What is it? A chic new 'bar and cafe' from the same team behind popular Xuhui cocktail den Bar No. 3. They've taken over the space that briefly hosted Madison above Connoisseur's and Wine Plus and around the corner from glo London. A light and airy spot by day - helped by the floor-to-ceiling windows that run along one side - Blackbird is a low-lit, casual bar and eatery by night.
What's on the menu? The owners have installed the former head cocktail creator at Bar No. 3 behind the bar at Blackbird, and currently the drinks menu features an inventive range of seasonal and classic cocktails. Aside from a spritzer for 78RMB, there are few familiar names on the menu - 'classic' here means old-school drinks and reinterpretations of them, such as an Aviatrix (98RMB) mixing gin, Cocchi, cherry, brandy and bitters. Most drinks hover around the 80-90RMB mark.
On the food side, they've brought in the Italian chef who was formerly heading up The Press by Inno Coffee to rustle up dishes from their open kitchen. The soft opening menu features starters such as stuffed Portobello mushrooms (58RMB), baked grapes with brie (78RMB) and a tasty, if slightly small-portioned, assortment of battered shrimp and calamari (78RMB).
There's a single pasta dish - gnocchi with blue cheese and roasted pear (76RMB) - a frittata (58RMB), soups, a couple of salads (including smoked salmon for 78RMB) and more substantial mains such as fish 'n' chips (98RMB), tagliata beef (190RMB) and a pair of well-judged barbecue chicken legs with bay leaf-rubbed potatoes (86RMB).
We say Blackbird only opened last weekend so there's understandably a fairly limited food menu at present, but the dishes on offer show plenty of promise. Add in the already established quality of the cocktails and this new spot could well become just as popular as Bar No. 3.
