Osteria
226 Jinxian Lu,
Luwan
near Shaanxi Nan Lu, Metro Line 1 Shaanxi Nan Lu Station Exit 2
进贤路226号
近陕西南路, 地铁1号线陕西南路站2号口
6256-8998
www.osteriaspirit.com
osteria.events@gmail.com
Open Mon-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-10:30pm
Price Y200-Y299 per couple
- City Weekend
says -
Start the night with some wine and a few raw oysters from the crudo bar before settling into the cozy second floor dining room for simple (and simply delectable) Italian fare. The standard set offers diners bottomless antipasti and pastas in addition to one main entree.
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cityweekend
Most Recent Reviews
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Overall not bad albeit uninspiring. Our party had Aussie wagu steak-not worth the extra money but cooked properly. Oysters were great. Waiters were disinterested and inattentive.
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We've passed Osteria several times and it looks so cozy that we finally decided to stop in for dinner one Friday night. We didn't have reservations, but a nice Canadian-Chinese guy seated us downstairs, in a private little nook by the window. They had a good Duvel special going on (buy 1 beer, get an oyster) and I have to say that they know their oysters. Despite our anxiety about eating raw oysters in mainland China, they seem to have their supply chain pretty well set up. The oysters (we had Fin de Clair) we fresh and reasonably priced -- we ended up getting six on the half shell. For mains, I had a risotto with grilled seafood. The seafood was grilled perfectly: smoky / crisp outside, soft and delectable inside. Pity there wasn't more of it. The risotto was made with some purple type of rice. The portion looked tiny, but it was pretty filling. Just a bit more seafood on top, please! My partner had their wagyu, which really didn't taste like much as was way overpriced. They also didn't bring out the right side dish, which we'd been looking forward to tasting (truffle mashed potato). Overall a good experience, but maybe here the best way to go is to stick with seafood.
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oyster is good but other foods is soso,,, and chinese weiter is ,,,terrible.
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There's not many oyster bars in Shanghai, and for good reason. Oysters aren't that popular with the local Chinese and there has to be a constant flow of goods because oysters go bad quickly. Seafood in Shanghai has always been pretty disappointing for me and I always end up avoiding seafood in Shanghai and getting my oyster fix in Hong Kong where the suppliers are usually more trustworthy and safer, but Oysteria will be on my list for sure when I'm looking for oysters or even some good Italian fare.
The set lunch here is fantastic, the food well presented in decent portions as well. The set lunch deals are fantastic, 88 RMB for an antipasta, a pasta and a drink, or 128 RMB for an antipasta, a pasta, a main course, and a drink. For starters, the shrimp wrapped in bacon was a very pleasant surprise, very flavorful and had a great texture to it. The oysters were very fresh, some of the best I've had in Shanghai. The French oysters were very flavorful and tasty (as they should be), as well as the Australian ones. Prices are also very decent for the oysters, given that they're fresh and very difficult to maintain.
I will definitely be back in the future, and every time I find myself on Jinxian Lu, I will find myself choosing between either Oysteria and Pier 39.
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This restaurant is one of my faorite foreign food in Shanghai, actually i went only once for oysters, but as i'm not a super fan of oysters i really go there for their food. They have a great deal at lunch with Shanghai Coupon, and the quality of the food is really good. Try the salads an their veal carpaccio, then their beef is awesome... Dessert are really nice, try absolutely their Banana chocolate cake with sea salt...
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Rather disappointing dinner last night. My expectations might have been too high after having had these great baked oysters several months ago. But according to the staff, it has only been available for a limited time. So, I agree to Shanghainow: "Ok place, oyster’s ok, the rest of food not entirely great (fishy stuff is better than the meat), can be pretty expensive. Unfortunately I don’t know any other place in Shanghai where the oysters are better, any thoughts?"
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Ok place, oyster’s ok, wine selection not bad, the rest of food not entirely great, can be pretty expensive. Unfortunately I don’t know any other place in Shanghai where the oysters are better, any thoughts?
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Hilarious! I just read the exchange between Shanghaiblast and the others...one of them is related to the restaurant for sure..take criticism well esp if the guy writes in detail like that...geez, who has got the time...but it was pretty entertaining!
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Went there for a BDay party...and was generally happy with experience! Good value as I heard our prix fix menu was only ~ Y200 or so....humnnnn. lot of cute little food that looks like your sister who went to cooking school did it....arugula salad with balsamic, nice grilled octopus but bit tough although i like the char on it...good antipasta starter...and a killer tomato red sauce for the gnocchi...how did they do it...had a nice tang and roasted flavor without good roma tamatos here....but ultinmately disappointed by the bone-in veal chop which as cooked was too chewy and soft...they suggest med-rare and it should be cooked to rosy-pink. But hey, the place was busy with young folks and it is affortable...saw the oyster selection and with those prices, they have to be domestic but do we know where they grew up...Qingdao, Dalian??? anyway, love oysters but in the summer, stay away as they are spawnig so the meat in real creamy and not good...will try it again when in the hood!
