VICE Shanghai

VICE Shanghai is a global bistro in Shanghai with two distinct moods: a tighter, dimly lit ground-floor bistro room with tables close to an open kitchen window, a more spacious upstairs lounge and bar with higher ceilings and a balcony overlooking the street. At about $60 per person, it is best understood through its confirmed setting, price point, broad bistro cooking.

Book the lower room if the kitchen is the point

The strongest reason to choose this restaurant is the split setting. The ground floor is dim, close-set, oriented around the kitchen window, so the meal feels more immediate. Upstairs is the better choice if you want more space or a lounge atmosphere, with higher ceilings and a balcony over the street. Choose downstairs for a closer view of the kitchen window, upstairs if the room itself is a bigger part of the occasion.

The cooking is global bistro rather than a single-cuisine promise. That matters because the signature dishes cover a broad range: seafood with bright acidity, richer comfort dishes, steak, claypot, gratin, desserts. First-timers can think in terms of contrast rather than a narrow regional template: order across lighter seafood, one richer main, something from the comfort side of the menu.

The order should balance acid, richness, comfort

A safer move is to build the table around contrast. Mosaic salmon with leche de tigre and Tilefish with Peruvian sour seafood broth point the meal toward freshness and acidity. Braised Lamb Shoulder, Chicken & Abalone Claypot, Pepper Steak with five-peppercorn sauce, Cacio e Pepe Gratin give the kitchen more room to show range. For dessert, Flourless Chocolate Cake and Vietnamese Coffee Tres L fit the restaurant’s wider pattern of familiar formats with sharper flavor references.

The upstairs bar and lounge are a real part of the decision. The layout makes VICE Shanghai useful when the night calls for a global bistro meal in one room and a more spacious lounge setting around it. The draw is the combination of a moody downstairs dining room and a more luxe, open-feeling bar space upstairs.

Who should choose it, who should skip it

Choose VICE Shanghai for a stylish meal in Shanghai, especially if watching the kitchen or moving between a close-set bistro room and an upstairs lounge matters. It is less compelling for diners who specifically want wide spacing downstairs or a narrow single-region menu. The downstairs table spacing is part of the energy, but it will not suit every occasion. For a roomier experience, the upstairs lounge is the smarter request.