Azul Viva
18 Dongping Lu
French Concession
Shanghai, China
PRICE: ?????
RATING: ****
Azul, the tapas bar downstairs, and Viva, the restaurant upstairs, combine to form Azul Viva – a hotspot amongst expats for brunch and dinner. A bunch of us decided to meet up for dinner and tapas is a great choice since you carn order a storm of dishes and share ’em around. This time, I was not allowed to order (friends are cottoning on to my obsessive compulsiveness in *needing* to order the entire menu, then insisting everyone finish the food), yet we still ordered a ton π I think we ended up with around 15-20 dishes, for 7 of us. It was a good amount – didn’t stuff me, but still left me nicely filled.
The wines here are excellent – a large selection and delicious. We had 4 bottles of Pinot Gringo (I think), which was deliciously light and fruity. And whilst Azul Viva is not cheap, it was the wine that made it really expensive. We were pretty shocked when the bill came! I would have rated them a full ***** stars if they were cheaper, since the portions were really tiny. Still, service was polite and attentive and we had fun lounging on their huge sofas – you take off your shoes and sit Japanese-style on the sofa, since the table is in the middle of it. Cute concept!
Azul Viva tapas bar
Half-zonked out on the huge sofa
The marbled table
Chris just looks so sweet here π
Girls chatting
Random candid pic that Chris took
Complimentary bread – this was AMAZING. Soft and warm and doughy,
served with 3 assorted dips. I chowed through 4 of these, too good!
This delicious Feta and bean salad, though there was barely any feta. Hrm.
Amazing bruschetta, the bread was soft. Prefer this to the really
crusty bread that cuts my mouth!
Lamb chops. Way way way too tiny…
Roasted asparagus and sundried tomato. Surprisingly good.
Beef stew of some kind. The corn was a bit strange in there, but
man the beef was delicious! Tender with creamy gravy.. mmm…
Buttered spinach – totally awesome
Mashed potato. Pretty good but could’ve done with extra garlic,
herbs whipped in, and more moisture
Meatballs. Oh so luscious!!!
Mushrooms. Actually pretty bland in a fairly runny gravy.
Prawns. Loved it, but way too few for the price!
Chicken and mango. One of the best dishes :)!
Mushroom risotta. They overdosed on the salt, but it was still lovely and creamy
Sweet potato cakes. Expensive for what you get, but delish!
Tiramisu. Never thought we’d find a good one in Shanghai, but this was SUPERB
Chocolate tart, this was lussssscccioussss
Digging into our desserts
What a cool atmosphere.
What a cool atmosphere.
Azul has been a reliable staple in Shanghai for years. My only complaint is the portions are not really “tapas” size so if there’s just two of you, you can’t order too many dishes without having lots of wastage.
I thought the dishes were small-to-average size, but then again, I’m greedy π I just wish they were cheaper!
Perhaps it’s because you were in quite a large group. It reminds me of a Woody Allen quote : the food here is terrible, and the portions are too small”.
looking at the no. of ε , this place must be expensive, but looking at the quality of the dishes seems worth it.
Yeah, it was super $ π π but it was delish!
Azul has been a reliable staple in Shanghai for years. My only complaint is the portions are not really “tapas” size so if there’s just two of you, you can’t order too many dishes without having lots of wastage.
I thought the dishes were small-to-average size, but then again, I’m greedy π I just wish they were cheaper!
Perhaps it’s because you were in quite a large group. It reminds me of a Woody Allen quote : the food here is terrible, and the portions are too small”.
looking at the no. of ε , this place must be expensive, but looking at the quality of the dishes seems worth it.
Yeah, it was super $ π π but it was delish!
I’m a sucker for tapas!
And tirimisu!
I love em too, cos you can order so many, heh!
the tiramisu looks HEAVENLY!!
But the mango and chicken seems like a weird combination!
It was sooo good though, one of my fave dishes!
I’m a sucker for tapas!
And tirimisu!
I love em too, cos you can order so many, heh!
the tiramisu looks HEAVENLY!!
But the mango and chicken seems like a weird combination!
It was sooo good though, one of my fave dishes!
Pinot Grigio! lol
the food looks so goooooooodd
It was an awesome meal π but argh, so $$$!
Ooooh the chicken and mango looks delish!!!
I REALLY liked that dish. Well, i liked most of em P
Wow you’re actually enjoying the vegetables.
Haha you know, you’re right. THese were done so well!
Pinot Grigio! lol
the food looks so goooooooodd
It was an awesome meal π but argh, so $$$!
Ooooh the chicken and mango looks delish!!!
I REALLY liked that dish. Well, i liked most of em P
Wow you’re actually enjoying the vegetables.
Haha you know, you’re right. THese were done so well!