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Yummy Sunday Brunch ;-)
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the eggs benedict are truly good, had tried raw oysters... it is very fresh too, i have never imagined that i dare to eat raw oyster in shanghai.....However the food serving speed is quite slow and the air conditioning seems doesn't work out well...but all the food we ordered are really tasty.. such as duck salad, spaghetty, and on...
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The Eggs Benedict here are tops and at RMB58, at least 10 kuai cheaper than many other places. I love the intimate outdoor patio.
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Miss L. sounds like one of the other good looking English speaking local staff members of the all over town mediocre venues that have been poked by the big fat boss. bless him(and her)
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Lulalisa, you might have missed this, but after a 1400 RMB DISASTER of a dining experience, I'm not heading back to Osteria for 'the best coffee in town' with a staff member. Attempting to deflect attention from the real situation at hand by asking me to coffee was cute, but I'd rather go back to hearing about how utterly upset you get when "moron" customers who are shelling out a significant amount of cash demand honesty in advertising, quality food, and good service.
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i'm still up for a coffee. or are you scared your little self-assured bubble might burst?
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This is getting good!
Awful lot of comments by first-timers for this one... something smells fishy, is it the kitchen?
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My favorite part of your last post, lulalisa, is your plug for the coffee. Way to get that in there. But let's be honest here, you're awfully emotional about this place to have no connection to it. Do you actually read what you write on here? Moron customers always ruining your night? Let's pretend for a minute that you don't work for Osteria: Do you really get offended by your fellow diners at THIS particular restaurant that often? Clearly you're just upset because I've managed to call you out twice now under two different usernames. Just look at the structure and content of your 'original' posts that you 'usually don't write' and you'll see where you've exposed yourself. Also, please keep writing ridiculous comments that come off as comical attempts to hide your true identity and motives. You only reinforce my arguments.
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oh my, shanghaiblast, you really must have issues! it might be new to you but you are actually not the only person eating on this planet and, believe it or not, just because you don't like the place doesn't mean that others have to be of the same opinion. i also don't remember having addressed my post to you personally but since you've picked up on it, i guess that you are just one of those arrogant moron-customers that i was talking about... and, honestly, i am quite relieved to hear that i, as a NORMAL CUSTOMER, can go to osteria now, knowing that there is one less of your kind making my evenings miserable. because it seems that all that you say and do is just meant to make others feel bad. once again, i don't work at osteria. i go there regularly, true, but i enjoy the food and pay for my bills just as everybody else. if you still don't believe it, why don't we meet at OSTERIA and discuss it over a coffee (you know, best coffee in town), because honestly, your ATTITUDE is LAUGHABLE. with best wishes and looking forward to meeting you!
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Once again, it's LAUGHABLE that a staff member of the restaurant is pretending to be a customer and writing a review! Seriously, when you're doing this do you not think it's blatantly obvious? If everything were as wonderful as you say it is, lulalisa, why aren't more (real) people writing in and raving about your "excellent" food and service?
A few quick points -
1.) Our table was essentially laughed out of the prix fixe 'promotion' (read: scam) by several members of the staff, including a manager.
2.) Ben - whom you've mentioned - IS fantastic, and was the only person on hand the night of our horrible experience that took the time to talk to us about the deplorable service and treatment we received. He should be promoted to manager and be allowed to coach the staff on proper service techniques, and perhaps more importantly, common courtesy.
3.) Writing fake reviews that include your (pretend patron) feelings about 'moron customers,' when it's so obvious that YOU WORK FOR THE RESTAURANT, really just makes you look petty and desperate. Fix your service, fix your notion of what a true promotion is, fix the attitudes of your staff, and you'll get some real people that will write legitimate, positive reviews.
4.) As I've mentioned before, all people in our party were fluent Chinese speakers and long-term residents of China. Don't try and brush off serious restaurant issues as cultural/linguistic/social misunderstandings because a.) it's a tired (and irrelevant) excuse, and b.) people see right through it.
