UPDATED! 22 August

Bargains / Dives

Enoteca
A classy place that just happens to be cheap. Below 100RMB for a bottle of wine and with good food and music too.

Two locations: French Concession and Xintiandi

Bonbon
I think after you live in Shanghai for about 8 months you have to sign a piece of paper swearing that you hate this place- it’s between 80 and 150 RMB to get in, which isn’t bad since you get some of the best DJs in the world until 6am, and a back room playing pretty decent hip-hop, often with a live MC. But it’s free drinks all night, so unless you’re new in town you have to pretend it’s just awful- (extra cool points for claiming you simply can’t drink the spirits because they’re not premium brands).

At the top of Hengshan Road

Captain’s Hostel Bar
The Bund is where all of the most expensive restaurants and clubs are- after all you have to pay for the great view right?

Wrong. The terrace at this backpackers hostel is as good as 3 on the Bund and better than Glamour Bar, Laris, D&G Bar, Aquarium, the Peace Hotel etc. etc.
Reasonable drinks prices, and you’ll feel like you’ve found a secret.

The Puxi To Pudong Ferry
If you don’t enjoy ferries then I don’t know what’s wrong with you . I mean seriously, are you one of those people who thinks the Red Hot Chilli Peppers version of “Higher Ground” was better than the original? One of those people who buys Vanilla Ice-Cream because you read that Haagen Dazs use slightly better quality ingredients in it since there’s no other flavouring to mask the cream so you think you’re getting a better deal? One of those wankers who put their seat all of the way back for an entire 8 hour flight- even when the cabin crew SPECIFICALLY TELL YOU that we’re landing so you’ll have to stop crushing my knees for 10 minutes.
You need to have a word with yourself my friend, because people like you will be first up against the wall come the revolution. Am I making myself clear?
[Oh, the ferry is at the Southern end of the Bund-it's 2RMB and the view's dead good]

Logo
 A small bar that looks like it’s closed from the outside- except for the 10 French guys opposite smoking and trying on each others hats. It’s rough around the edges, has Tiger for 30RMB and on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays is a great place to hear ace leftfield music and talk to sound people from all over the place. A bit hard to get to, much harder to leave.

C’s
A dive bar that’s 10 RMB a drink which means no pretension; people are here to get drunk and dance around like a tit (to hip-hop at the weekend and anything goes mid-week).

Fun, especially towards the end of the night cos they only close when the last person gives up.

Windows Underground
Right now there are three places called Windows- Windows Too (Hip-hop, too packed, shit), Windows Scoreboard (like being inside a Frat House, not bad), and Windows Underground (changing into yet another dance venue apparently zzzzzz).

They’re all linked by cheap booze: beers for 10-25RMB, 20RMB for spirits, an all-you-can-drink on a Wednesday for 50RMB which I can still hardly believe. Windows Underground sounded like it was going to be cool at one point, but they’ve ditched the live music because, well I don’t know why.

Harley’s Bar
A dive bar with loads of dartboards, cheeky staff (who’ll call and order you a pizza since they don’t really do food), 25RMB Tigers and snake Baijiou hidden in a green bag on the bar

(which they’ll only let you drink if there aren’t many people in, cos it’s illegal and takes the skin off the roof of your mouth)

I heart Harley’s!

Time’s Passage

Tucked away down an alleyway at the junction of Huashan Lu and Fuxing Lu, I don’t get to this place as often as I should. It’s cool, beer is 20RMB, they have a band on sometimes, and an old Iraqi banknote with Saddam Hussein on it behind the bar.

Classy places

The Spot
Not as good as it once was (it’s crap on a Saturday night when you talk to your friends over the noise of the band) but I’ve spent more time in this place than my own bathroom.

Then again, my bathroom doesn’t have one of the best table footballs in the city, great boozing food, table service, and a happy hour from 4-8pm.

It’s good at changing from a comfortable local type place during the week, to a smart venue to take people at the weekend maybe they turn the lights down or something, I don’t know, I’m not a professor.

Tongren Lu (the good end).

Barbarossa
Horrendously expensive (well, I think 65 for a cocktail is dear anyway) but with great drinks and the best location in town.

The Bund is more famous, but nothing’s more chilled out than on an island in the middle of a lake in People’s Park. Only worth it for one or two at the start of the night, but a real breath of fresh air in the middle of the city.

People’s Park- in the middle of a lake.

People’s 7
Cocktails called things like “Spring Water” and “Girls In Japan, spotlights picking out each individual table, a door that requires some kind of secret code (or someone leaving through it) to open.

The first time I went, someone explained to me why the toilets were so bizarre:

To fuck with your head man! To fuck with your head!

Which, you know, is fun sometimes. There’s a People’s 6 too which is as mad as the other one.

Somewhere inbetween

The Beaver (AKA The Eager Beaver)
The friendliest bar in Shanghai / the world- I would happily drink on my own there, as anyone sat around the big horseshoe bar is fair game for conversation.

When you’ve made new mates play on the Championship quality Table Football. Loads of different beers too, and the manager will end up as drunk as you.