Walk into an unmarked doorway off Tai'an Road, go down a darkened hallway, and push through a nondescript door at the back, and you'll arrive at Tang, Shanghai's hippest cocktail and electronic music lounge. Their claim to fame – and they're about as famous in Shanghai's alternative clubbing community as you can be while consciously eschewing a Dianping page – is that the entire venue is one big bed. The main seating area comprises a communal, Ming-style daybed, and guests take off their shoes and shimmy into their spot around a series of low coffee tables interspersed throughout. A DJ is at the front, also seated, and keeps it locked on down-tempo electronic, house and IDM.

In recent weeks, the team behind Tang, transplants from Shanghai's clubbing and electronic festival communities, has expanded to a much more ambitious three-story restaurant, lounge and club destination called Roam. In the new venue, they've brought over the bohemian vibes, the arty young clientele, and their appreciation for the finer things in life: interesting cocktails and house music. This original venue, however, has been unchanged in concept since opening when pandemic restrictions were relaxed two years ago. It speaks to their success that, in a time of uncertainty in the Shanghai F&B business, they're expanding. And it speaks to their good taste that the original Tang is unchanged. They're not messing with a winning formula.

So the beds, music, and vibes are the main selling points, but even a brief tour of the small venue reveals some really interesting details. Boho-chic artwork and idiosyncratic installations are featured on the walls, finer design details and accents pop out at you, and a heavy incense smell belies that you might be on a night out whilst on some fabulous beach vacation somewhere, in some ocean paradise off the beaten track, perhaps known for their beach-side raves.

The artistic centerpiece is their paper-and-lights ceiling installation, "Emperor Jiang," a four-winged, six-legged beast wrested from the pages of the Classic of Mountain and Seas, a fabulous geographical bestiary from the early Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220). Let the themes of fantastical exploration and mystery wash over you.

The cocktail menu is delineated by an alcohol base, with a few selections for whiskey, gin, rum, and vodka cocktails. Lots of teas and infusions feature throughout, with prices ranging from 88 yuan to 118 yuan.

On our last visit, we went with a "Tropical Cyclone" (118 yuan), a fruity, rum-y, tiki-style drink, with oolong tea. For an encore, we went with the "Comte de Paris" (88 yuan) basically a highball with a highlight of Suze Liqueur and a sprig of rosemary. If you're feeling a little light on disposable income, bottles and mixed drinks are in the 50-60 yuan range, and they bottom out on a dependable Tsingtao beer for 30 yuan.

But it's a scene. One well worth seeking out. Weeknights are a more low-impact affair with a young, mixed clientele culled from the Shanghai alternative clubbing community. And, of course, a lot of people are there because a friend said, "You've got to see this place." Weekends are a little busier, with the proceedings lasting later in the wee hours of the morning. Go earlier or waaaaay later if you want to try to snag one of those beds.

So here we have Tang, definitely one to check out if you're looking for an extremely bohemian and extremely chill cocktail in a unique environment. If you know about it, you know. And if you didn't before, you do now.

Keep track of their special events and DJ bookings by following them on WeChat: TangTangTang.

If u go

Tang 躺

Opening hours: 8pm-3am

Address:141 Tai'an Rd 泰安路141号