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i usually don't write reviews, since i think everybody should make their own experiences, especially when it comes to food. but seriously, people, what's wrong with you? how sad does one have to be to write this kind of bad comments, trying to kill a business? especially when it's such a great place like osteria!
i'm going to be brief: osteria has the BEST cappuccino in town (and anyone who is into coffee will know how difficult it is to find a place that knows how to make good coffee in shanghai), their lemon tart is absolutely divine and if you go there with a big appetite, the brunch menu on the weekend or the prix-fixe dinner are always a great choice. for 88kuai you get a 2 course brunch, including a drink and 198kuai for the prix fixe which, so far, has always made me ROLL out of the door!! the food is fresh, all the cakes and breads are homemade (the bread is really amazing too!) and one can see that the food is prepared with consideration and care by people who know and love their profession.
the same can be said about rudy, ben and the waiting staff. they are devoted to what they're doing and they are always happy to help. i've rarely been in a situation where they couldn't or didn't want to help me, it's actually more of the opposite that they are attentive and looking for the customer to feel better. i don't remember how often i've asked for some changes in my food or i even ordered something that wasn't on the menu anymore. all no problem, if one asks nicely. ...not to mention all the wine tasting! ;-D
i've often enough witnessed scenes with arrogant moron-customers though, that i would have loved to throw out, but the staff managed to deal with them anyway in a polite and professional way. it is true that the waiting staff is chinese and sometimes one needs to repeat an order to make them understand properly, but then again, we're in CHINA!! if you want the perfect service without any misunderstandings, learn to speak mandarin or stay in your homecountry!
so far i've always had a great time at osteria, with or without tasting wine ;-) ...and i will definitely be back!
for anyone who would love to go but is now insecure because of those other people's reviews, i can just recommend to you to go anyway! make your own experiences and if it is of any help, all of my friends (even my mum) loved the place and are still delighted to go back!
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Unfortunately, my experiences there have been much closer to those of Shanghaiblast. The wait staff is unprofessional. They know nothing of their menu and generally just doesn't seem to care. When you pay good money to eat at a western restaurant managed by westerners, you expect courteous service. This place doesn't know what that is. And to some degree, good food can compensate for poor service but the food here isn't that great. Why bother?
Calling this place one of your top three choices says as much about you as it does the restaurant. Who are your other top choices, McD and KFC:-)
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Sorry to disappoint your paranoia, I am not an employee at Osteria but a real customer writing a real review. I did happen to do a little work for them almost a year ago and the only reason I accepted to do it was because I do truly appreciate the job they are doing. That being clarified, I wish you a good night!
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Clearly the post by 'tchong' below was written by either the manager or the marketing director. I mean...Really?!?!?! Did you seriously think that you could write a fake review and have it pass as something written by a real customer?
I agree that it takes a bit of time to write a review on here, but that just speaks to the fact that your horrendous service and staff motivate people to take time away from awesome and fun things to let everyone know that last place they'd want to spend hundreds of kuai and several hours (THAT THEY'LL NEVER GET BACK) is Osteria.
And for the record, all people present in our party that evening were fluent Mandarin-speakers. Poor communication skills, rather than a language barrier, were to blame for the series of mishaps.
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I am definitely not used to write reviews but after reading what I would call to be extremely unfair comments, I felt the need to come and defend Osteria and its team!
I have to say I am particularly shocked to read such bad critics whereas after living in Shanghai for over 5 years, Osteria is definitely in the top 3 of my favorite places in town!
As a regular there, it is true that like in any places, I have witnessed great and less great days. However, it doesn't mean that you have to spread your frustration around and try to destroy someone's business. Unless your life is so miserable that you have absolutely nothing else to do. And even this is unacceptable! In addition.
In the case of Osteria, most of the time it is bad customers that you see rather than a bad service, so let's try to be a little bit honest here!
Osteria provides a great atmosphere, in a great location, the staff is way above the average in comparison to what you can generally find in town, I would even say that they are for most of them extremely friendly and you can see that they are doing their best to provide a good service, the food is really good, the menus, that changes often, offer a great variety that should satisfy lots of people and if you still think you can complain about it, try to spend some time looking at the prices. It is definitely one of the best if not the best value in town! Whether you are going there for a coffee break, a brunch, lunch or dinner, I honestly don't know any other places that can beat the quality that you will have and the prices that you will pay. In my opinion, Osteria would even have the right to increase its prices!
Rudy the owner is an amazing human being, who's definitely passionate about hospitality, he is creative and shows his respect for his employees (which is unfortunately a rare quality in this town!) and obviously works hard to satisfy his customers.
I am spending a lot of time at Osteria and I have to say that I have been sympathizing with Osteria's staff for dealing, while staying calm without loosing their tempers, with horrible customers that I would have kicked out myself for being such idiots!
