Country dossier
Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries across China in the En Primeur Club guide.
Accolades in China
Shanghai’s top tables span Jing An Si, Lu Jia Zui, Hongkou and Lao Ximen, with tasting menus and serious wine programmes concentrated across those neighbourhoods.
Taian Table in Jing An Si holds three Michelin stars and a sommelier-led wine programme with an extensive wine list. Its open-kitchen counter dining and tasting menu format centre the meal on a changing multi-course sequence that the restaurant prepares in view of the room.
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana (Shanghai) in Lu Jia Zui has two Michelin stars and an exceptional wine programme with an extensive, sommelier-led list. It works across tasting menu, à la carte and set menu formats, with modern Italian fine dining anchored by a strong cellar.
Bao Li Xuan in Hongkou pairs two Michelin stars with a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and an exceptional, sommelier-led wine programme. Its 350-label list sits alongside haute Cantonese cooking, with tasting menu, à la carte and prix fixe formats.
The House of Rong in Lao Ximen holds two Michelin stars and offers Taizhou seafood fine dining through tasting menu and à la carte formats. The room is a historic mansion, and the restaurant’s wine programme has extensive wine-list service.
Beijing’s leading rooms lean toward formal Chinese cooking, with three-star and two-star restaurants spread across Sanlitun, Chaowai, Beixinqiao and Chaoyangmen.
Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) in Sanlitun holds three Michelin stars and a wine list. It is the first Chinese restaurant in mainland China to earn three stars, and the set menu format frames Taizhou Chinese fine dining.
Chao Shang Chao (Chaoyang) in Chaowai is a three-Michelin-star restaurant with an exceptional wine programme and an extensive wine list. It is the first and only three-Michelin-star restaurant in Beijing specialising in refined Teochew cuisine, served through tasting menu and à la carte formats.
King's Joy in Beixinqiao holds two Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025 and a wine list with a sake programme. The restaurant is vegetarian, with tasting menu, set menu and à la carte formats, and it also carries a Green Star and an Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Highly Recommended award in 2026.
Jingji in Chaoyangmen carries two Michelin stars and a wine list. Its tasting menu and set menu present imperial Beijing royal cuisine. Crabmeat and crab roe on crispy fish maw is a signature dish, and the restaurant also holds a La Liste score of 78 points in 2026.
Cantonese fine dining runs strongly in Guangzhou and remains a major part of Shanghai’s luxury restaurant scene, especially where dim sum, roasted meats and banquet cooking meet serious lists.
Jiang by Chef Fei in Guangzhoushi holds two Michelin stars and a sommelier-led wine programme with an extensive wine list. Its à la carte, set menu and tasting menu formats support modern Cantonese fine dining at the top end of Guangzhou’s scene.
Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Huangpu holds two Michelin stars and an extensive wine list. The restaurant serves formal Cantonese cuisine through an à la carte format, and it holds two Michelin stars in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
T’ang Court (Shanghai) in Lao Ximen has two Michelin stars and a wine list with a sake programme. The restaurant’s tasting menu, à la carte and prix fixe formats support classic Cantonese fine dining in an elegant hotel setting.
China’s recognised drinking rooms include bars with international awards and hotels with notable dining programmes. Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen all appear here.
Hope & Sesame in Guangzhoushi is a craft-cocktail bar with World’s 50 Best Bars recognition in Asia, including the Asia’s Best Bars number 1 ranking in 2026. World’s 50 Best Bars lists the bar in 2024 and 2025, and Asia’s Best Bars lists it in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Speak Low in Da Pu Qiao is a multi-level speakeasy built around craft and classic cocktails. It has appeared on the World’s 50 Best Bars lists every year since 2016, with a programme spread across three floors.
Wine Universe Shenzhen in Overseas Chinese Town is a wine bar and bistro founded by two Shanghai sommeliers and opened in Shenzhen in 2021. Every member of staff holds sommelier credentials, wine anchors the programme, and it holds a Star Wine List award in 2026.
Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen in Futian combines eight dining venues with a Michelin 2 Keys award and a La Liste hotel score of 90.5 points. The property also has a full-floor wellness zone on the 68th floor.
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing all have clear wine-led options in our guide. Shanghai has several and exceptional restaurant lists, Guangzhou pairs Cantonese fine dining with a major bar programme, Shenzhen has Wine Universe Shenzhen, and Beijing adds starred rooms with wine lists.
China has 139 Michelin-starred restaurants in our guide, with 171 Michelin stars in total across the cities named here. The count covers the cities listed in this country guide, and it includes Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu among the main centres.
Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou all have strong tasting-menu options in our guide. Shanghai and Beijing feature several starred rooms built around tasting menus, while Guangzhou’s Jiang by Chef Fei also offers a tasting menu alongside à la carte and set menu service.
Bao Li Xuan in Hongkou holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana (Shanghai) in Lu Jia Zui and Wine Universe Shenzhen in Overseas Chinese Town each hold a Star Wine List award in 2026.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
City atlas
China
Selected entries from the current guide for China.
Shanghai, China
Fu He Hui makes Shanghai's plant-led fine dining feel serious rather than corrective: vegetables, fungi, grains and tea carry the meal instead of imitating meat. Its recognition across Michelin, Black Pearl, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining and Asia's 50 Best places it in the city's luxury dining conversation, but its discipline belongs to a narrower vegetarian lineage.
Hangzhou, China
Jin Sha at Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake holds a Michelin star, a Black Pearl 3 Diamond rating, and a La Liste score of 92 points in 2026, placing it among the more decorated Zhejiang-cuisine tables in mainland China. Chef Wang Yong's kitchen spans Hangzhounese, Shanghainese, and Cantonese registers, anchored by seasonal seafood and regional classics treated with measured contemporary refinement. The 34-seat garden terrace, shaded by oaks and willows, is among the more considered dining settings in the city.
Shanghai, China
Meet the Bund places Fujian cooking inside Shanghai’s premium dining conversation, with Chen Zhiping leading a kitchen known for province-specific technique rather than generic coastal luxury. Recognition from Black Pearl, Michelin Plate, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants gives it unusual critical density for a Fujian address in Shanghai.
Shanghai, China
Taian Table holds three Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025, a Black Pearl Diamond, and a place on La Liste's global ranking with 91.5 points, making it one of Shanghai's most decorated fine-dining addresses. Chef Christiaan Stoop's Modern European tasting menu format occupies a quiet residential lane in Changning, a location that underscores the restaurant's deliberately understated positioning within China's most competitive dining city.
Beijing, China
Beijing’s plant-based fine dining has moved beyond temple-restaurant restraint and wellness shorthand.
Hangzhou, China
Ru Yuan holds two Michelin stars (2025) and a place at #59 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, positioning it among Hangzhou's most closely watched Zhejiang-cuisine addresses. Under chef Fue Yue Liang, the kitchen operates at the summit of the Xihu district's fine-dining tier, at a price point (¥¥¥¥) that sits above most of its local peers. The awards trajectory, from one star to two in a single cycle, signals a kitchen moving quickly through the region's critical hierarchy.
Beijing, China
King's Joy holds two Michelin stars and a Green Star in Beijing's Dongcheng district, placing it among China's most decorated plant-based restaurants. Operating from a bamboo-shaded hutong courtyard near the Imperial Academy, it works entirely within a vegetarian format, with mushrooms carrying particular weight across a seasonally driven menu. At the ¥¥¥¥ price tier, it sits alongside Beijing's most serious fine-dining addresses.
Shanghai, China
Two Michelin stars and a Black Pearl 2 Diamond ranking place 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana among Shanghai's most credentialed Italian tables. Set in the historic Yuanmingyuan Road corridor of the Bund district, the restaurant holds a position within the city's premium European dining tier that few Italian addresses on the mainland match. Ranked #146 in Opinionated About Dining's Asia list for 2025, it draws a clientele that treats pasta as seriously as it treats wine.
