Mesa | Manifesto 魅莎
748 Julu Lu,
Jing An
near Fumin Lu, Metro Line 1 Changshu Lu Station
巨鹿路748号
近富民路，地铁1号线常熟路站
6289-9108
Open 11am-3pm, 6pm-10:30pm (bar till very late, not actually fixed)
Price More than Y400 per couple
Accepts International Credit Cards
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- City Weekend says
Closing at the end of July
An old electronics factory found new life in the form of this chic dining space. Legendary brunches make this a popular weekend stop. Snag a balcony seat when the weather’s nice or pop by in the evening when the playlist jumps from reggae to funky jazz. Officially, Mesa is the restaurant half of the establishment and Manifesto is the bar.
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Last week my husband and daughter and I had a wonderful dinner at mesa. We were recommended to go by a friend and its reputation really lived up to expectation. It wasn’t overly busy, but it was a Wednesday – around 60% full. The staff greeted us very politely and we had a nice table next to the window. The atmosphere was warm but spacious, had a trendy but easy feel to it. My husband and I had champagne to start with – first time I have seen Bollinger by the glass in Shanghai, my daughter had a mocktail. Dinner was a feast – the honey goat’s cheese was beautifully presented – looked like a sun made of beetroot discs! And the lamb rump was juicy and cooked perfectly. We practically licked the snapper curry bowl clean. We ordered a bottle of Australian Shiraz recommended by the Manager. He was openly biased, as he was Australian too, but the wine was superb and matched our food really well. We were full by dessert but we couldn’t go past a chocolate lava cake. We made such a fuss over it and the honey-brittle that the manager brought over more to settle us down! Mesa is awesome. They just celebrated their 7th anniversary – 7 years ANYWHERE is a great achievement and a testament of their status and quality. A must!
Went with a group for a drink and meal last night, but unfortunately will not be going back again. The service was average at best, and this is quite a generous assessment! It took about 30 minutes for my glass to finally be filled with wine, and there was no complimentary water provided upon arrival. Instead, the restaurant staff brings over 60rmb (!!!) bottles of water for you to choose from without disclosing the ridiculous price at the time of offering. The surprise came in the bill at the end of the evening. This left a very bad taste in my mouth. The meal itself was OK. I had the antopasto platter as an entree which was well presented and varied, but my main was completely underwhelming. I ordered the sirloin steak for just under 200 rmb and it was grey in colour. It was definitely not a grass-fed beast and although quite tender, was an inferior piece of meat. It was served alongside some frozen steak fries. I ended up paying over 800rmb for 2 people for the meal. This included one entree to share, two mains and a couple of glasses of average wine. The whole experience was really disappointing, despite the restaurant's definite visual appeal and terrific location. Good luck surviving in the big city! Can't see this happening, sorry.
the ambiance is good, especially on a sunny day, you can choose your place in the balcony on second floor. About the volume of each dish are not so much. I think it is a good place to drop by for a cozy sunday afternoon , after that can walk along that street for some window shopping..
woww...Kelley, bad experience? Come on, Mesa is not that bad...quite a place to do drinks...but guess its just to each to his eyes. :P
SUCKS! Don't go!!
im new in town...but best place I've been to on Julu so far...
one of those places I go for fine cocktails.
decent ppl to mingle with.
they have a nice balcony.
Usually the food is pretty good and the service is usually pretty bad.
great great food (especially the mains!) Dessert can be a notch better, excellent service and ambience. A great place for a date night out.
I am suprised at the comments below because I had a wonderful time at Mesa. Late last year it was my wife's birthday and, at a guide's recommendation, I decided to have her birthday dinner there. The atmosphere was sophisticated (the trees were a bit limp), the service attentive and polite, the menu had good variety and the food was great - easily the best I have had in Shanghai so far (we have only been here 6 months). I had the lamb and my wife had the king prawns and we shared a chocolate selection for dessert. I remember we both agreed that dinner was superb. The australian manager (Ben?) was a delight - very knowledgeable about Shanghai. We didn't go up to the bar, but we could hear that it was crowded. Apparently they have a terrace too. I would recommend this place to anyone!
i want to give my 2 cents regarding shangstar's comment, i think if the wait staff is rude, the issue is with the manager and owner, if the owner/manager does not train their wait staff well, this is what happen. The manger/owner should be blame for the bad service, not the wait staff...