I have brought all my friends and contacts to Osteria at least one and none of them has been disappointed. On the contrary ALL of them became regular customers and recommended the place to their contacts. Unfortunately most of the time it is not happy customers that spend the time to write but frustrated ones who obviously have time to waste. From my experience and this is not only at Osteria but everywhere, if an unsatisfied customer expresses him/herself properly and by properly I mean without acting like a dumb bull, the person in front of him/her will always respond in good manners and do his/her best to solve the situation. So to all the people who have wasted time writing angry stupid reviews, next time, try to save your energy and act like decent human beings. Explain your problem without yelling like an idiot or take a useless condescendant tone and the person in front of you will respond accordingly. Well at least I am 100% sure that this is what will happen with any of Osteria's staff!
And finally, yes some of the staff is not completely fluent in english, but hey we're in China, are you fluent in mandarin?
So thank you to all the Osteria team for being here! You are doing an amazing job and I wish you nothing else than the success/reviews you deserve!
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Letter written to the owner of Osteria about our tragic experience this evening:
Rudy,
I would really like to like your restaurant, but I just can't do it. I've had poor service on more than one occasion; Here's the latest from this evening -
We arrived at the restaurant at 745 and were immediately shown to our table. We planned on ordering the prix fixe, but understood that it might not have been possible due to the fact that one person in our party of 3 was a vegan and therefore unable to order the set. We talked to your staff member Ben, and he said that he would see if the chef would be able to create some vegan-friendly dishes that would allow our friend to participate in the prix fixe deal. After consulting with the kitchen, Ben let us know that the chef would not be able to create a special tasting menu for our vegan friend, but that she would be able to order off the menu a la carte, while the other 2 in our group would be able to order the prix fixe. We were very pleased.
Another waiter came up a few minutes later and asked if we were ready to order. Our vegan friend said that she would have the blood orange salad. The waiter at first had no idea what she was talking about. Upon explaining that it was today's 'special salad,' the waiter said that my friend wasn't able to order items a la carte, and that everyone at the table had to order the prix fixe menu. We explained that Ben had told us we were aloud to order both off the menu and the prix fixe, and the waiter just walked away with a disgusted look. He came back a minute or so later, and asked what we wanted. After ordering our main courses, he left, only to be replaced by another waitress - Abby - asking if we were ready to order. We were even more confused when our vegan friend's salad and soup BOTH came out with cheese on top of them after she specifically said to not put any cheese on the plate. Your staff needs to understand that if they don't understand what someone is saying they can ask for clarification or find another staff member that can help them. Agreeing to something, i.e. not putting cheese on an item, and then sending that item out with cheese is something that just shouldn't happen at an establishment that seeks to portray itself as legitimate.
When we asked for a second portion of the crudo plate, it was brought out immediately. Upon asking for a second portion of the gnocchi, however, Abby smiled and shook her head and simply said 'No!' before walking away. When Abby passed by our table again, we asked her why we couldn't get a second portion of gnocchi, and she responded that it was because we were a special case in that we were allowed to have one person at the table that didn't order the prix fixe, and so couldn't have a second portion of gnocchi. I asked her how that was possible, since we both had permission to order as we did, and that the menu didn't specifically prohibit a second order of pasta. My friend then asked to speak to the manager.
When the manager - Jason - came over to the table, he brought the menu and pointed to the 'Prix Fixe Instructions' at the top of the center panel, which according to him, stated that we weren't allowed to have a second portion of pasta. In reality, no such thing was written. He then said that because we were allowed to have one person at the table not ordering off the prix fixe menu that we weren't allowed to order a second portion of more than one item. We then asked if Jason wanted our third member to leave the restaurant so that we could enjoy the proper prix fixe menu. He then asked why we would drive away 'such a beautiful girl,' to which we replied that it was the only way for the restaurant to adhere to its stated promotion. I proceeded to ask Jason how much our bill was. After checking, he told us that the total was around 1400 RMB. I then asked him if he felt it was acceptable to deny us one more serving of gnocchi in spite of the fact that our bill was 1400 RMB. He emphatically shouted that the rules were the rules, and that he had to follow the rules. I asked him what he felt was a better policy - following the 'rules' one time and making 1400 RMB, or satisfying the customer ACCORDING TO THE STATED PROMOTION and creating an inviting dining experience that would bring us back many times in the future. He said, 'the rules are the rules.' After my friend stated that good customer service would be bringing us the gnocchi, Jason said that he would bring us one more item. When he asked us which pasta we would like a second portion of, I replied "You choose." Jason then said 'If it's up to me I would choose nothing.' We were utterly shocked. My friend asked Jason to bring out the gnocchi.
When we asked Abby for her name, she replied 'Abby. Do you ask me because next time you come you will complain to me?!' and then walked away.