Beijing, China
One of only two Chaozhou restaurants in mainland China to hold three Michelin stars, Chao Shang Chao in Beijing's Chaoyang district operates at the narrow intersection of classical Teochew technique and contemporary refinement. Under Executive Chef Yat Fung Cheung, the kitchen holds a 2026 La Liste ranking of 75 points, placing it firmly among China's most recognised fine-dining addresses.
Shanghai, China
Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet takes ten diners per night through a fixed programme in a secret Shanghai location, pairing each course with synchronized light, sound, and scent. The format has held a consistent position in the World's 50 Best Restaurants across eight years of rankings, reaching #24 twice, and was ranked #1 in Asia by Opinionated About Dining in 2023. It occupies a category of its own in the city's high-end dining tier.
Beijing, China
Xin Rong Ji on Xinyuan South Road holds three Michelin stars and a Black Pearl 2 Diamond (2025), placing it among Beijing's most decorated Chinese fine-dining addresses. The kitchen works within the Taizhou tradition, a coastal style from Zhejiang province built on precise seafood technique and restrained seasoning. For the Chaoyang dining circuit, it represents the upper bracket of formal regional Chinese cuisine.
Shanghai, China
Shanghai’s Chaoshan cooking has a serious address in Amazing Chinese Cuisine, a five-room villa format where high-heat technique, seafood handling, and pre-ordered regional dishes define the meal. Black Pearl three-diamond recognition in 2025 and 2026, La Liste scores, and OAD Asia listings place it in the city’s tighter luxury Chinese dining tier rather than the casual Chaozhou canon.
Shenzhen, China
Ensue - Shangri La Hotel places Shenzhen’s Chinese contemporary dining in a sharper frame: high-heat Chinese technique, French kitchen discipline, and a wine program with repeated Star Wine List recognition. The restaurant’s award trail includes Black Pearl 1 Diamond in 2025, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking at #85 in 2025, and La Liste scores across 2025 and 2026.
Shanghai, China
Ling Long Shanghai brings neo-Chinese cooking to Xujiahui's Raffles City, where Chef Jason Liu frames a season-driven menu in acts, each course merging classical Chinese technique with European finesse. A Michelin star (2024), Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025), and La Liste recognition underline its position among Shanghai's contemporary Chinese tier. The format rewards patient, attentive dining rather than quick meals.
Guangzhou, China
Jiang by Chef Fei holds two Michelin stars and a Black Pearl Diamond at its Tianhe District address, placing it among Guangzhou's most decorated Cantonese tables. Chef Huang Jinghui's kitchen balances classical technique with seasonal creativity, from refined dim sum at lunch to roasted Wenchang Chicken at dinner. La Liste has ranked it among the world's top restaurants in both 2025 and 2026.
Shanghai, China
Set within a remodelled 1930s villa inside Capella Shanghai on Jianguo Road West, Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire holds a Michelin star and a Black Pearl Diamond, placing it among Xuhui's most serious French tables. The kitchen pairs classical French technique with Shanghainese inflections, while the vine-wrapped terrace and 20-seat bar extend the experience well beyond the dining room.
Hangzhou, China
Among Hangzhou's Michelin-starred Zhejiang dining rooms, Jie Xiang Lou operates at the intersection of classical technique and lakeside retreat, set within the Zixuan Resort on Bapanling Road.
Shanghai, China
The first Asian outpost of the storied Burgundy institution, Maison Lameloise occupies the 68th floor of a Pudong tower with 180-degree views of The Bund. Holding a Michelin star and Black Pearl 2 Diamond recognition, the kitchen pairs classical Burgundy technique with Chinese regional produce, Yunnan mushrooms, green Sichuan pepper, against one of Shanghai's most arresting dining backdrops.
Shanghai, China
Chef Xu Jingye's two-Michelin-starred 102 House Shanghai resurrects ancient Cantonese banquet traditions within The Bund's House of Roosevelt, where seasonal tasting menus and signature sweet and sour pork showcase nearly two decades of culinary mastery across just 40 intimate seats.
