Shanghai

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May 20, 2010

The Fennel Lounge

217 Zhenning Lu
Close to Dongzhuaban Lu
镇宁路217号

City Weekend says: This laid back lounge has a bit of a Japanese vibe with clean lines, dark lighting, sunken bar and hipster clientele. From the rare bottles of bitters, house-infused jalapeno tequila and innovative cocktails like the clove wine it's clear that the experts are at work here.

cityweekend: The Fennel Lounge hums every night of the week with hipsters, industry buffs and neighborhood regulars. This reconfiguration of Anar proves that getting the basics right is the recipe to success. There’s no gimmick or quirky concept here. Quality drinks and decent service go a long way. Look past the sleek sunken wood bar and find a vast selection of rare bottles like Dalmoure Scotch and house-infused coriander gin. Certain cocktails have an uncanny resemblance to The Alchemist’s concoctions, not surprising given that the latter was barman Ivan Sun’s former stomping grounds. ■ JoHo

oljackburton: Had a few very nice cocktails tonight at the Fennel and I was surprised by the selection of spirits that they had on display. It's not often that you see Patron Silver, Reposado and Anejo in Shanghai as well as Gordons Sloe Gin and some really cool infused Baijou (deer penis and wolf berries were part of the process). The cocktails were fairly even priced with the Fennel Cooler a decent 68 RMB and a big Old Fashioned for the same price served in a real nice and hefty bourbon class. The ambiance was something like a mashup between both El Cocktail and Constellation 1 with it being as dark as El Coctel and not as busy as Constellation. The cocktail menu was balanced between sweet and sour, old and new world and non alcoholic concoctions. What really impressed me though was that the bartenders, all of which happened to be local Shanghainese took an active interest in my experience offering me some recommendations as well as some food pairings should I desire. The only reason I don't rate it at 5 stars was the ambiance was a little too flat - the music wasn't as consist as it could be flashing from genre to genre but never quite finding its groove. This was a great experience though and I was very happy to see local bartenders finally taking bartending seriously and not just as a way to pass the time.

2 months, 2 weeks ago