Unquestionably, Ben was the only professional member of your staff, apologizing to us repeatedly for the confusion and miscommunication. I strongly suggest you consider promoting him to manager so that he can train your staff, as the rest of the people who work for you have absolutely no idea how to work in a restaurant and should be fired. I can tell you that after spending 6 years as waiter in the US I have never experienced a lack of professional service standards and competency like that of your restaurant. Abby and the other server had poor attitudes, but Jason's (the MANAGER) was absolutely appalling. If he knew anything about running a restaurant he would have had our gnocchi out there immediately, without question, and we would have been happy and would keep coming back in the future. What is the food cost of your gnocchi anyway? 3 RMB? 5RMB? Are wine-drinking, oyster-ordering, repeat customers worth turning away for 3RMB and the personal satisfaction of knowing that you followed some inane set of rules?
As it is now, we have no incentive to return for another meal. We were fooled by the interior design and ambitious menu into thinking that we would receive proper and professional service, but were left enjoying nothing but the worst that Shanghai has to offer. We could have had a better meal just down the street for 20 kuai per person and had more competent and polite people waiting on us. Issues like those we encountered this evening could be easily remedied by a management staff that understands how to run a restaurant and treat people, but your staff failed on all levels this evening.
Sincerely,
Woefully Disappointed
P.S. Who writes the unwritten rules for your prix fixe menu anyway? Furthermore, who thinks that they can get away with listing a promotion on the menu and then reneging mid-meal? If you think that this type of business model will take you into 2011, you're making a huge mistake. You should also check out the treasure trove of poor reviews Osteria has received on cityweekend.com and think about getting your act together. Until you clean house (aside from Ben) I will stay away and make it my personal mission to tell everyone I know how awful Osteria is.
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I had to sign up to review with cityweekend to defend this restaurant. A friend and I had the set lunch - it was extremely tasty, beautifully presented, served with a smile and well priced. I started with the tuna and watermelon which complimented each other. Then followed with Salmon served with baby carrots, greens and slices of warm pear. Wonderful. We washed the meal down with a cold glass of Cabinet Sauvignon. Clean plates were left. I will be returning...
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it stinks.
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You can select from the 2-course, 3-course and 4-course brunch, and then choose each course from a menu - there were so many choices! I love that, a restaurant that offers a ton of selection instead of a set-meal with little/no variability. We actually had an online coupon for 1 for 1 brunch which we were ridiculously excited about.. because it meant that it would be a fabulous deal. When we got there, we showed both the waiter and manager on our phone screen, only to be told "you need it on paper." WHY? No reason whatsoever! To me, it just seemed like they were purposely trying to be sticky about it, so that we wouldn't be able to use the coupon and be stuck paying full price. Annoyed at their idiotic behaviour, we promptly went across the road, printed it out (there was an office across the street and the very sweet (and cute!) guy printed it out for us on the office printer... heh), and went back.
This time, they said "Oh, you can only use 1 coupon per table". We were a table of 10. Ummm these are 1 for 1 coupons and NOWHERE on the coupon does it say "1 per table only".
I REALLY HATE RESTAURANTS THAT GIVE 'PROMOTIONS' TO ATTRACT PEOPLE, THEN FRANTICALLY TRY TO PREVENT YOU FROM USING IT ONCE YOU'RE THERE.
Finally, they agreed that we could use 2 coupons, but frankly, I thought that was stupid - if we had each come 2 to a table separately, we could've used all 5 coupons.
Anyway. I didn't want to rant and rave too much in front of everyone, so accepted it. Oh, let's just say the manager of the place was rude and hateful. A bit surprising considering it's his job to serve customers, but he seemed really angry and resentful about everything - what a terrible attitude. When my friend said "Is Eduardo (the owner) here? Can I speak with him?" the manager got really irate and started talking back to her in a threatening way. Eduardo actually is her friend and she just wanted to say "hi", but the manager obviously was scared she wanted to complain, and so was even more angry.
Food wise though - their food is pretty good. It was hit and miss, but the hits were great. Fantastic entrees and I especially thought the tenderlion steak was a great deal. My Grilled pork, roasted pumpkin and asparagus, however, was sadly inedible - tough, dry, no flavour at all. Like trying to eat a piece of rubber. I gave up. The other dishes looked and tasted much better though, so perhaps I just lucked out!
I actually think the cosy, inviting restaurant is great for hanging out with friends.. especially since the street outside is nice to wander down afterwards. The menu was also impressive and most of the food was good. The only downside is the horrific management (only the hateful manager though, the waiter was a very sweet guy and very attentive) and ridiculous coupon 'rules', made on-the-spot and randomly just to try and prevent people from using them.
