El Cóctel
2/F, 47 Yongfu Lu (???47?)
Shanghai, China
PRICE: ?????
RATING:

Beautiful and luxe, the semi-hidden (it’s on the 2nd floor after stepping through a nondescript entrance and tiny steep staircase – watch your head!), El Coctel is owed by the famous Willy of El Willy restaurant. It’s actually relatively empty early in the evening, until about 10 or 11PM when it really fills up (remember to make a reservation or the bouncer at the door will simply refuse you entry).

The staff are absolutely top-notch. Fluent in English, polite, extremely attentive, and prompt. One of the best service experiences I’ve had in Shanghai. I love the eclectic mix of plush couches and ottomans though it was curious they had some sort of Buddhist(?) offering in the middle of the room against the wall.

El Coctel

Taken as the sun was going down

We were delighted that they served us complimentary filtered water, not boiled tap water, upon us being seated. We were also treated to a little bowl of fluffy popped corn that was slightly salted and slightly sweet. Very tasty and lovely to nibble on with our cocktails.

Complimentary popped corn

And that’s what they’re famous for – the cocktails. I was actually quite shocked at the prices (which are around 72RMB per cocktail). They are EXPENSIVE. Even pricier than cocktails you’d get in fancy places on The Bund! They’re also the same size, and padded with a LOT of ice, so it’s certainly not value for money. We thought they would serve very high-quality liquor , but the cocktail was simply made of “house whiskey”. Not that the cocktails weren’t good – they were just fine – just not worth the value.

Cocktails

The whiskey cocktail, forgot the actual name

But we weren’t here for the cocktails 😉 We were here for………. THE SANDWICHES!!!! I’m normally not a sandwich person but I am totally SOLD on these babies. You get a Free Sandwich (hurray!!), worth 58RMB, for every 2 cocktails per person ordered, between 5 – 7:30PM. The sandwiches were made with thin pressed buttered toast, sandwiching thick slices delicious ham and smothered in melted guyere cheese. Heavenly. Who ever knew the simple ham & cheese sarnie could be so damn fantastic?
For that reason alone, we’d go back to El Coctel. But we’d never go there outside of that promotion period because then, the prices are just not worth it.

Mustard, ham, Emmental cheese

Mozzarella, Italian ham, arugula, truffle oil

LOL! Well.. some is true I suppose. Other parts, not so much..

You Are Pepperoni

You are well liked and popular. You know how to be yourself, and people appreciate that. You are extremely easy to get along with, but you don’t change for anyone. You’re unique and proud of it. You enjoy being the center of attention. When other people are around, you are always on. You don’t like to compromise. You have a dominant personality, and luckily, you’re likely to get your way.

What Pizza Topping Are You?