KABB Bar & Grill 凯博西餐厅
Unit 1, Bldg 5, North Block, Xintiandi, Lane 181 Taicang Lu,
Xintiandi
nenear Huangpi Nan Lu, Metro Line 1 Huangpi Nan Lu Station
太仓路181弄新天地北里5号楼单元1室
近黄陂南路, 地铁1号线黄陂南路站
3307-0798
Open Sun-Thu 7am-2am, Fri-Sat 7am-3am
Price Y200-Y299 per couple
Accepts International Credit Cards
- Share with a friend
- Add a review
- Add an event here
- Report corrections or abuse
- Is this your business?
Claim it!
- City Weekend says
This Xintiandi mainstay offers a wide mix of salads, sandwiches, pastas and steaks. Don't miss their famous Reuben sandwich or the do-it-yourself Bloody Mary kit. If you're craving a homestyle breakfast, they also serve hearty weekend brunches, going all out with eggs, bacon, potatoes and grilled tomatoes.
- Contributor Description
KABB serves up hearty American fare for City Weekend's Gourmet Week. KABB bar & grill is a Xintiandi hotspot where executives make deals, ladies lunch and friends brunch all fresco or meet for drinks after work. You’re sure to run into someone you know...
Reviews
Been there? Add a review!
Went here for dinner on a Thursday evening to accidentally find out about the steak special night. The place was packed! Their staff was great! We were greeted immediately upon arrival and didn't wait long for a table w/o a reservation. The staff was continually very attentive; best service I have experienced so far in Shanghai. The sirloin steak special was okay, what to expect from sirloin; somewhat tough but was prepared appropriately. The mashed potatoes the steak comes with are instant, left a bit to be desired. House wine was above average for a house wine.
We went last night after work for dinner. It was packed, and only became more so the longer we were there. The atmosphere was good, music a bit louder, but it fit the place. We sat at the bar until a table became available.
We both loved our drinks--the mulled wine and the peppermint patty were a great way to start our meal. My husband's steak was cooked just as he asked and he really enjoyed it. However, the wrong dish was brought out to me. I let them know and they took it back to the kitchen. Then the waitress brought it back out to me and asked me if I'd like to try the wrong dish. I politely let her know that I did not and that I would like the dish I ordered. A few minutes later, my proper entree was brought out.
I found this very bizarre and inappropriate behavior for a restaurant. The waitress wasn't rude at all, and she was very sweet, but if someone orders an entree and the wrong one is brought out, you shouldn't ask your customer if they want the wrong dish. That's tacky and inappropriate. I don't feel that it was a lack of communication at all, as I pointed to the name on the menu and she had repeated the orders back to us before leaving the table.
In all, the food was good, but the combination of feeling uncomfortable about being asked to take the wrong dish, as well as it being SO full (there were at least 20 people waiting in a very small area, pouring over into the actual dining area and waiting along the walls) it made us feel like we needed to rush to give someone else our spot. It's a bit uncomfortable having people watch us eat as they're waiting for us to leave.
My suggestion would be to find a time when it's not busy, probably before 6, as we were there at 6:30.
Sundays sitting under a umbrella or squeezed under a portable heater Sunday's sitting outside is a favorite spot of mine. Add the bloody Mary kit , doubled up to numb the weeks stress. Two egg breakfast is a definate favorite, but over hard, over easy ..needs some work , sending it back and it comes microwaved, isn't the way to correctly make a over hard fried egg.
I recently went to have breakfast at Kabb on the weekend. The service requires an improvement, considering this place comes with good recommendations. We had to wait for 45 minutes to get our breakfast at our table. The banana pancakes were plain with butter and 4 pieces of banana on top. Quite a disappointment ;(
The name makes it sound like a pub, but it's actually a casual restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere. I particularly like the large glass-panelled ceilings that allow sunlight to come streaming in. A lovely way to kick back on their large red sofas and enjoy a lazy morning.
Strangely, the waitress steadfastly refused to speak to me in English, despite the fact that she knew how to. Even when I asked questions in English, she responded in Chinese - despite me telling her that I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND what she was saying! Their staff needs to be trained to be a little more attuned to their customers - if they customer can't speak Chinese and has made it clear, stop insisting on using Chinese (especially when it's obvious you can speak English).
That aside, we were glad the food came out fairly swiftly. The portions are very generous, but then again, we expected them to be as the prices are high. My Spinach and cheese frittata with tomato, fried potatoes and bread was not bad. I found the frittata a little too dense at the end, since it was a very plain egg + spinach mix. The menu said "pinenuts", but I counted 3 in total. It should also have been served with some tomato sauce on the side, since it was relatively tasteless. However, the 4 (carefully counted) mini cubes of cheese next to the frittata gave it a great punch of flavour. The tomato was excellent, served with some melted cheese on top. It was really juicy and tasty, and went very well with the bland frittata. I thoroughly enjoyed the fried potatoes, that came with onions and bacon. They were so tasty, though a bit on the oily side. The slice of bread came with no-frills butter and jam, and would have been much more impressive served with homemade/gourmet jam and a pot of fluffy butter.