PHOTOS: http://beverly.livejournal.com/779117.html
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I first visited this restaurant in November '09, shortly after they opened. They had a prix-fixe at the time that was an extraordinarily good value, but prices were hastily raised by the following week.
Thinking the space a good one for groups, I booked a celebratory dinner for about 20 people at the end of November. We were not given the prix-fixe as an option and had to negotiate with Rudy to lower the price per head. We also agreed to a price per bottle of house wine. On the evening of the dinner, we were immensely disappointed with the portion sizes (we all left hungry) nor did Rudy honor the previously agreed-upon price for the wine. For the amount of food we consumed and lack of integrity we experienced, we felt gypped.
My boyfriend and I thought we would never return, but I found a "buy one, get one" coupon valid for brunch (http://www.shanghaicoupon.com/en/restaurant/osteria) so decided to give it another try. Pretty much a repeat performance of the stinginess.
On presenting the coupon to the waitress upon being seated, she consulted Rudy and we were told that our table of 5 would only be able to use one coupon. A detail not explicitly stated on the coupon and a restriction I've never experienced from similar promotions at other restaurants. In addition, they claimed our coupon was expired though there was no expiration date on the coupon. The response was that it was on the page below the coupons, but I just checked and there is absolutely no expiration date there. Perhaps it is in invisible type. If your establishment is reluctant to accept coupons, having them published in the first place is contradictory.
My grilled calamari starter and grilled pork main were good but not good enough to nullify the bad taste left in our mouths from the experience.
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Italian restaurant?i don`t think so after try the different dishes of menu (cold cuts look german stuff!!pasta overcook... and nothing make me remember Italy...)the service staff is very friendly ...
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YOYO还有什么地方比在这里吃生蚝更过瘾更实惠的！！如果有的话请告诉我。 每次来OSTERIA点上几打生蚝再点个开胃菜和白葡萄酒，再吃吃他们免费的面包和上好的橄榄油，最后买单和朋友一分才100多块，很实惠很休闲很上海。
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Osteria looks nice from the outside but is so so on the inside. I ordered their pizza, but that was just okay. The dessert selection was nice, but again, not mind-blowing. Kind of a disappointment... service was slow and the waitresses are not attentive.
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Osteria = oysters. I hope the place can improve as it seems to have many fans and regulars, yet disppointed customers over such basics - as usual - service, food, drinks.
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Yes, sadly, since Zoltan is no more, Osteria took a path of self-distruction. Food is worst since opening, Rudy increasing wine prices does not help neither, service is just bad...It is the Hungarian who gave this place its stature and who possessing a great deal of knowleadge and expertise attrackted clients in the first place. My wife and I don't really go there any longer. However, we'd love to know why the previous chefs (and Zoltan) have left...Terrible for us to learn what the word on the street is...although it could be rumour, gossip and fabrication only...This place will be out of business in 6 months to a year.
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Was on my way to Pier 39, but saw a big sign in front of the door "Voted best new restaurant 2009" by city weekend.
After looking at the menu outside it looked like an Italian restaurant. We decided to have a try.
Uniquely decorated, with a very nice ambiance. I was very confused as to what the restaurant was. All the staff wore Canadian shirts and the one big thing about this restaurant is that they promote Canadian Oysters but the rest of the menu was Italian?
We decided to get try their set menu at Y123 RMB per person. The food was very nice. We also ordered a half-dozen oysters which was fresh and very tasty. I was quite surprise of how expensive the wine was.
The staff were overly eager to take our plates away, even with food still left on it. Otherwise I thought the service was very pleasant.
I will be coming back to have a taste off their main menu.
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Reasonable price and casual italian dinning. Not as pretentious as Casa 13, or not as cosy as closed door, but this restaurant is hippish and food is really good. Service needs to be further improved (esp with wine knoweldge), but a really nice friday night treat!
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The oysters were nice but the rest was passable: pasta dish too heavily coated in cream, forgettable spinach salad, tasteless risotto. I like the fact we could order a small decanter of wine because full bottles were pricy. I'd probably go back next time I crave oysters and a glass of chilled white wine but that's probably all I'll order. Shame, because the decors and staff are nice.
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I really enjoy go to Osteria and have a tried of some nice wines, but I have to say that the oyster are a must in this place. Fresh and really smooth taste, lovely to enjoy them with some sparkling (I should suggest some franciacorta), some desserts are really awesome and the Sangria is really refreshing. To finish or just to have a tried they have a eye-catcher Saffron Gin, I tried it with tonic and is really a new experience for the palate, fresh, almost crispy you can taste some cucumber and the smell of the saffron is amazing.