UPDATE: Shortly after writing the previous review (see below) my gf got violently sick with food poisoning. Without a doubt, the food poisoning was due to eating at Mesa. Gf believes the culprit to be the oysters. Needless to say, having had our night ruined due to eating at Mesa we'll never return.
While it felt like -6C outside it was plenty warm inside Mesa, even next to the large windows. Waitresses and Manager were very attentive and spoke decent English. Though they seemed to always push us to order drinks. I started off with Potato and Lentil soup which was unimpressive due to its lack of taste. Mains however were well proportioned and ingredients fresh. I had the Cornish Hen and she had the Crispy Skinned Salmon with Oysters. Dessert was decent too with both of us ordering chocolate. A good place to splurge and stay warm around Christmas.
Went there recently. Upon walking in there was nobody at the door, despite the ground and upper floors being nearly empty. Eventually a woman turned up and asked if we wanted food or drinks. We wanted food. Asked if we could sit upstairs. She pondered the question as if they were full, which they clearly were not. Eventually said yes and seated us. Gave us the menu and offered some bread. We opted to eat tapas. Sorry they said, you cant sit here and just eat tapas, have to go to the bar area for that. Fine, but her arrogance was something else. So we got moved to the main bar tables, carrying our own drinks, which again was fine but she did not lead us to a table, merely told us to go over there in that direction while she chatted with her mates. Despite ordering 600 RMB's worth of food and drink for two, she took back the free bread rolls, as those were for diners, not drinkers. Everytime I have been to mesa the foreign owner/staff there have been so welcoming. There was also a male member of staff that night who was charming. But this stupid woman (young Chinese, hair tied back, arrogant and speaks decent English) really needs to be fired, as until then, I am never coming back. If however, the staff allow me to slap her hard in the face in full view of the public, then perhaps I will also return.
Very nice, one of the 'forget you're in China' venues of choice.
One major qualm I have is the massive mirrors in the toilets. Any illusions of glamour and sophistication you might have are shattered when your entire body, trousers around ankles an' all, is reflected back at you when you're on the bog.
i agree with missunlv even though i have not visited this place. why? I booked for dinner today and my reservation was confirm by phone. I happen to change my schedule and call up to cancel my reservation. To my surprise, the booking stuff told me that there is no such reservation. I am glad i couldn't make it and called up. What a "great" first impression.
3 stars, then
Very nice and quiet terrace indeed, with a great creative cocktail list, but I find food really disappointing for the price range. I'm more Manifesto than Mesa, if you ask me.
Manifesto was mentioned in CW's Drinking Al Fresco story. Read up about this venue and more to make the most out of your summer.
What impressed me was the good service of waiters as well as the snobbish waitress. Me and my friend went there for happy hour,cheap anyway but also the food is "cheap".For fruit plate they got like banana,water melon,two pieces of oranges(check the fruit plate at Otto,mango,kiwi,berry...What a comparison!)all the cheap fruit you can think of...The cocktail also looked that way...Can they make things a little better if they rise the price a little bit?I would appreciate.
Service sucks. Only few staffs can speak English. No Smile. Manager, named Jacob is a liar. Before leaving, I asked other staff to bring Manager. They said he went home. (It was only around 8~9pm, Thr.) However I saw him, chatting with girls within 10 min, during my waiting of taxi. So I walked in the restaurant and asked him why. He said he went home and came back for emergency. Maybe his home is in the restaurant (10 min. walk-in distance
Fresh food, good people Sometimes, if I'm lucky, Courtney Woo tells me when she's going to Mesa and lets me come along. We like to order a martini and a yummy salad and unwind after a long week.
excellent place nice for a dinner for two on weekend
Been there last weekend...the food was good but the beer I had was the ugliest beer I ever had in my life!It was called Duval...even water from the Huangpu river is better than this. The beer selection in general is horrible...enough space for improvements there...