The Poached eggs hollandaise with smoked salmon came out very impressive looking, and the eggs were perfectly poached. Hurray! The serving of smoked salmon was generous. It came on top of a slice of French baguette instead of the usual English muffins, because, oddly, they were out of those muffins. The sides of tomato and fried potatoes were also the same - not very imaginative ;)
The breakfast set came with a mug of coffee, and I was pleased that it wasn't in a tiny little coffee cup. Impressively, the coffee was good, despite it being standard coffee, and the waitress wrinkling her nose at it whilst she was trying to "up-sell" the other coffees to us (since those didn't come with the set and had to be paid for). We liked the cute little chocolate nut biscuit that it was served with - a nice touch.
Despite us sitting there chilling out for quite awhile, we weren't rushed out or hassled to leave, which I appreciated. The vibe is nice and casual, and the food is not bad. A nice way to spend the morning on a weekend :)
PHOTOS HERE: http://beverly.livejournal.com/809386.html
Funny Pirx; Like many others in Shanghai Kabb's bartenders rush on the gin and never on the tonic, great stuff :)
"Kabbs Gin tonics taste like water lately"
Sometimes the tonic is disproportionate to the gin. It happens when bartenders rush.
Just simply send it back, instead of taking your grudges home and posting them on the internet.
"highest realistically achievable level'
Definitely untrue, Kabbs Gin tonics taste like water lately, seems the amount of alcohol is reduced to less tha a drop, shameful....
Agreed :)
KABB are survivors. Same as the Blue Frog, they do not aspire to culinary excellence but rather concentrate on consistency on the highest realistically achievable level.
It is the right policy in a society that is so totally focused on mediocrity and hopelessly undisciplined. You can't aim for the stars, because it will take too much of your strength to fight for achieving and maintaining the best.
You can try as a wholly foreign owned, wholly foreign staffed venture and reach for the stars, but happily the Chinese made it illegal - you got to employ their people, else you won't operate.
So, here we are, having to put up with omnipresent mediocrity in China and be happy about the simple things that actually do work out, sometimes.
Sure, the menu looks suspiciously like Blue Frog (and for good reason), but I am a big fan of Sunday brunches. The eggs benedict makes my day.
Don't order the Greek salad because you won't get anything resembling one. You'll get a mountain of iceberg lettuce, a few sad bits of olive and feta cheese, and pay RM70+.
the place is pretty nice. pretty expensive but understandable given its local. staffs are nice and friendly. but the food is just average, thought they should do better given how much they charge. pretty disappointed.
I thought that I would post a comment on this subject since we had dinner at Kabb on January 2, 2009. This restaurant is over priced and the quality does not command that price. Think of the prices of a Morton's Steak House and the quality lower than Applebee's. We had a group of 4 and between us we had salads, French fries, new potatoes, filet mignon, sirloin steak, sea bass and other sides. The salads were made with low quality greens and the dressing was just plain sour. The French fries were the quality of a low end diner. The new potatoes were over-seasoned over-cooked potato chunks that were over salted. The sea bass was dry and flavorless. The beef was about the quality you would expect at Applebee’s.
Now let’s talk about the service. I am American, my wife is Chinese and the other 2 guests are also Chinese. Our server practically ignored my wife and the other guests. The server paid attention to me until I complained about the watered down drinks. This dinner cost us about 1500rmb ($200+ US).
The décor of the restaurant was nice. It has the appearance of an up scale bistro. They do pack the customers in like sardines.
I would only recommend this restaurant to western customers who enjoy paying too much for their food.
i always enjoy kabb on a sunny sunday afternoon. good food, nice people, good service.
I don't get it. Kabb seems so popular. But, I don't see why. I used to work across the street, but never came except when someone else suggested.
The food is meh. It doesn't remind me of home, but rather like a Chinese cooking staff trying to cook American. Which is to say, I would never go there if given the choice.
BTW, surprisingly, I'd say Hooters offers up the best hamburger in Shanghai. Which is kinda sad if you think about it, but really, it's a good burger and it tastes like America. Still waiting for Fatburger to hit Shanghai though.
i went there for lunch one weekday with a friend. the environment is nice. order the tuna sandwich but was not very satisfied with the burnt bread and fries. the tuna and the sauce though were pretty good. we were impressed by the way the staff handled one complain. not bad, not bad at all. generally speaking it's a place recommended to try in shanghai.
KABB was mentioned in CW's Drinking Al Fresco story. Read up about this venue and more to make the most out of your summer.
Kabb is value for money, especially in overpriced XTD. Food is good standard, no surprises.
However, socialism takes its toll. The other day I went for early lunch at 11:40 and more than half of the large non-smoking area tables were taken by staff having their lunch. I refused the seat among them, much to the surprise of the waitress.