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Mama huhu. I agree with the above comments, prix fixe is the way to go.
As promised they bring you a selection of antipasti + pasta, which are all OK or good, nothing great. The highlight was probably the salmon wrapped cucumber or grilled Calamari; both good dishes.
The main courses were very small for their alla carte price of ~120 RMB (I'd assume the prix-fixe main is smaller then normal). I sample both the rum & coke braise short rib(s) (though I was given a single rib) and the beef tenderloin. Both dishes were a little too sweet with not much depth of flavor.
Other guests did partake in the Oyster special and did give praise.
Cocktails are watered down (too much ice in the shaker or water added to the bottle). I'd stick with a beer or buy a bottle of wine.
Service... we had to pay to the extra 10% as we were a party of 9 and yet with the extra fee to 'accommodate' our group, dishes and drinks showed up all at separate times. Some guests did not receive their drink order until after the anti-pasta course. (Drinks were the first thing we ordered when being seated)
On par with Shanghai quality. I'm sure this place will have repeat business, just not mine.
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Although, since Hungarian Zoltan sommelier is on vacation, things are a bit different at Osteria, for sake of honesty. Rudy is trying, but perhaps does not have the maturity, expertise and charismatic style of his Hungarian partner. I am saying this, because I saw the timing of some of the postings and realized that that's the time frame of Rudy being left alone in Zoltan's absence. So, my previous posting let it be no offence towards the german lady. Most likely she just had a bad experience, and if we do like and support Osteria, she does not have to. The other thing is that we have never seen Eduardo at Osteria. Perhaps better that way! These two youngsters, Rudy & Zoltan, have much better attitude and personality than him anyway. dd your two cents and join (in) the discussion
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I find the comments of "froschkoenig" not so much realistic. My wife and I are regulars at Osteria and that's why we've decided to register here and comment.
We did not see "Negroni" listed on their cocktail list...
Also, in our humble view, the wine list of Osteria is awesome! Great concept, many by-the-glass wines and flights! Prices are more than reasonable! The Hungarian (partner-)Sommelier (although on vacation in Europe since January as we were told) is highly knowledgeable and a super-nice, down-to-earth fellow. His name is Zoltan.
Food is good to (some dishes) very good at Osteria...oysters are fresh and best in Shanghai! Prices are also good, value to quality ratio is accurate.
Rudy, the manager, is a lovely guy too!
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I recently had the opportunity to try Osteria's prix fixe menu.The portions are very generous. Most of the courses were delicious, except the 2 pastas, gnocchi and spaghetti. A bit overcooked and not too tasty. By the time the main course arrived, all my friends were nearly full. I had the tasty ossobucco. I also tried the short ribs and other ribs. Both were nice. Its not the best western food in town, but definitely one of the better deals at 198rmb. The interior design of the place is also quite nice. It is very comfortable there. I felt almost at home. The service was also quite decent.
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Such a cosy spot off Jinxian Lu, this trattoria style eatery always hits the spot. Fantastic for both intimate dinners and debauched banquets alike - due to the the segregation of dining areas through the verticality of a converted old lane-house.
Come for the pre-dinner cocktails such as the 'Sammy Davis Junior' all cocktails written by the dude from Thirsty Traveller. Oysters are from Washington state, although I tend to prefer the earthy-notes of Bluff oysters (NZ), these ones certainly do hit the spot. Their flexible set menu gives the kitchen much room to parlay their talent. If there's a group of you, just ask Rudy to let the chef off the chain and get freaky with his dishes. When a group of us dined we enjoyed a wide variety of dishes, many of which we would most likely have not ordered otherwise.
I like the structure of their winelist, most of which is sliced into bronze, silver and gold categories.
One thing that always comes as an annoyance is when a server tries to instantly sell you the most expensive bottle or by glass offering. The Osteria format ensures that you can trust in the suggestions of a server with the comfort of never straying out of your predetermined price bracket. A nifty concept indeed.
All in all a solid venue. Would be nice to have the occasional lounge crooner downstairs though, just to wallow away the wee smalls over a bottle of port.
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I was almost dissuaded by checking Osteria out by some of the reviews as well as major issues I had with service at Casa 13. But decided to try it anyhow, and it seemed like the service problems were solved (at least on that evening). Everything arrived quickly, the host was friendly and knowledgable, and the waitress competent - this is a rare combo in Shanghai. I love being able to sample a from a large selection of things, so the prix fixe menu was great for me, offering the chance to try antipasti, soup, 3 starters, and 2 pastas. All were delicious - especially the scallops and gnocchi. The main of sea bass was one of the best pieces of fish I've had in a while. The dessert sampler was tasty and not too heavy. I thought the wine list had a lot of variety, and the flight option was fun too.