Shanghai, China
Da Vittorio Shanghai carries two Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste ranking to the Bund Financial Center, where Italian technique meets the expectations of one of China's most demanding dining scenes. Under Chef Romuald Fassenet, the kitchen threads European classical precision through a menu that reads Chinese inflection without losing its Bergamo lineage. For milestone occasions on the Huangpu waterfront, few tables in the city carry comparable weight.
Shanghai, China
102 House occupies the fifth floor of the House of Roosevelt on Shanghai's Bund, with windows onto the Huangpu River and the Bund skyline. Chef-owner Xu Jingye cooks seasonal Cantonese banquet cuisine in a small dining room with three private rooms, and the restaurant holds a Star Wine List White Star.
Shanghai, China
Bao Li Xuan sits in Jing’an’s heritage-commercial core, where Shanghai’s appetite for Cantonese dining meets the city’s taste for polished rooms and business-grade hospitality. The draw is less novelty than cultural fluency: Cantonese technique, private-dining expectations, and the formality that Shanghai applies to serious Chinese restaurants.
Shanghai, China
Bao Li Xuan holds two Michelin stars and a Black Pearl Diamond at the Bvlgari Hotel's Chinese restaurant on Beijing Road East, Huangpu. Chef Bill Fu leads a Cantonese kitchen where hand-crafted dim sum and precision roasting define the format. La Liste places it among the upper tier of mainland Chinese restaurants in 2025, with a 350-label wine list weighted toward Piedmont, Tuscany, and Champagne.
Shanghai, China
Canton 8 holds two Michelin stars at a ¥¥ price point on the Bund, a combination that sits distinctly within Shanghai's Cantonese dining tier. Positioned on the fifth floor of Three on the Bund, it frames contemporary reinterpretations of classic Cantonese technique through chef Cody Ma, earning recognition from both the Michelin Guide and La Liste in 2025. Advance booking is advised.
China
Selected entries from the current guide for China.
Shanghai, China
Set within Xuhui District's last intact cluster of shikumen townhouses, Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li converts original 1930s lane houses into 55 villa-style rooms where French colonial and Chinese courtyard architecture coexist in deliberate dialogue. Pierre Gagnaire's Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire anchors the dining program, marking his first mainland China restaurant. La Liste ranked the property 93 points in 2026, and Capella Hotel Group has held the title of Best Hotel Brand in the World for three consecutive years.
Beijing, China
Mandarin Oriental Qianmen sits inside Beijing's historic Dongcheng district, a block from Tiananmen Square's southern edge, where hutong alleyways meet one of the capital's oldest commercial corridors.
Shanghai, China
Open since 2018, Upper House Shanghai occupies a Piero Lissoni-designed address in Jing'an, positioning itself at the smaller-footprint, design-led end of the city's luxury hotel market. A Star Wine List award (2026) signals genuine beverage depth, while a service model built around a single Guest Experience Team rather than divided reception and concierge desks defines how the hotel moves. For travellers who want central Shanghai with architectural intention and low-friction logistics, it belongs in the shortlist.
Beijing, China
Positioned in Beijing's Chaoyang CBD, Rosewood Beijing occupies a distinct tier among the capital's ultra-luxury hotels, pairing residential-scale rooms with a serious art program drawn from contemporary Chinese artists. Recognised on both the La Liste Top Hotels 2026 list (97 points) and Tatler's Best Hotels Asia-Pacific 2025, it operates as a considered counterpoint to the city's blockbuster international flagships, with 283 rooms, six dining venues, and outdoor terrace space unmatched among comparable Beijing properties.
Shenzhen, China
Occupying the upper floors of Shenzhen's 79-storey UpperHills tower in the Futian business district, Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen opened in January 2022 with 178 rooms, eight dining venues, and a full-floor wellness zone on the 68th floor. Scored 90.5 points in the La Liste Top Hotels 2026 ranking, it represents the group's measured entry into one of China's most competitive luxury hotel markets.
