¥¥¥ pricing, smart casual is a reasonable baseline , think the level of dress you would bring to a formal business lunch or a date-night dinner. There is no published dress code in the venue data, but the formal floor team and fine-dining positioning mean visibly casual attire (shorts, sportswear) would be out of place. For reference, the general expectation at comparable Shanghai restaurants in this tier is business casual to smart.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarpetta | Italian | ¥¥¥ | Easy |
| Fu He Hui | Vegetarian | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Ming Court | Cantonese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Polux | French | ¥¥ | Unknown |
| Royal China Club | Chinese, Cantonese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Yè Shanghai | Shanghainese | ¥¥ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Shanghai for this tier.
Book at least a week out for weekday dinner; Friday and Saturday evenings fill faster and warrant two weeks' notice. Sunday lunch is the most accessible slot if you need a shorter lead time. Given the ¥¥¥ price point and Michelin Plate recognition, last-minute walk-ins are a gamble not worth taking.
At ¥¥¥ per head, Scarpetta is priced at the top of Shanghai's Italian dining tier, and the 470-label wine list with Piedmont and Tuscany strengths is a genuine differentiator that justifies a portion of the premium. If you're coming primarily to eat Italian without exploring the cellar, the value case is weaker. Pair a bottle from the list with dinner and the bill makes more sense.
The kitchen runs under Chef David Fricaud, the wine program is overseen by sommeliers Diego Vásquez and Caleb Anderson, and the operation is formally staffed — this is not a casual drop-in. Holding a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, it operates to a consistent standard. First-timers should prioritise dinner over lunch to experience the full menu and wine offering.
Bar seating availability is not confirmed in available information for this location. check the venue's official channels at 33 Mengzi Rd, Huangpu, to ask before you go. If a more casual counter experience is your priority, confirm the format when booking.
Dinner is the stronger format here. The kitchen runs until 9–10 pm depending on the day, the wine list is the venue's headline asset, and the full Italian menu is most relevant in an evening context. Sunday lunch (11:30 am–3 pm) works if you want a lighter commitment, but the ¥¥¥ cuisine pricing suggests the kitchen is pitching at dinner-standard spend regardless of the hour.
Tasting menu details are not confirmed in available venue data. Given the ¥¥¥ cuisine pricing and the Italian format, à la carte is the more typical structure for this type of restaurant — ask when booking whether a set menu option exists. If a multi-course tasting format is your priority, confirm availability before committing.
Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented in available venue data. Italian kitchens of this calibre generally handle common restrictions when given advance notice, so contact the restaurant at 33 Mengzi Rd, Huangpu when booking to flag requirements. Do not assume flexibility without confirming directly.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
