Stiller's Restaurant & Cooking School
The Cool Docks, 6-7/F, Bldg 13, 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu,
The Bund
near Fuxing Dong Lu, Metro Line 4 Nanpu Bridge Station Exit 2
中山南路505弄13号楼6-7楼
近复兴东路，地铁4号线南浦大桥站2号口
6152-6501
www.stillers-restaurant.cn
info@stillers-restaurant.cn
6152-6505 (fax)
Open Mon-Sun 6pm-10:30pm
Price More than Y400 per couple
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- City Weekend says
The elegant interior and sleek lines of Chef Stefan Stiller's namesake restaurant exude sophistication. Weather permitting, grab a seat on the patio to enjoy a gorgeous view of the river while indulging in a selection of contemporary European cuisine. Opt for the "Cake of Foie Gras" and the beef tartar if you want a decadent start.
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Most Recent Reviews
Had the brunch there on the weekend, such a great experience!! Food is really fine. A bit pricey for our budget but I know they use the best ingredients and it worth it anyway. Their cocktails are also original and really nice. This restaurant became a must when we have something to celebrate. Want to try the cooking classes now...
Excellent, even a vegetarian set menu
I have been here on a few occasions and I have to say that hands down this is my favorite restaurant in Shanghai. I have never been disappointed with the food, ambience and service. I really appreciate the Stiller's attention to detail and their hands on involvement here- I have been very disappointed by other restaurants headed by so called "stars" where the staff lack basic training and the chefs themselves are too busy opening multiple venues to take care of the ones they already have.
You won't find this at Stillers. Every detail from start to finish is carefully thought out and planned. I'm always impressed at the level of service training of the staff. And everything down to the desserts is top class - all for a price that would be a steal if you had the same meal at a restaurant in a New York or Tokyo.
By the way, I have been very unhappy at so called fine dining experiences at places such as Mr. and Mrs. Bund - I will save that for another review.
I was there with a group of friends on a Sunday evening. Got there about 8.30, the restaurant was surprisingly empty with about 30% occupancy. All the better for us to have the whole restaurant to ourselves.
We started ordering, and Chef Stefan himself came up to us and made some small talk. I had the black truffles with foie gras on a base of risotto for starters, slow-braised beef cheeks with cauliflower consomme for mains. The characteristic scent of the truffles went well with the foie gras, which was also complemented by the light and refreshingly done risotto. Thing is, the risotto had undergone some 'foam' process and it was too light and fluffy. A pity, if the rice grains tasted a little more textured and less "airy" it would have been perfect, this was like eating a soft drink, that's the best explanation that comes to mind.
The beef cheeks came out looking nice, and the initial bites were fantastic. Soft and yet chewy enough to give that same "textured" feeling of satisfaction with enough bite. But perhaps it was slow-braised a little too long, the taste of the beef slowly became overpowering. I finished up all the cauliflower consomme as a foil for the red meat but I didn't expect the refill of another portion of beef cheeks to come. This was a plus point for them, but perhaps they could add in the consomme when serving the refill, as the rest of my dinner I was eating the beef and downing water as it became a little on the cloying side.
We had a cheese platter for dessert, simple and elegant. Only gripe is that they could have given us a few more breadsticks/ crackers for our table of 8 to pair with the various accents of cheese. Service was quick and efficient (although that's perhaps because there weren't many people in the restaurant; staff spoke reasonably understandable English too.
Other than that, great value for money overall. Bill came to about 400RMB per head, which is considered a steal for a Michelin-starred restaurant. We even got to see Stefan Stiller himself working in the live kitchen on our orders, which is not a frequent sight for a Michelin chef. Would recommend this restaurant, go on a slow night though I've heard service dips during peak periods, but that's a fact of life we have to accept I guess?
I attended Stiller's cooking school earlier this week, and had a great time. We made seasonal appetizers and starters, and ate each one at the table with a glass of wine after we'd made it. Great atmosphere, and good tips from Stefan.
You can judge the sincerity of a restaurant by the way they respond to feedback. In particular, having the right attitude and also confidence to address negative comments.
Service recovery is one of the toughest and most under-rated traits in the industry. How does one win back trust? Stiller's definitely do not take comments lightly and they clearly demonstrated this with class and generosity.
After I wrote about a somewhat surprisingly unpleasant dining experience, we were warmly invited back to the restaurant. This time, food was excellent (as usual) but it was the service that won us back again. Kudos to Micheal, clearly their star staff who was specially assigned to look after us. The Stillers also personally came round to make sure we were well taken care of.
This time, we left with a huge smile and a fat tip. We are definitely returning and spreading the gospel.
We had a long awaited mums night out tonight to celebrate 2 of the ladies birthday. Stiller's came highly recommended when we were deciding on the venue.
The degustation meal was totally divine. The food & presentation were heavenly and to-date it is one of the best restaurant in Shanghai I've ever eaten.