Chengdu, China
Part of a 1,000-year-old temple complex in central Chengdu, The Temple House pairs Qing Dynasty courtyards with a sleek 142-room tower designed by Make Architects. Awarded 92.5 points in the 2026 La Liste Top Hotels ranking, it positions itself against city-centre peers like The Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf Astoria through its heritage setting and Swire Hotels' established design sensibility.
Jiuzhaigou, China
Set within a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sichuan's Minshan mountains, Rissai Valley is a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property comprising 87 villas designed around Tibetan art and local materials. Three restaurants span Sichuan, Chinese, and Mediterranean cuisine. Named to Tatler Asia-Pacific Best Hotels 2025, it sits at the upper tier of destination lodging in remote southwest China, priced from $1,445 per night.
Shanghai, China
Stepping off Nanjing West Road into The Sukhothai Shanghai's minimalist lobby is a study in deliberate contrast.
Shanghai, China
Occupying the upper floors of a Foster + Partners tower on Suzhou Creek, Bvlgari Hotel Shanghai pairs 82 rooms with an adjacent 1916 Chamber of Commerce building, fully restored. The property scored 94 points on La Liste Top Hotels 2026 and operates eight restaurants and bars, a 2,000-square-metre spa, and Maserati limousine transfers, placing it firmly in Shanghai's most concentrated tier of luxury accommodation.
Shanghai, China
At the edge of Jing'an Park, The PuLi Hotel and Spa makes a case that Shanghai's next chapter in luxury is less about spectacle and more about stillness. With 229 rooms, a Michelin-recognised restaurant, a 25-metre indoor infinity pool, and a La Liste Top Hotels ranking of 92.5 points in 2026, the property sits in a specific niche: serious urban hotel, spa discipline, and a calm that the surrounding city rarely offers.
Shanghai, China
The only new-build hotel constructed on the Bund in over 70 years, The Peninsula Shanghai sits at No. 32 Zhongshan Dong Yi Road with direct views across the Huangpu River to Pudong. Recognized by Travel + Leisure as World's Best Business Hotel and earning 99.5 points on the La Liste Top Hotels 2026 ranking, its 235 rooms combine Art Deco architecture with particularly technology-forward in-room systems in the city.
Beijing, China
Positioned along the Liangma River in Chaoyang's embassy district, Bvlgari Hotel Beijing brings the same Italian architectural language that defined the brand's Milan flagship to the Chinese capital. The 119-room property holds a La Liste Top Hotels score of 95.5 points for 2026 and won Beijing's Leading Boutique Hotel at the 2025 World Travel Awards. Rates from approximately $758 per night.
Hangzhou, China
Set within the West Lake UNESCO World Heritage Site, Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake places 78 rooms across 17 acres of classical Chinese gardens, ponds, and pavilions. Recognised by Forbes Travel Guide, La Liste (91pts, 2026), and World Travel Awards as Zhejiang's Leading Boutique Hotel 2025, it combines architectural fidelity to the historic district with Jin Sha's eleven-room private dining program drawing on Hangzhounese, Cantonese, and Shanghainese cooking.
Beijing, China
Positioned at the intersection of WangFuJing and WuSi Streets, The PuXuan Hotel and Spa occupies a purpose-built cube by German architect Ole Scheeren atop the Guardian Art Centre, with 116 rooms overlooking Forbidden City rooftops. A Leading Hotels of the World member rated 94 points by La Liste (2026), it operates under Urban Resort Concepts alongside Shanghai's PuLi, with starting rates from $368 per night.
Shanghai, China
On the Huangpu River in Pudong's financial district, the Mandarin Oriental Pudong occupies a position that rewards those who know to look outward rather than across. With 362 rooms and suites, a Five-Star butterfly-themed spa, and three distinct restaurants, the property earned 99 points on La Liste's Top Hotels 2026 list and holds the No. 2 spot in Shanghai for 2025 according to reader recognition.
