Polux
Xintiandi North Block,
No. 5, Lane 181 Taicang Lu,
Huangpu District
Shanghai
Tel. +86 21 63339897
The dishes
Grilled piquillos, shallots, olive oil
Real single decker club sandwich, fries
Picnic chicken aïoli, char-grilled chicken breast fries
Grilled lamb chops, aïoli, jus
Spinach, sesame, garlic, and butter
Mango – Earl Gray granite, passion fruit syrup
Basque cheese cake pannacotta sorbet
Crème brûlée
Polux is an amazingly popular restaurant in the upscale, forever busy, downtown Xintiandi area of Shanghai, a success that is still going strong after all these years and on which the sun never seems to set. In other words, the place is always packed, and so reservations are recommended. Housed in what used to be first location of KABB, an historic and also hugely popular Xintiandi restaurant that was opened back in 2001, Polux’s success resides in providing classic French comfort food (for example: croque monsieur, french fries, paté, smoked salmon, charcuterie, grilled lamb chops, hamburger and club sandwich) at acceptable prices (given the high rent in Xintiandi, that wasn’t a given) in a fun, if noisy, atmosphere and very pleasant surroundings. French designer Baptiste Bohu has come up with an admittedly very likeable interior design. With its reclaimed wood floors, oak wall panels, copious, natural lighting, brass fixtures, and cement tiles marked by patterns typical of French colonial homes, Polux basks in a vintage-yet-modern vibe that would feel right at home in any Parisian arrondissement worthy of its address. There is also a very spacious outdoor patio. It follows that as far as Parisian brasseries and bistros go, Polux is admittedly one of the most faithful to the original template of gallic iterations in all of Shanghai.
