Online you find references to the Westin and more recently to The Regis hotel as the best weekend buffets in Shanghai. Bullshit. These are very noisy, crowded, and the food is so so. (The Westin is a nice place to see expats getting drunken if it is your fetish, though).
The Kitchen Studios’ restaurant of the Andaz Hotel in Xintiandi does an excellent job in putting together a well-managed Sunday buffet (only on Sundays from noon) with quality food and at a reasonable price point.
I have been a big fun for a long time. I still remember a couple of years ago when they were launching their weekend brunch and I was among the few diners taking advantage of their promotion at the time. Now the news is out and it is almost sold out, but still, in my latest visit in November 2019, I did not feel the pressure of the crowd and there were no shortages of food. It remains a pleasant experience.
The visit
Let me take you around the buffet.
There are two spacious dining rooms around the buffet area, with both sofas and normal chairs. The decor is modern. Even if the rooms got pretty soon almost full, I did not overwhelmed.
One of the main attraction is the sushi and sashimi boat. They have tuna, salmon, and amberjack.
More seafood: lobster claws and…
… and imported prawns and crab legs.
It was hairy crab season and they were available (not a fan here).
There was an oyster station.
They would provide three oysters per order (brought to your table). I usually have at least 6, so I kept ordering, no problem.
There were various dishes that could be ordered as many times as you wish. The foie gras quite good.
Every diner could order one lobster dish.
I had the egg benedict with lobster and caviar. Nothing special, but a nice way to get my Sunday eggs. The half lobster with cheese was preferred by my friends, but had too much dish in my opinion.
Since it was almost Thanksgiving, a big turkey was available at the roast meat station along with beef.
They also had Chinese food. I tried the lobster wonton soup. Again, nothing exceptional, but I appreciated the effort.
Another dish made on demand was the Shanghai pancakes. I would not recommend it as it is super-filling and you can have it around town for 2 USD or so. But again, I appreciate the effort to have some local food.
Some dim sum dishes were available.
Many more dishes I am not posting were available, including lamb meat, pork, and vegetables. I could not try them all!
The dessert station included many treats including freshly made waffles and ice cream.
They paid homage to the local milk candy called White Rabbit with a cake made from the same milk. (White Rabbit company was on a diversification spree at the time of this posting… perhaps it was a marketing initiative.)
Soft drinks and some wine were also included and freely available.
The check
The check was picked up by a friend so I do not have a picture to post. The price per person was 446 RMB (63 USD), way less than similar buffets on the Bund. I was extremely pleased by the efficiency of the operations (even during the first hectic half an hour after opening the service was pretty good and fast) and the quality of the food.
PS: for a luxury semi-buffet, my favorite remains the Cathay Room.
Where in Shanghai:
2F of Andaz Hotel 88 Songshan Lu.
In Chinese: 嵩山路88号.