Citizen Cafe Shanghai

Chances are you have never walked past the lovely Citizen Cafe as it’s tucked away in a small side street of Shanxi Lu, just before Changle Lu.

Neither did I but as I read about it in one of the local expat magazines it seemed like a nice place to try.

Food

I have been there a couple of times now. The menu is, you guess, Western with the burger, the club sandwich etc. Nothing spectacular.

The first time we ordered a reasonable priced bottle of white wine that did the trick for a warm evening on their balcony.

The cheese plate (38 Rmb) unfortunately was rather saddening. Processed slices and some tasteless chunks of what should resemble cheese. The Niçoise Salad (38 Rmb) was not very special and there are better places to get a hamburger (42 Rmb).
To finish things off we ordered their Tiramisu (30 Rmb) which probably came directly from the freezer of the neighborhood store.

The thing is though, it didn’t really matter as the balcony and the wine made up for it.

Drinks

We had a bottle of Bodego Norton White 2006 which was served cool and very drinkable. On other occasions I tasted their coffee (20 Rmb). The blend is Arabica roasters and they serve a big-sized cup.

Service

Service is very friendly. The waitresses are busy, attentive and speak enough English to avoid misunderstandings.

Toilets

There are two toilets to be shared by men and women.

Real classical wooden doors but it’s not very spacious.

Luckily it’s clean and I especially liked the flowers.

Environment

The exterior and the interior are so Western it could have been anywhere in the world but luckily it’s in Shanghai.

It’s a bit grand cafe but then the small version. Downstairs you’ll find couches, upstairs a tables and chairs and a lovely terrace balcony.

Unfortunately the balcony is closed after 22:30 but that’s understandable as the neighbors probably like to get some sleep.

Patrons are young and old, working on their laptop or just sipping a cup of coffee.

Verdict

A great place to idle away, read your paper, have a chat with friends or catch up with some online work (Free Wireless). Prices are reasonable.
During Happy Hour (4 pm to midnight) you can get 30 Rmb drinks.

Totally Spent

Persons: 2
Time:3 hrs
Money: 455 Rmb

Address

Citizen Cafe
222 Jin Xian Rd. (cross street Shanxi Lu)
Tel: + 86 21 6258 1620
Open Daily from 11:00
Website: http://www.citizenshanghai.com/

Other Reviews to average the experiences:

Smartshanghai
City Weekend

You can read here more Shanghai Restaurant Reviews

Disclaimer: All opinions are biased, based on non-existent food knowledge and influenced by the mood of the moment.

     
Posted Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 3:36 am,
View related entries in Shanghai Restaurants.
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