Shanghai, China
A Tatler Best Hotels Asia-Pacific 2025 listing and World Travel Awards winner for Shanghai's Leading Boutique Hotel, Amanyangyun sits in Shanghai's outer Minhang District amid more than ten thousand ancient camphor trees and thirteen restored Ming and Qing dynasty villas. With 37 rooms and suites, a 30,569-square-foot spa, and a cultural pavilion offering daily calligraphy and tea ceremonies, this is a deliberately removed retreat, not a city-centre base.
Beijing, China
Three decades after opening steps from Tiananmen Square, The Peninsula Beijing has completed a full suite conversion, every one of its 230 rooms now a separate-living-room arrangement, the smallest measuring 645 square feet. A Michelin-starred restaurant, sourcing-focused kitchens, and La Liste's 2026 top-hotel recognition place it at the upper tier of Beijing luxury, where location and operational discipline matter most.
Shanghai, China
The heritage wing, once the Shanghai Club, has been restored to its original architectural detail while carrying Forbes Travel Guide recognition and a 2025 World Travel Awards win for Shanghai's leading luxury hotel across 260 rooms and suites.
Beijing, China
Xitan Hotel Beijing holds a Michelin One Key distinction in the 2025 guide, placing it among a small tier of Beijing properties recognised for hospitality quality rather than room count. Located in Zone 6 off Tam Wang Road, the hotel operates at a quieter remove from the capital's central hotel corridor, appealing to travellers who prioritise considered design and calm over proximity to the conventional luxury strip.
Beijing, China
Occupying the upper floors of WF Central on Wangfujing Street, Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing positions 73 oversized rooms and suites, many facing the Forbidden City, at the intersection of imperial Beijing and the city's contemporary retail corridor. La Liste's 2026 ranking awarded it 96.5 points, placing it among a narrow tier of boutique luxury properties in the Chinese capital.
Shanghai, China
Occupying floors 39 to 58 of a Lujiazui tower, The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong faces the Bund across the Huangpu River with 285 Art Deco-inspired rooms and suites. Rated 96 points on La Liste Top Hotels 2026 and holding a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star spa designation, it connects directly to the Shanghai IFC Mall. Rooms start from approximately USD 491 per night.
Lijiang, China
Positioned above Lijiang's UNESCO-listed Old Town on Lion Hill, Amandayan translates the Nakhi architectural tradition into 35 all-suite accommodations built around calm courtyards with Yunnan pine and elm detailing. At $744 per night, it sits at the upper tier of Yunnan luxury, pairing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain views with a restaurant focused on mountain-foraged Yunnan and Cantonese fare, a traditional tea house, and a wellness suite grounded in Chinese medicinal practice.
Beijing, China
At the intersection of Jinyu Hutong and Dongcheng District, Waldorf Astoria Beijing occupies a copper-and-bronze latticework tower designed to weather beautifully over time. The 176-room property, part of the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, earned China's Leading Luxury Hotel at the 2025 World Travel Awards and 90.5 points on the 2026 La Liste Top Hotels ranking. Interiors by Yabu Pushelberg, a Peacock Alley bar lounge, and a private hutong suite compound set it apart from the capital's other five-star addresses.
Beijing, China
Housed inside Parkview Green's glass-pyramid development in Chaoyang, Éclat Beijing earned 90 points from La Liste Top Hotels 2026. Its 100 rooms blend high-spec technology with original works by Dalí and Warhol, positioning it firmly within Beijing's competitive business-hotel tier. Rates start from $144 per night.
China
Selected entries from the current guide for China.
Guangzhou, China
Ranked #7 in Asia's Best Bars 2025 and making its World's 50 Best Bars debut that same year, Hope & Sesame has operated from Guangzhou's Dongshankou district since 2016. Entry is through a concealed refrigerator door; the programme inside runs on ultrasonic infusion, rotary distillation, and seasonal menus built around regional flavour and cultural narrative.
