This venue has closed.
On our
first visit to The Public’s new location on Xiangyang Lu, it’s fair to say they
were keeping things low key. There were no signs at street level, no fanfare – the
only hint that the space above Awfully Chocolate and Chloe Chen had a new
tenant was a faint smell of deep fried chicken. A sign stuck to the glass door
upstairs explained politely that they were ‘not officially open’ and therefore
could not accept credit cards or issue fa piao. And yet, we had a near
faultless experience. Having wrestled free of what is fast becoming an F&B
graveyard at Sinan Mansions, The Public excels in its new-found home.
Although
it was pipped to the post as Shanghai’s first real molecular cocktail bar by
Sinan Mansions neighbour The Alchemist, there was still a great deal of
anticipation when Leon Lee opened The Public’s forerunner The Apothecary in
2011. Yet despite the consistently high praise for Lee’s Beijing bar of the
same name, The Apothecary fell flat in Shanghai, leading to a fairly
acrimonious split between the Shanghai and Beijing partners at the tail end of
2011. The space was resurrected thereafter as The Public (infamously righting
the perceived wrongs at The Apothecary such as a refusal to serve Coke), but
earlier this year they became the latest in a long line of early tenants to
turn their backs on the Sinan Mansions development. At the time, they promised
they would reopen in a new location and this quiet spot, just around the corner
from raucous Yongkang Lu, is the result.
The
inconspicuous nature of the small upstairs bar lends it a speakeasy feel that
is further enhanced by the feeling that you’ve stepped into someone’s living
room when you walk through the single glass door. Formerly an office for luxury
Moganshan retreat Le Passage, the space’s homey decor has been largely left in
place by the new occupants with low lighting, sofas and picture frames,
triggering comparisons with veteran living room bar Southern Cross.
It’s a
very different, but far more appropriate space for The Public’s mix of southern
home cooking and creative cocktails. Still in soft opening, both food and
drinks menus are significantly slimmed down from their precursors at Sinan
Mansions, but there are nonetheless items that will be familiar to anyone who
visited the previous premises. Chief among these is the new, improved signature
fried chicken (125RMB). A new fryer brings an upgraded crispness to the outer
crust while maintaining the juiciness of the meat within, creating an authentic
example of American down-south cuisine. Likewise, the sweet potato fries
(45RMB) taste better than ever, though the bacon-wrapped quail’s eggs (55RMB)
don’t quite capture the contrasting pork crunch and yielding, unctuous yolk
from the Apothecary days. Other food items, such as the mountainous special
crab noodles (350RMB) – currently only available on Thursdays, reserve ahead –
are of a consistently high quality however.
The
drinks also appear to have been given a shot in the arm by the arrival of Yao
Lu, formerly at The Alchemist. Again, the current menu is small, but the drinks
are expertly mixed. In addition to a list of straight up classics such as a
well-judged Negroni (70RMB), Yao has created a minimal range of house
signatures. The show-stopper here, at least in terms of looks, is the Lost in
Thailand (70RMB, main picture), a mix of spiced rum, fino sherry, mango, lemongrass and
housemade ‘chilli tincture’, that comes complete with a shell-on shrimp tucked
in the top and dusted with chilli spice. It’s a slightly bizarre offering, but
a must-try.
For
something a little less showy, but stronger in the flavour department, The
Compass (70RMB) is a weighty combination of Old Fitzgerald Bourbon, Drambuie,
Grand Marnier and hopped bitters. On the fruitier side, the Schweetie Pie
(65RMB) lives up to its name, with a strawberry flavour dominating the vodka
and Aperol. It’s served topped with egg whites, with a blueberry suspended over
the top of the glass. Also on the fruitier side is the Witchy Women (65RMB),
though this time the tangy sweetness from orgeat syrup, orange juice and
Bacardi is undercut by campari, angostura and orange bitters and a citrus hit
from fresh lime to make for a standout drink.
It’s
still very early days for The Public and it remains to be seen what happens to
the currently high quality once the menus are expanded. For the moment though,
the move appears to have been a very smart one, creating a clear improvement on
its predecessor.
By Jake Newby
