The 9 hottest bars, restaurants and cafés in Shanghai this month

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The pavement's on fire and so are Shanghai's newest openings in the food and drink world this summer – we've got our minds on stylish drinks with Asian flair, smokey meats from the barbecue, giant stacks of pancakes, super funky burgers and more. So even if you only have eyes for frozen cocktails and the city's swankiest swimming pools, don't let all the awesome things to do this summer keep you from trying out what we're craving from Shanghai's hottest tables this July.

MAYA

Stylish Mexican eats establishment Maya has also welcomed a new chef – Jonathan Ynsensé has just arrived from Puebla, Mexico with a bunch of great new menu items. Think buttery soft tuna tostaditas, Caribbean sea bass ceviche, tamarind-glazed halibut with quinoa, saucy cochinita and chicken mole tacos, portobello mushroom relleno, Mexican fusion hongshao rou and lots, lots more.

MAYA Second Floor, Shanghai Grand Plaza Club House, 568 Julu Lu, near Xiangyang Bei Lu, Jingan district.

Zeitgeist

Opening up in the spot formerly home to Bubbly Nation, Zeitgeist is filling the Bavarian cuisine void in Shanghai, serving up golden-fried schnitzel, plump wursts, hearty roast pork dishes and potatoes a-plenty. The whole pork knuckle, or schweinshaxe, is the restaurant’s standout dish – its crackled skin expertly crisped to form a perfect shell that keeps the pink roasted flesh beneath moist, smokey and brimming with the flavour of a fresh ham hock. Head in on Mondays to get the knuckle with cabbage salad and two beers for an awesome 198RMB.

Zeitgeist 37 Haifang Lu, near Xikang Lu, Jingan district.

Xixi Bistro Bar and Lounge

In its new Xintiandi home, the owners are billing Xixi Bistro's eatery and bars as a single enterprise, but you can visit the space’s watering holes without dining – and they’re the real reason to hit up the reincarnation of the fusion eatery. You’ve got your choice of one of two vibes: a posh tiki bar in the smaller first room, or a bold and modish low-lit lounge à la 1930s Shanghai in the second; both with excellent East meets West cocktails. You're likely to be happy with anything you choose – there's something to satisfy all palates here, and whatever cocktail you fancy will arrive classy, balanced and delightful.

Xixi Bistro Bar and Lounge Xintiandi North Block, No 16, Lane 181, Taicang Lu, near Huangpi Nan Lu, Huangpu district.

Diner

Pancakes dripping with butter and syrup; greasy burgers piled high with all kinds of toppings; Spam-stacked Bloody Marys and foie gras French toast – this is some seriously sexy food porn, and you have Chef Austin Hu to thank for these graphic images. His new retro-style joint Diner is the place to be, one where the heavy plates are the sweetest of commitments; ones that perhaps bring both the strongest of satisfactions and the most serious guilt. An ideal spot for your hangover breakfast (at any time of the day), this is where to go to indulge after over-indulging.

Diner 145 Wuyuan Lu, near Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, Xuhui district.

OH MY BURGER!

It may be four years after the ramen burger started taking cities by storm, but newly opened OH MY BURGER! is finally helping Shanghai see what all the fuss is about. Throw away all thoughts of boring buns – the team’s ‘Ramen’ features two pan-fried handmade ramen ‘buns’ with a solid beef patty, cheese, egg and rocket topped o with a ketchup-sriracha mix sandwiched in between. It’s kinda crazy, but hard not to love. And it don’t stop there – OMB is home to seven other creative burgers, all with a strong East-meets-West focus.

OH MY BURGER! 691 Jianguo Xi Lu, near Hengshan Lu, Xuhui district.

BUCO

Gemma's new brand BUCO is scooping up downright delicious gelato from a little window beside the restaurant. Helmed by Italian gelato master Salvatore Nasell, BUCO has what’s probably the best gelato on offer in Shanghai – the team are importing only the finest ingredients from Europe (pistachios, fruit purées, hazelnuts, chocolate and the like), and freezing them up on what they call ‘the Ferrari of gelato machines’, a Carpigiani, helping them assure the tastiest, creamiest, most awesome gelato and sorbets around. Don’t miss the pistachio or baccio (hazelnut and chocolate) flavours.

BUCO 20 Donghu Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu, Xuhui district.

The Beer Lady 2.0

The Beer Lady – you know her, you love her. Her eponymous store boasts one of the largest (if not the largest) selections of local and international brews in Shanghai, and now there's a whole new mega shop on Kaixuan Lu in Changning (main entrance on Yanan Xi Lu), just around the corner from the original beer marketplace. And legend tells us this one's got about 30 percent more on offer than the first; around 3,000 different bottles. Head in to grab some cold summer brews.

The Beer Lady, Kaixuan Lu 1010 Kaixuan Lu, near Yan'an Xi Lu, Changning district.

The Blind Pig

The same team behind popular sports bar Big Bamboo and Mexican restaurant Pistolera is now focusing on a brand new (and extremely promising) concept – barbecue and bourbon. It's safe to say that they take their booze very seriously here: be blown away by the splendid array of drinks on the shelves as the bar offers just short of a hundred different kinds of bourbons and whiskeys. The food menu boasts a wide variety including salads, burgers, sandwiches, and of course, barbecued meats – and lots of them. Headed-up by a Mexican chef, expect loads of Tex-Mex flavours in these dishes.

The Blind Pig Lane 3338-8 Hongmei Lu, Laowai Jie, near Yan'an Xi Lu, district.

Crafted by Bistro Burger

Being lovers of the team’s original joint Bistro Burger and its awesome boozy shakes, we had to give this new spot a chance, and boy are we glad we did. The prices are modest, and the rooftop terrace is a great place to spend an afternoon sipping wine, so tuck into a few of your waiter’s recommendations and you'll be a happy diner. Don't miss the lobster mac and cheese, which is quite simply fabulous.

Crafted by Bistro Burger 199 Hengshan Lu, near Yongjia Lu, Xuhui district.