Shanghai, China
Speak Low has placed on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2016, reaching as high as #10 globally in 2017. Spread across three floors of a former French Concession shophouse on Fuxing Middle Road, it remains among the more consistently recognised cocktail bars in Asia-Pacific, appearing on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list and holding.
Shanghai, China
Sober Company on Yandang Road ranked on Asia's 50 Best Bars from 2017-2022, returned to the extended Asia list at #92 in 2024 and #81 in 2025, and peaked at #5 in Asia and #39 globally in 2021. Located in Huangpu, it represents the serious, technically driven tier of Shanghai's cocktail scene, a bar that has sustained international recognition long enough to anchor conversations about where Chinese bartending stands on the global stage.
Shanghai, China
Coa Shanghai brings the agave-forward cocktail tradition of its Hong Kong sibling to Huangpu, earning placement on Asia's Best Bars 2025 and a ranking of #85 on World's 50 Best Asia's Best Bars. The programme centres on tequila and mezcal, placing it within a small but growing cohort of spirits-specialist bars redefining Shanghai's cocktail scene. Named on the Tatler Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025 list, it is one of the city's most recognised agave destinations.
Changsha, China
Named to Asia's Best Bars 2025 at number 16, CMYK has become a reference point for cocktail culture in Changsha's Jiefang West Road corridor. The programme centres on colour-driven, visually precise cocktails that read as a coherent creative statement rather than a menu of crowd-pleasers. For anyone tracing the rise of China's inland bar scene, this is a logical first stop.
Shanghai, China
On a quiet stretch of Gaoyou Road in Xuhui, Epic occupies a corner of Shanghai's dining scene where the neighbourhood's tree-lined residential calm meets serious kitchen ambition. The address places it among a cluster of independently minded restaurants that have made Xuhui a counterweight to the Bund's more ceremonial fine dining.
Shanghai, China
Ranked #97 on Asia's Best Bars 2025 and listed among Tatler's Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025, Pony Up operates from Shanghai's Chang Ning district as a bar where classic cocktail formats meet a format built to run from afternoon into late night. Founder Dre Yang's program spans two distinct spaces, giving the room range that few bars in the city can sustain across an entire evening.
Shanghai, China
Union Trading Company is listed as permanently closed following the June 22, 2026 status audit.
Shenzhen, China
Positioned on the 79th floor of Shenzhen's Sino OCT Tower, Obsidian Bar earned the #51 ranking on Asia's Best Bars 2025 list, placing it inside a small tier of mainland China bars with genuine regional recognition. The programme runs above the Pearl River Delta skyline and draws a crowd that treats the elevation as context rather than the point.
Shanghai, China
Bar Leone Shanghai enters a city where cocktail culture has moved beyond speakeasy passwords into sharper, more international drinking rooms.
Shanghai, China
Shanghai, China
Constellation on Xinle Lu earned a place at #42 on Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2016, making it one of Shanghai's more decorated cocktail addresses. Open nightly from 19:00 until 02:00, it sits in the French Concession, a neighbourhood that has shaped much of the city's independent bar culture. The recognition positions it alongside a small tier of Shanghai venues that trade on craft rather than spectacle.
Xiamen, China
ÉPANOUIR sits in Huli district's Aeronautics Gudishi Square, where Xiamen's quieter commercial edges are developing a more considered bar culture. A Star Wine List recognition for 2026 places it alongside China's more seriously drink programs, making it a reference point for anyone tracking the city's evolving wine and cocktail scene.
Shanghai, China
On tree-lined Xinhua Road in Changning, Epicerie Caviste 62 Lebec announces itself through a red and black facade and a counter stacked with croissants, chausson aux pommes, and tarte aux framboise. It occupies a specific niche in Shanghai's French provisions scene: part neighbourhood épicerie, part caviste, with the kind of street-presence that rewards walkers who slow down.
Chengdu, China
The stylish FLAIR lounge serves Asian-inspired tapas indoors and on an outdoor patio.
