A Korean-style Japanese izakaya with influences from all over and a sort of research mandate designed to benefit the parent company’s other, bigger restaurants, Jeju Izakaya is a small (eight seats) but perfectly formed eccentricity, with great food. Reservations can only be made through WeChat, China’s ubiquitous text-messaging program.

A new contender in the sometimes-contentious world of cat cafes, Hey There has three cute felines, one for each floor of the three-story space. That space is comfy, done up like a nice friend’s house, with a large sofa on the ground floor and Rolling Stones LPs displayed upstairs, all decorated in warm wood and airy glass. The coffee itself is mild, but as far as cat cafes go, Hey There is Shanghai’s new champion.

*Note: Address approximate

After winning two Michelin stars in his native Lyon, and setting up a critically acclaimed bistro and fine dining restaurant in Shanghai, Nicolas le Bec embarked upon his latest endeavor: a grocery-cafe-wine bar. But given le Bec’s pedigree — and, more importantly, his direct-import model — this is more than just a shop for dry goods and a bottle of wine. Instead, it’s a tour through Old World wines at steep discounts (again, the direct importing) for this part of the world, with a menu of small bites to help temper the booze. Add 100 yuan for corkage and a drink in his recreated cellar atmosphere.

With upgraded takes on comfort food from locally famous chef Austin Hu, Diner has become a neighborhood fixture in the French Concession, known for its beautiful plate glass windows and corner location. Perfect for people-watching over a stack of pancakes with lemon curd and blueberry compote or a delicious smashed and griddled wagyu burger.

It’s not often that a mall food court — even one as upscale as this — draws lines, but that’s exactly what happened when this prime office building revamped over the summer. The clear winner among the vendors is Da Fu Dong, a simple counter doing Asian-style grilled meat dishes over rice, with steadfast lines at meal times, but there’s plenty more to explore, from sake-flavored soft serve to marinated goose.

Shanghai is an international city, so it wasn’t really a surprise when a pair of young French chefs showed up and immediately won the crown for best roasted chicken in the city (beyond Cantonese restaurants, that is). Crispy, herbal, and very juicy, the Dodu chickens took Shanghai by storm and inspired more than a couple imitators. Served with simple but delicious sides, like potatoes roasted in the drippings and peas and carrots doused with butter, these chickens are great, but be warned: The shop is small and seating is limited.

This Korean newcomer went viral in 2017 for its Dirty Coffee, a latte covered in chocolate shavings. It was initially part of its monthly series, but there was a collective coffee-fanatic outcry when the cafe tried to take it off the menu, and so it remains, along with a constantly revolving list of creative specials.

Zee Tea is an achingly cool tea cafe, one of a handful of places reimagining tea for the millennial generation. The raw concrete interior, cold-drip high-mountain oolongs, and jewel-like pastries have attracted hordes of pretty young things to wait in line — for tea, long thought to be the drink of grandparents and taxi drivers. Backlash against coffee? Pride in their heritage? Desire for something new? Yes to all of those.

The name sounds better in Chinese, a play on “because of tea” and “flavor”. Like ZeeTea, InWe is reinventing what a cafe in China should be, from something based around a chromed espresso machine to something built around brewing leaves, whether hot or cold, Chinese or not. The design is minimalist and hip, and drinks range from a rooibos latte to a fascinating tea made with Chinese olives (which are an ovoid fruit, but nothing like the brined Western olive) and white tea, which has been in vogue for the last couple of years.

*Address approximate

Shanghai was already home to the world’s largest number of Starbucks in one city (631 and counting), so it seems natural that it would get the biggest actual Starbucks as well. This 29,000-square-foot emporium is indeed the largest Starbucks in the world, and serves as a tribute to everything coffee bean, with on-site roasting, embedded AR technology, bars for cold-brew coffee, bars for cocktails, and a very spendy pastry shop by Milanese star baker Rocco Princi. When it opened at the end of November, the lines stretched down the long block to get in. While there may still be a queue as you read this, it’s since died down, making now the time to go.

Shanghai has moved away from the big, glamorous restaurants of the early ’00s as rents skyrocketed and diners opted for cozier, smaller venues. The Peacock Room is a recent exception, with an endlessly glamorous dining room from two of the city’s premier design icons, Andy Hall of MQ Studios and Caesar Song of the wildly popular Yu Ba Xian restaurants. The single long marble table, big enough for 50, is the backdrop for the Malaysian chef’s playful approach to classic Sichuan cooking, invigorating for both its spice and originality.

Paul Pairet is the biggest name in Shanghai’s chef circles, winning three Michelin stars for his iconoclastic fine dining project Ultraviolet in 2017. Somehow he found the time to open the Chop Chop Club, a revolutionary roastery where the menu is ditched in favor of an auction-like system run on a giant digital billboard. Portions are equally large, with an emphasis on large-format chops and whole fish, so come with friends to get the full experience.