Not sure if it's true that Shanghai Bar is closed or not, but if they are, it must have happened…read morepretty recently since one of my buddies was just here not too long ago. Assuming they are, though, it's a shame! While our experience here was pretty uneven, we still thought it was a pretty decent spot to grab a relaxed nightcap!
Located just off the center of the Stix Asia food court (right by Matsuri and Shingen) and in the middle of one end of the food hall, Shanghai Bar was about as casual and small of a cocktail bar you'll find. Yet, despite how simple it looked, their drink menu certainly wasn't lacking in options. As their name suggests, a good portion of their cocktails, spirits, and beers had Asian influences (tons of Asian whiskeys!) and even featured a boozy boba (and non-alcoholic boba). What's more, they also had a relatively robust mix of food offerings, including a variety of appetizers, noodles, and soup (I think this is a sister eatery to Honolulu Noodle Company that's also in the food hall).
-- TEQUILA P.O.G. - Tequila, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, Guava Juice, Simple Syrup, Sprite, Grenadine, Lime...$18
Even though the taste of this was a little fruitier than I expected, this was still pretty solid. The POG was refreshing, the tartness of the lime helped to cut the sweetness, and the pour of tequila was just right.
-- SHANGHAI MAI TAI - Rum, Agave, Guava, Pineapple. Lime, Cherry, Lemon...$18
Of everything we had, this might have been my favorite. Between the guava, pineapple, and lime, this had a fruity element to it, but unlike the P.O.G., it wasn't super fruity. The pour on this one felt more than fair too, which was nice.
-- MOJITO IN SHANGHAI - Rum, Lychee, Mint, Soda...$18
This is what we ordered, but I didn't even realize until now that what we got was more like a regular mojito. Still, what we did get was pretty good. Although it tasted a little sweeter than a normal mojito, I liked the bit of tartness and minty flavor it had.
-- HOKU MULE - Hakuto Japanese Gin, Fresh Shiso, Lemon, Ginger Beer...$18
This was kind of a bummer and I'm partly to blame. Since they were out of ginger beer, I took the bartender's offer to use bitters instead of changing my order. Initially, this started off fine, and the overall taste was pretty good, but the bitters got to be a bit overwhelming.
Similar to how we didn't notice that our Mojito in Shanghai looked very different from the photos in the menu and on Yelp, we also realized much later that our Shanghai Mai Tai was also served differently (it was missing the toothpick with the cherry and lime). Not as significant of a change, as they were more of a garnish, but still worth noting, as it was something else about our drinks that didn't match up.
As much as we thoroughly enjoyed the more casual vibe here (as opposed to some of the more congested bars nearby), it's definitely offset by our drinks. Regardless of the fact that we mostly enjoyed what we had, it's hard to overlook the fact that only one matched up to what was listed on the menu. If nothing else, I can't help but wonder how much better they could've been! Not that it seems to matter anymore if Shanghai Bar truly is gone. Oh what could've been...
THREE AND A HALF STARS rounded down.