Tag Archives: French Concession

Char Bar, Mr Willis and Friends

End of a long week!  Friday night started with us heading to the Char Bar, which is  a bar on top of Hotel Indigo on the Bund.  We were meeting friends from Emerald on the roof top for drinks before going to dinner in the French Concession.

It was a fantastic evening.  The ladies all wearing sleeveless dresses/tops and no need for a jacket!  The weather is absolutely gorgeous this time of year.  Loads of blue skies, sunshine, good air quality and warm!  We arrived on the rooftop at 7.30pm and had a couple of cocktails there before leaving for dinner at Mr Willis.

Owen, Matt, Emma, Nick and Lin at Char Bar, Hotel Indigo

Owen, Matt, Emma, Nick and Lin at Char Bar, Hotel Indigo.  Great view of the Pearl Tower, Bottle Opener and other downtown buildings from here.

Owen & Sara at the Char Bar, Hotel Indigo

Owen & Sara at the Char Bar, Hotel Indigo

This is a fabulous location!  It was a lovely relaxing start to the weekend – chilled glass of wine, with friends, admiring the view and unwinding from the week.

Fabulous view of downtown Shanghai

Fabulous view of downtown Shanghai

All of the boats on the Bund were lit up!

All of the boats around the Bund were lit up!

Another great view.......

Another great view…….

The Huangpu River at night.

The Huangpu River at night.

We can highly recommend Hotel Indigo!

Hotel Indigo

After such a good start to our evening, expectations were high for dinner!  A short drive across town and we arrived at Mr Willis in the French Concession area.  This area is very distinctive as there are lots of trees down all the avenues and there are many “boutique” type shops, cafes and restaurants.  This area is probably the most western within Shanghai.

Mr Willis restaurant is on the top level of a building with a couple of other restaurants in it.  The menu is all western and top quality.  I shared the Goats Cheese Souffle with Emma (Owen ate a whole portion) to start with and then had Lamb Shank for my main.  Owen had ordered the Roast Beef which was actually the biggest steak I have ever seen, but so delicious (over 50% came home in a doggy bag with us!)  My lamb shank was fall-off-the-bone tender, and perfectly accompanied with couscous and a tomato based sauce.  Owen had lemon sablee for dessert and I had pavlova – both melt-in-the-mouth yummy!  It was a fantastic meal for both of us.

A lovely evening, with lots of laughs, good food, fine wine and friends.  The perfect start to the weekend!

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