Sure, it might not be as flashy or stretch on for as long as some other streets, but it’s packed with niche gems ranging from vintage shops to excellent cocktail bars, and some seriously legit Shanghainese food.
During the day, it’s a quiet stretch suited to gentle shopping and slow coffee, but by night, it’s populated with diners and drinkers popping in and out of their favourite haunts, and spilling out into the street.
Here’s what you need to be looking for on Jinxian Road:
01 Pony Up
📍230 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Mon – Thu & Sun, 1 PM – 1 AM | Fri + Sat, 1 PM – 2AM
You’ll be tempted by quite a few bars while walking down Jinxian Road. What’s absolutely worth dropping into is Pony Up.
One of few bars in town to also offer day drinking, it’s helmed by one-to-watch mixologist Dre Yang. He cut his teeth at The Odd Couple, and much of that high quality has rubbed off on him — as has the playful way the bar holds itself.
Besides serving some of the best bar food in town, Pony Up is built around an utterly original concept: horse racing.
Now, we see a few raised eyebrows... Know that absolutely nothing shady goes on here, since gambling is generally illegal in China. However, there is a fun gamification system whereby you can ‘bet’ on ‘winning horses’ and be rewarded with special bar merch.
02 Roots Bar & Café
📍196 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Daily, 11 AM – 2 PM
A prime example of one of Shanghai’s many dual concept venues championing ‘早C晚A’ (‘Coffee’ in the morning and ‘Alcohol’ at night).
Cutting a nice balance between chic and unpretentious, Roots does a great cup of coffee as well as creative cocktails. It also boasts something that many Shanghai cafes sadly don’t have these days: comfy seating. Yep. You read that correctly. No more perching on the edge of a wooden crate while you sip your coffee.
Bring a book, read late into the day, and you’ll see Roots transform from café to cocktail bar.
03 Dead Poet
📍158 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Mon – Thu, 6 PM – 2 AM |
Fri + Sat, 6 PM – 3 AM | Sun, 6 PM – 1:30 AM
Dead Poet is part of the same group that runs Oha Eatery and Pass Residence and follows on that form.
To honour the dead poet who once lived upstairs, each cocktail here comes with a poem.
Pretty prose is read and drinks are sipped in a setting of measured hipness. Choose between the bar for an audibly great hip-hop playlist or settle into one of the quiet nooks or booths that make Dead Poet a first-rate date spot.
You really can’t go wrong with any of the drinks, but they do a seriously mean gimlet — just sayin.
04 Tequila & Taco
📍163 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Mon, 5 PM – 2 AM |Tue – Sun, 11 AM – 2 PM | 5:30 PM – 2 AM
You can’t miss this spot — the last we walked by it, the upper floor had two giant octopus tentacles sticking out of its windows.
Serving tasty tacos and pouring rivers of blue agave spirit, it’s easily one of Jinxian Road’s buzziest spots.
In addition to serving its namesake offerings, the restaurant also offers some Chinese dishes, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you to stick to the Mexican fare, especially the quesadillas.
05 Kebaba
📍144 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Mon - Thu, 10:30 AM – 10:30 PM | Fri, 10:30 AM – 1 AM | Sat + Sun, 11:30 AM – 1 AM | Sun, 11:30 AM – 11:30 PM
For a long while, Shanghai lacked true Berlin-style döner kebab (“spinning meat” in Turkish), so the opening of Kebaba was cause for celebration.
Special mention goes to the fries. The first time we visited Kebaba, we overheard someone declaring they might be the best in Shanghai… and we think they might be right.
All this from a set-up that casually spills out onto the pavement and the buzz of the night on Jinxian Road
Chicken or beef is carved up before your eyes and piled high on pitas, wraps or salads and loaded with delicious sauces. It’s the perfect accompaniment to beer — which they also serve.
06 Mao Long
🇨🇳 茂龙餐厅
📍134 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Mon - Sun, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM | 5 - 8 PM
Jinxian Road is a bit of a Shanghainese food destination. It boasts several superb restaurants. Michelin-recognised, mother-daughter establishment Mao Long is one.
Located in a converted living room that’s been full since the ‘80s, it specialises in seafood. All ingredients are acquired the day of serving, and are prepared to the specs of recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.
The food, like the setting, is homey. You should try whatever shrimp dish in on the menu that day. If you prefer pork, the hong shao rou is also on point. Ask for a couple of recommendations. There are excellent dishes on the menu you might not necessarily order without a nudge in the right direction.
07 Lan Xin
🇨🇳 Chinese name: 兰心餐厅
🪧 Signboard is in traditional Chinese: 蘭心餐厅
📍130 Jinxian Road, Huangpu
⏰ Mon – Sun, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM | 5 - 9 PM
Another of Jinxian Road’s excellent Shanghainese offerings.
Lan Xin does top-notch classics while keeping their prices low: a winning formula that’s also won them the Bib Gourmand — the Michelin Guide’s award for great-value cooking.
You’ll likely have to put your name down and queue, but you can slip off to one of the bars also mentioned in this guide before the feasting begins.
Braised dishes are what you’re here for: go for the duck and the pork.
