Shanghai Blues in Holborn is an absolute gem! I had walked past the relatively quiet doorway a few times over the years, not thinking too much about what lay inside. My friend JimBob is an expert on Chinese food, and she had told me a couple of times it was a good find, so that coupled with a timely Groupon voucher led ze German and I there for date night one evening!
The interior was pretty cool, set out over 2 storeys, it was a moody and cool place that you wouldn’t expect.
The groupon offer seemed pretty good, and honestly in the end I don’t know how they expect 2 people to eat so much, it was a feast! But we weren’t complaining, the food was of a really authentic and high quality. The lovely jazz band, the ambience and service, also didn’t make it hard to spend an entire evening of indulgence here.
We started with a champagne Bellini with sesame pickled cucumber (nom!)
Our delicious dim sum basket (scallop, prawn, salmon, vegetable)
Perfectly done and served, everyone’s favourite, crispy duck
Salt & pepper octopus
Crab claw with lemon sauce
Shanghai vegetable rice
Baked lobster
The most delicious watermelon and pineapple sorbet (alone worth going again for!)
And finishing with a rose-bud tea to try and stop us from popping!
Overall, we were really impressed with Shanghai Blues. I guess it is so full of lovely surprises from the moment you walk in, you cannot help but be enamoured with its cool elegance and glamour. I am sure to be back again, especially since it turns out they do karaoke as well!! I have read some terrible reviews of this place, so I am guessing they haven’t yet perfected their formula for service, so if you are unsure, perhaps pick one of their many offers and give it a try to see how you like it before investing in a full blow out here!