BUT sadly, the service was far from it. This being our rare night out, we were looking forward to a long night of fun & booze. Before the night kicked off, the manager reminded us to keep our volume down so as "not to disturb other customers". We are a table of 5 happy laughing ladies. During dinner, the staff forgot to serve 2 of the ladies water and their dessert. No apology was given.
We ordered more cocktails after dinner. One of the waitress (a caucasion girl) cleared my friend's unfinished drink without checking with her. When we told her about it, she returned to her clearing station to retrieve the SAME drink back to my friend and said "see, the drink has already melted, that's why". Then she shrugged and replied sarcastically "sorry ok?"
As the crowd thins, it was clear to us that the wait staff were dying to get rid of us. Before that they happily told us the restaurant will not close until the last customer leaves. But they were noisily clearing the tables around and doing everything they could to make us feel unwelcome.
When we finally leave, none of the staff thanked us or see us at the door. And this was after spending good money with an expectation of a great night out.
Great food, yes but the service ruins everything. What a pity.
I have eaten at a few restaurants this week and by far Stiller's has been the belle of the ball! the cool elegance cannot be matched and the foie gras....oh my heart melts, if only I had my expense account back the only places I would eat are here and Mr and Mrs Bund...nice one brother!
solid food (based on its prices it should be that good), service is good and ambience was great (it was quite packed on Friday night). suggest it more as an alternative to the real "bund" strip if you've been to all the restaurants there. It is a shame that Cool Docks is not better visited as the area is nicely decorated.
We had a great evening. The food & wine was excellent. Service was very good. We all liked very much the atmosphere, be it on the roof top terrace or in the restaurant.
Good service, nice atmosphere, nice views, nice wine. But for the price, this restaurant seems to have forgotten its main product i..e the food. On this point it failed miserably. Everything else though was great. So if you fancy being treated well, looking the part eating here, and don't mind paying a lot of money and leaving hungry and wanting, go for it. There are plenty of McDonalds around you can fill up on later.
this place does serve decent food but it is the only thing to its credit. the rest is a complete disgrace. I went there to see the eclipse. for its eclipse bfast package, Stiller's had decided to make people pay upfront even before they had sat down which is not the most relaxed way of starting one's breakfast... even though we had booked long in advance, the terrace had been over-booked and our table had been given to someone else, the staff refused to acknowledge the problem and we had to ask repeatedly for them to find us a table which they eventually generated, but not the kind of table that one expects when one had booked. it then transpired that for RMB150, breakfast did not include coffee... these people treat customers like cattle. This is not how one should run a restaurant... que se mueran los feos!
Hands down the most disappointing restaurant in Shanghai. At these prices, the food should have been a lot more stunning. Other than the tuna tartare, our dinner was downright disappointing. The truffle beef fillet didn't smell like it had any of the black gold on it - I was about to ask for some mustard to give it some flavour. We've had better fresher-tasting cod elsewhere in Huangpu. The 98rmb chocolate delight was a disaster. 5 pieces of half-melted chocolate which neither delighted nor pleased any palates.
To their credit, the wine list was excellent and spotted some good New World values while the service was attentive/prompt. Not that we will come back here any time soon unless on a government expense account.
Hands down the best restaurant in Shanghai. It is pricy but I don't think you will get a better fine dining experience in the whole of Shanghai. Location is a little out of the way and it took us a little while to find it. Nice roof terrace.
Quite unimpressed. After reading some good reviews and the buzz from "people in the know", I decided to try the place out; hey I had been hankering for a good meal. Some 400 USD and 2 tasting menu's + pair wine later, I was thoroughly unimpressed. Every course was just average, nothing really stood out. Anywhere else in the "West" this place would die out quickly but here in Shanghai, where a decent meal, is hard to come buy this is what you get for passable. Not returning any time soon. Oh and yes Stiller was in the kitchen prepare the food while I was there.
My Cool Docks Experience
Last Friday, April 10th, I visited the new Cool Docks (Lao Ma Tou) complex of restaurants and shops in the South Bund area of the Huangpu River waterfront as part of the research for a new Shanghai travel guide book I’m in the process of writing for an overseas publisher.
I’m in agreement with other online postings that this new development does seem to have a lot of potential, and could be a nice place to eat a meal or enjoy a cup of coffee, especially when sitting at an outdoor table in their large courtyard area. The layout of the site is obviously copied from Xintiandi, right down to the fake Shikumen house standing in the center of the courtyard. And it was relatively empty of customers on that sunny Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately, despite its potential as a nice place, my visit to the site was marred by some unpleasant treatment from the development’s over zealous security guards.
Since the shops and restaurants are located across the street from the Huangpu River and are rather low-level structures, you need to cross the street to actually view the waterfront. The Cool Docks developers have chosen to locate a large parking lot right on the waterfront, and from this parking lot you would have unobstructed views of the Huangpu River, the Nanpu Da Qiao and the Pudong skyline across the river. But you could only enjoy this view if the development’s security guards would allow you to actually enter the parking lot area, which is protected by a wall and gate.
