[Quick News] 11 Shanghai Restos and Bars Win Tatler Awards

Shanghai on Tatler's List for Second Year...

Another awards list drops, and this time it's from Tatler magazine. For long-time expats, Shanghai's climb to global dining fame might feel slow; for others, meteoric. Either way, here's some context for anyone still catching up.

For years, Shanghai was off the radar for both Michelin and Tatler. The Michelin Guide Shanghai didn't appear until 2016, when the city finally got its first set of stars – 31 of them, to be exact. Then came a long wait for Tatler Asia to turn its gaze north of Hong Kong. It wasn't until 2024 that Tatler officially relaunched its "Tatler Best" coverage for the Chinese mainland, with Shanghai restaurants appearing in its Top 100 list for the first time.

Fast forward to 2025, and the Tatler Best Awards – a glossy celebration of hotels, restaurants, and bars across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East – took over Bangkok's Paragon Hall last night. Amid the glitz and good lighting, China made a statement: 31 local venues walked away as winners, signaling that the city's dining scene is no longer waiting for a seat at the table. It's running the kitchen.

In case you missed some of our other awards announcements, here are a few to catch you up on all the stellar places in Shanghai receiving recognition:

• 3 China Bars Secure Spots on The 2025 World's 50 Best Bars List
• 13 Shanghai Chefs Make the 2025 Best Chef Awards List
• [See & Be Seen] Shanghai Snags Over 40% of Golden Spoon Awards

So... 300 Winners, with China Taking More than 26% of Total Awards...

The list covers the top 100 Best Hotels, 100 Best Restaurants, and 100 Best Bars across Asia-Pacific. The 100 Best Award winners are spread across 26 categories, voted on by a jury panel of over 700 leading experts (seasoned critics, international journalists, industry professionals, and Tatler community members) representing the most discerning, well-traveled, and influential culinary connoisseurs around the world.

Taking it a step further, the coveted Best-in-Class awards are the program's highest distinction, honoring the cream of the crop, shaping the future of hospitality. These top awards include Hotel of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Bar of the Year, and several other accolades.

The List

Without further ado, here's a recap of the number of winners by country in each of the three categories:

China made a stellar showing taking 80 total spots, with 29 establishments from the Chinese mainland, 27 venues from Hong Kong, 15 winners from Taiwan, and nine spots from Shanghai.

Shanghai took home:

· 4 Bar Awards

· 4 Restaurant Awards

· 3 Hotel Awards

From the Chinese mainland, the bar winners included:

1. CMYK
   
2. Coa
   
3. Epic (Shanghai)
   
4. Hide & Seek
   
5. Hope & Sesame
   
6. Obsidian Bar
   
7. Pony Up (Shanghai)
   
8. Speak Low (Shanghai)
   
9. The Union Trading Company (Shanghai)
   

The restaurant winners included:

1. Jiang by Chef Fei
   
2. Jin Sha
   
3. La Bourriche 133 (Shanghai)
   
4. Lamdre
   
5. Ling Long (Shanghai)
   
6. Meet the Bund Skyline (Shanghai)
   
7. Qu Lang Yuan
   
8. Ru Yuan
   
9. Scilla (Shanghai)
   
10. Yong Fu
    

The hotel winners included:

1. Alilia Shanghai
   
2. Amanyangyun (Shanghai)
   
3. Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou
   
4. Mandarin Oriental Qianmen
   
5. The Peninsula Shanghai
   
6. Regent Chongqing
   
7. Rissai Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
   
8. Rosewood Beijing
   
9. Songtsam Basongcuo Linka
   
10. Upper House Chengdu
    

To see the full list of winning 100 bars, 100 restaurants, and 100 hotels, visit tatlerasia.com.

What this Means for Shanghai...

The recognition feels earned, not sudden. Over the last decade, Shanghai's restaurants have shifted from imitation to interpretation – chefs stopped chasing Western benchmarks and started building something that reflects the city itself: layered, fast-moving, confident in contradiction. Fine dining has become less about imported truffles and more about technique, restraint, and storytelling. Bars, too, have matured – less spectacle, more substance.

For Tatler, this inclusion is a late but necessary update. For Shanghai, it's simply an acknowledgment of what's already true: that this city is no longer looking outward for validation. It's setting its own standard, one reservation at a time.