Guide Details

Best Cocktail Bars in Shanghai

Check hotel prices in Shanghai

Best cocktail bars in Shanghai for Speak Low, COA, listening bars, bourbon rooms, Chinese ingredients, agave, bespoke drinks, and late reservations.

Shanghai1 guide10 mapped stops
Nightlife

Best Cocktail Bars in Shanghai

Guide: Listening Bars, Speakeasies & Shanghai Technique

Shanghai cocktail culture rewards precise room choice: some bars are designed for listening, some for bespoke conversation, some for local ingredients, and others for a louder multi-floor night. Technique matters, but so do seating, music, and pace.

  • J. BoroskiJ. Boroski is a dark, meticulously built speakeasy where bartenders work from guest preferences instead of a conventional menu; the bespoke format carries luxury pricing.
  • Root DownRoot Down pairs Japanese-led cocktails with vintage Tannoy speakers and focused funk, soul, jazz, and rare-groove vinyl, rewarding a bar seat and attentive listening.
  • Senator SaloonSenator Saloon has survived by protecting a simple formula: bourbon, Prohibition-era classics, barrel-aged drinks, dark wood, and a cozy room with little trend chasing.
  • Dead PoetDead Poet favors subtle, slow-sipping cocktails and living-room seating on Jinxian Road, making the tight room better for a date or two friends than a crowd.
  • Speak LowHidden behind a bartending-equipment shop, Speak Low stacks several rooms with rising intensity and price, from lively classics to intimate premium pours upstairs.
  • Bar No. 3Bar No. 3 is an unusually comfortable all-day cocktail room with low seating, measured jazz, strong classics, and a small terrace suited to unhurried dates.
  • HealerHealer builds cocktails around Chinese herbs, teas, fruits, and medicinal ideas, delivering an unmistakably local vocabulary without turning the drinks into costume.
  • Union Trading CompanyUnion Trading Company balances stiff American-style classics, bourbon, brandy, and house infusions with enough bar food and warmth to remain social rather than reverential.
  • COA ShanghaiCOA Shanghai spreads agave spirits across several levels, with mezcal, tequila, and flavor-driven cocktails connecting the Hong Kong original to a more expansive room.
  • Penicillin ShanghaiThe Shanghai branch of Hong Kong's sustainability-minded Penicillin turns fermentation, preservation, and low-waste technique into bold drinks rather than a moralizing concept pitch.
J. Boroski venue sourceBar No. 3 venue sourceSenator Saloon venue sourceSpeak Low venue source

Reviewed by RGuide EditorialVenue details checked

More nightlife guides near Shanghai

FoodBest Restaurants in ShanghaiGuide: Jiangnan Precision & Destination TablesShanghai's destination dining is not one cuisine. These rooms move from Jiangnan and Shanghainese memory to Fujian seafood, Cantonese banquets, vegetarian technique, and international fine dining, with enough contrast to justify every reservation.StayBest Hotels in ShanghaiGuide: Bund Grande Dames, Design Houses & Quiet ResortsShanghai hotels turn geography into mood: Bund landmarks place the spectacle outside the window, Jing'an design houses put dining and shopping close, and city-edge resorts exchange convenience for space, heritage, and recovery.