Beijing, China
Listed in Tatler's Best Bars Asia-Pacific 2025, Hide & Seek occupies a garden setting inside Lido Park in Chaoyang District, operating as a cocktail bar and café hybrid that draws on Chinese ingredients and an unhurried, oasis-style atmosphere. It sits at the more concept-driven end of Beijing's bar scene, where ingredient narrative and setting carry as much weight as the drink itself.
Beijing, China
Janes & Hooch earned three consecutive placements on Asia's 50 Best Bars list between 2016 and 2018, peaking at number 18, and remains one of Beijing's most credentialed cocktail addresses. Set in Chaoyang's embassy district near Workers' Stadium, it operates in a city where the craft bar scene has historically lagged behind Shanghai and Guangzhou, making its sustained regional recognition all the more telling.
Shanghai, China
Le Bouchon occupies a measured position in Shanghai's wine-bar tier, holding a Star Wine List recognition (2026) that places it alongside the city's more serious bottle-driven rooms. Located on Wuding West Road in Chang'ning, it draws a crowd that treats wine as the main event rather than background accompaniment, a distinction that separates it from the neighbourhood's broader bar circuit.
Beijing, China
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Shenzhen, China
OTHEROOF Wine House occupies a seventh-floor address in Futian's older residential fabric, running coffee through the morning hours before pivoting to natural wine in the evening. It represents a distinct strain of Shenzhen drinking culture: low-key, neighbourhood-rooted, and built around producers working outside the conventional. The format rewards those willing to look past Shenzhen's more obvious bar destinations.
Shanghai, China
On Wukang Road in Shanghai's former French Concession, Pudao occupies a dual role as wine shop and wine bar, with a name that translates from Mandarin as Wine Road. The format places serious bottle selection alongside the kind of atmosphere that invites staying longer than planned. For wine-focused evenings in Xuhui, it operates in a category of its own.
Shanghai, China
A French-style café on Anfu Road in Shanghai's former French Concession, RAC draws a consistent crowd with crêpes and galettes served from morning through late afternoon. The atmosphere runs cosy and unhurried, the kind of place where the neighbourhood comes to linger rather than pass through. It occupies a recognisable slot in Xuhui's café scene as a daytime gathering point with a distinctly Francophone character.
Shanghai, China
It occupies a distinct position in Shanghai's bar scene, closer to the specialist cocktail tier than the high-volume venues that dominate the city centre, with enough recognition to attract visitors making a deliberate detour.
Shenzhen, China
Founded in March 2020, weeknd* is among the first natural wine bistros to open in Southern China, occupying a second-floor space inside OCT Loft, Shenzhen's creative and culture-focused district. The bar draws a younger, design-conscious crowd to a neighbourhood already shaped by galleries and independent studios. For natural wine in the Pearl River Delta, it sits at the early end of a still-forming category.
China
Selected entries from the current guide for China.
Adong Village, China
Ao Yun is a high-altitude Himalayan wine estate in Adong Village, built around terraced vineyards between 2,200 and 2,600 meters and a Grand Vin shaped by Cabernet-led blends. The draw is not conventional cellar-door traffic but the rare collision of LVMH ambition, Yunnan farming villages, and mountain viticulture along the Mekong River.
Shandong, China
Château Changyu Moser XV is a château-style Chinese winery associated with Changyu Pioneer Wine Company, focused on Cabernet Sauvignon from the Helan Mountains in Ningxia. Its interest lies in the way a major Chinese producer uses Austrian winemaking direction, estate tastings, and international distribution to frame Cabernet as a serious Chinese fine-wine category.
Yuanshang Town, China
Château Nine Peaks is a Shandong estate winery shaped by mountain foothills, maritime influence, and a relatively young Chinese fine-wine movement. Founded in 2008, it works across roughly 150–160 hectares, with about 90 hectares under vine, and offers guided estate tastings, private tastings, vineyard tours, and on-site guest rooms in Yuanshang Town.