In my case, despite repeated polite pleading in Chinese, the security guards refused to let me enter the parking lot, although I clearly explained to them that I simply wanted to take some photographs of the Huangpu River and Pudong skyline. In fact, they even ridiculed me in Chinese, saying that, “Oh, he’s just a tourist!” Meanwhile upper class Chinese customers kept driving their luxury sedans in and out of the parking lot, to which I was refused entry. The message seemed to be no foreigners, no tourists, and no photographers allowed.
This impression was only deepened when I crossed the street back over to the shops area and approached another security guard who was protecting the entry to the building housing the development’s property management office. This guard confirmed that the parking lot on the waterfront belonged to Cool Docks and that the guards protecting it were also employed by the Cool Docks development. When I asked him in Chinese if I could talk to someone working in the property developer’s office I was told that I could not. Next, when I tried to photograph the outside of the building housing the property developer’s office I was told by the guard that taking pictures was not allowed. When I tried to take a picture of the outside of the building anyway, the guard actually pushed me from the side in order to jostle my camera and ruin my shot of the building.
All in all I was left to conclude that Cool Docks does not welcome foreigners, tourists or photographers. They seem to see their target market as exclusively being upper class Chinese. It’s safe to say that unless I receive an apology from the property management company Cool Docks will not be receiving any positive publicity in my forthcoming Shanghai travel guide book, and judging from the empty tables at their restaurants I’d say they could use any free advertising they could get.
The message for the property manager is teach your security guards some customer service skills.
The Yangzi Man (04-15-09)
I admit i read the review AFTER i went to Stiller's on the cool docks..Last friday, 19:30, i am hungry and finally arrive (as the lst of the group of 4) at the Cool Docks. I am almost sent to a Swedish cooking class on the 6th, but make it to the 7th floor and our window-with gorgeous view table. On came a trio of shrimp starters. One more innovative than the other. I love food in trios, chef Stiller ! Starters: As born carnivore i went for the tartare, brilliant choice as the meat and the grain mustard "frozicle" in the middle (hidden under a quail fried egg) just melted in my mouth. Sweet, Spicy and meaty...yumm. This was accompanied by caper surrounded scallops who added with surprising texture to the dish. (My wife had the foi gras cake and completely dreamy about it for days after).The bread alone is also worth mentioning, came with some delish amuse bouche pret-a-tartiner sides (3 of course). My man was the Cod...with blood sausage cake (fried) on a bed of cabbage..mm. Bold -but again convincing. I had to skip desert but was suprised again with a PRE-desert from Stiller's...Instead i opted for a small array of cheese . Coffee with gourmandises..a perfect evening. Service was meticulous and Stefan and his wife joined us later for a chat and a glass of wine. We will be back !(also to try the cooking classes !!!)
Be Still My Appetite
A destination for those seeking quality food and an alternative to the more familiar Bund setting, Chef Stefan Stiller’s namesake restaurant exudes a relaxed air of sophistication from the moment you step into its elegant, chic interior. White tablecloths, vases overflowing with fragrant lilies, sleek edges and a beautiful patio that boasts a less commercially bombarded profile of the Pudong skyline set the scene as we settled near the window to take a short tour through the menu. We began with the Cake of Foie Gras (RMB145). Split into two layers and topped with balsamic jelly so that it did in fact appear the part. Our triangular slice of foie gras, complemented by candied pineapple, lived up to the epicurean expectations that always accompany fine dining’s superstar delicacy. Another bread and butter of a refined restaurant, the beef tartar (RMB110), was uniquely presented—finely chopped morsels of tartar were molded into a cube surrounding grain mustard ice cream, then topped with a sunny-side-up quail egg and surrounded by seared scallops topped with a caper and vinegar foam. Off to a decadent start, we followed with a Mediterranean-inspired turbot fillet (RMB245). Moist and tender, its flavor was drawn out by the sweetness of a bed of confit tomatoes and the saltiness of a few capers and black olive tapenade. Other dishes such as black cod (RMB210) on a bed of white cabbage encircled by small, deep-fried spheres of blutwurst-praline (black pudding) showcase the chef’s German roots. Meticulous preparation goes into many items that grace the menu. Stiller, who jovially wanders from the open prep kitchen in the center of the dining area to check in on guests, tells us that the tender and flavorful 36-hour slow-braised beef cheek (RMB225) spends three days marinating in an intricately prepared jus before it reaches the braising stage. Stuffed near beyond capacity but determined to take in the full experience, we enjoyed a complimentary pre-dessert of delicate banana mousse topped with a layer of thick butterscotch before our senses were pleasantly overrun by the chocolate fennel mousse with saffron ice cream (RMB75), a unique combination whose rich mousse whispers with a hint of anise. Enjoy these with a few glasses of some outstanding German wines that Stiller himself has taken the time to select and import, or a nice bitter espresso to balance the palate. --Trista Baldwin