I turned on my heel and took my business elsewhere.
Kabb was the last place I will go in XTD from now on. The service is getting really terrible. Case 1: brunch during the weekend, my husband I sat down and the waitress provided the standard lunch menu (instead of brunch menu). It is ok. She took the order, found out the food would not be done. 2 times, the same situation...then we left. Case 2: On Thur. evening, 2 friends and I sat on the table (for 4 person space), then Kabb want to take more biz and asked my friend sit at the coner, in direct of the toilet. I saw the other customers (the couple) sat at 4 person space, 3 couples has the same situation, Why not ask one of them to move a little bit instead of u? How would it be? I asked the reason why, the funny answer was: because the customered asked for, and Kabb has limited space... OMG...
Nacho-rama
Lately our cravings have had a decidedly Mexican-inspired bent to them--our ears perk up every time the word "tacos" float within earshot. The other night we even tried whipping up a batch of our own nachos with some Tostitos, salsa and a few diced tomatoes and olives slewn on top of grated cheese that we nuked in the microwave for a few minutes. While this may work for a 2am craving, it's admittedly not the most satisfying. Though we have found a heft plate of nachos that are. Xintiandi may not be the place you'd think to look, but KABB Bar & Grill actually has a very tasty, not to mention heftily portioned, offering of nachos (YY85). These corn tortilla chips are adorned in beef chili helped out by a hearty helping of melted cheese and a fair sprinkling of lettuce and black olives. The lynch pin of course is the accompanying guacamole, salsa and sour cream, though if you're an avid fan of these dips like we are, you may need to ask for a little extra.
initially was going to go to Simply Thai for lunch but since there was no one in the whole restaurant, i decided to check out this packed place instead. ordered the prime rib sandwich (which cost 100RMB) but totally worth it!! best piece of steak i've had since i've come to shanghai. service was excellent and the waitress kept checking the make sure everything was ok. aside from the pricier menu, would go there again for the food for sure.
Excellent place, great terrace where food is consistent with very reasonable prices. Service also very good. I visit Kabb often, (I'm not a tourist, I live in Shanghai for 5 years) and I will recommend it to anyone. Thanks Bob !
The reuben. My god. Would be hard pressed to find a better one in Shanghai I imagine.
Dear Bob,
Thank you for your follow-up. I find it very encouraging that restauranteurs are interested in customer's feedback. Your marketing manager, Rob Rankin actually wrote to me asking me essentially what you posted above. I have responded to him but he has yet to reply. I shall attach my reply in this posting for your information.
I remembered the food to be "not too bad", which IMHO is average. The offer in KABB is 'standard' american fare with generally big portions but probably more of a bar ambience than restaurant. It was way too dark for me to read menu. The prices are high for what it is.
My ratings is based on a combination of factors, such as quality of food, menu spread, authenticity, price, environment & decor, service levels, wine/beverage selections. I am not a professional food critic and I don't have a developed points system published. I am just a foodie who loves to eat and have been blessed to be able to visit several countries for their cuisines.
I am a fan of Blue Frog and I go there frequently. Especially to the branch at Novel City. In fact, I went there several times during the soft opening and gave the restaurant manager some of my feedback.
Again, I am pleased that you have followed up with my posting and I promise you that I shall revisit KABB in the near future again and re-rate my posting, if necessary.
Best regards, Jeremy
Dear Jeremy,
I was surprised to see your review of KABB on this site. We take our customer’s feedback really seriously so if you have had a negative experience please let us know the details so that we can make improvements. Contrary to what you have written, 80% of our customers live in Shanghai. While tourist and out of town visitors are always welcome, our core business comes from locals. We have a strong commitment to the community and over the past eight years have worked hard at creating a great customer experience for our patrons. I’m a little unclear as to what occurred that would cause you to rate us at one star and welcome a more detailed account of what took place when you dined with us. I (and I’m sure many of the readers of this page) would really like to know by what criteria you are rating restaurants. Also it would be great to hear a little bit about your background and your experience in restaurant reviews.
Sincerely,
Bob Boyce CEO KABB and blue frog
Average american food. Probably good enough for the tourist in XTD that has enough of chinese food. Prices are high and the food quality is average. For the folks based in Shanghai, there are much better choices elsewhere.
This stylish place in the hub of Shanghai's most western bar&restaurant street is a good option on a Sunday night. Or any night for that matter. Their salads come super-sized and I suggest you try their chicken and feta penne that melts in your mouth. Mid-range prices and eager to please staff, so what if their daiquiry is yellow instead of red?
overrated in xintiandi have been to kabb numerous times and the service and atmosphere are excellent. however the food is adequate at best. appetizers and mains were just so so, however the salads are impressive in their scale. in short the menu has no real direction, and generally feels like a poor interpretation of what you might find at friday's, only more expensive and located in the heart of xintiandi-go figure.
...I try several dishes and always food satisfied me ,also for beverage has great selection Bloody Mary is one of best house cocktail ...