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This was on our list for a long time. We love Casa 13 and wanted to try Osteria since it opened. On a Wednesday night we finally made it with a party of four. I like the looks of this place with the little boxes, the carefully chosen wallpaper and the brick bar. We sat down in a booth downstairs to have a drink before dinner. They are beautiful but unfortunately not comfy. You do not sink in and if a Chinese person has trouble sitting there how is a Laowai supposed to feel? The wine list is a disappointment. It's not very original, many of the wines of their so called gold list are available in average supermarkets in Spain, France and Australia for a fraction of the price. I know we are in China but Napa or Enoteca do not need some sommelier superstar to do much better with their selection and their pricing. So we had cocktails. Again some superstar bar tender composed the very small cocktail list that mainly consits of classics with a twist. That's good but I do not need some celebrity cocktail creator if the waitress does not know a Cosmopolitan. Poor girl. Not her fault. Nobody told her. The Negroni arrived in the wrong glass and it took 15 minutes until we all got our drinks. Being the only table downstairs I do not think that is good enough. I do not remember the name of the Anitpasti platter. The meat was boring and cut way too thick. The bread was tasteless and so was the salami. The bruschetta was OK. And why are you asking 68 Yuan for that? We decided to move on and have dinner at Pier 39 down the road. Call me picky but if you can not get an Antipasti platter right in a place you call Osteria I do not trust your food. Neither did my friends. What really bothers me is that when two of us arrived we explained that we would like to wait for our friends before we order. The waitress offered us water and I thought: "What a lovely touch". When the bill came we were charged 2 RMB a bottle. Who are you kidding? We did not complain. The gentleman who appeared to be the Manager seemed lovely and capable but he did not check on us once so he did not care or if he did he did not show. We had a sublime evening at Pier 39 just down the road. The food was yummy and we still thought about their food the next morning. They were charming and caring and treated us like Eduardo Vargas did in his earlier days.
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The menu looks nice, but has restrictions in the 198 price tag; service was horrible; bad mannered girl and guy acted like all should be clear form the beginning and it took hours before any food was finally served. Wines are too expensive and make the whole experience a total rip off, terrible; another weak western food experience in good old sweet Shanghai....
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We were attracted by the decor and there was a menu out front advertising brunches. But Osteria was nearly deserted on a Saturday morning. The staff was amateurish, as if surprised to see people walking into the restaurant. Someone handed us a cocktail menu during brunch hours when they were advertising brunches outside. When we finally got to see the brunch menu, it was nice. Solid French/American faire. With only about two tables full, the service was amazingly slow. The Grand Slam Scramble was good but not special and certainly not 68 Kuai good. The orange juice was not fresh. Next time when I find myself on Jinxian Lu, facing so many choices, I would walk right past Osteria.
Family-Style Hits the Mark
The newest restaurant from restaurateur Eduardo Vargas finds the food mogul partnered with renowned sommelier Zoltan Szabo and host with the most, Rudy Guo. The concept entertains the idea of Italian family-style fare, where the fixed price (RMB198) allows everyone to enjoy one main entrée and unlimited antipasti and pastas. Stepping off the bitterly cold streets into Osteria was a most welcome reprieve. The warm atmosphere and woody interior immediately invited us in. Hungry and comfortably seated, we started our meal. We enjoyed the mixture of sweet and salty flavors in the piatto di credi with prosciutto and caramelized onions, but the stand out was the perfectly seared scallops with cauliflower puree. We ordered seconds, of course. A cup of simple, mushroom soup cleansed our palates as the pasta arrived. The seafood pasta was decent and had a strong tomato flavor but was relegated to second billing when we dipped into the earthy gnocchi bathed in a light creamy sauce infused with the piney essence of rosemary and thyme. While sipping our cranberry mojito mocktails (RMB38) we received our main courses. The herb crusted lamb would have been a little too plain if not for the spiced red wine sauce that tingled our taste buds. We were not as impressed with the bland pork nor the seared duck and snap pea risotto. Regardless of the bulge in our bellies, we rounded out the meal with the chocolate cake (RMB38), somewhat of a misnomer. Better names: chocolate deliciousness or fudgy, lick-the-plate goodness. As we stepped back into the night, reflecting on the outstanding wait staff and the attention to detail, we had only one criticism. The dishes blended into one another with a homogeny of flavors. We'd suggest a little more color and distinction, but we'll definitely be tucking into another pleasant meal there soon. Georgia Sparling