Take us home, Steak & Eggs

I just tried this place this afternoon. The food is okay, but to be honest the place is really dark and my girlfriend and I were the only people there. I'd probably just take the extra 30 minutes and walk to A Future Perfect. It's got better food and much better atmosphere for almost the same price.

#12 about 99% of the worlds population.

Guest 11: In this day and age, who the fuck cooks for themself?

@Eric- most the stuff that these diner restaurants make can be purchased at one of the many supermarkets in Shanghai for a portion of the price and made at home if you have any iota of cooking skill whatsoever.

I really have it in for any restaurant anywhere in the world that serves me food 1)less tasty than I can make 2)at an inflated price and tries to tell me that 3)'you are paying more for the atmosphere and because you can't get this anywhere else around here.'---

normally I tend to view claims of Shanghai being a 'cosmopolitan city' with a wary eye but we have definitely made it to the point where nowadays we can go to the supermarket and buy eggs, bacon, bread and cheese and cook it at home so I really don't see the reason to pay $7-8 bucks per meal to eat such things outside of the house.

This isn't Harbin.

You get what you pay for. You think it's too expensive, don't go there. Think western food prices are too expensive here, eat locally.

BTW, I agree, in general ;)

The prices of Western food in this city is ridiculous. My favorite Western restaurant in Harbin could make similar dishes for 20-25RMB.

7.50 USD for a roast beef sandwich? Give me a break...

Rendezvous! Yes! :,-(

Flown in from Beijing? Ewwww...

After publishing this post this afternoon I decided to go back and try the dinner. Now that I've doubled my sample size, I have to agree with birchman2: the food wasn't that tasty. I had the meatloaf and tried the beef kebab; both were dry and bland (although the gravy helped). I reiterate that they know how to do potatoes, but that hardly justifies a special trip.

I still liked the service. Micah, all main dishes were brought out at the same time, and staff response is prompt. Although, it's worth mentioning that most of the restaurant was empty. Also, my baseline is probably skewed, since I'm comparing it to City Diner right down the street. Moon River has always had great service.

Margarita was cheap. All cocktails are 22 RMB, and they don't mess around with gimmicky concoctions; very basic drink selection. Had the chocolate peanut butter pie: it was sweet as hell and delicious, although I am now suffering from post-dessert depression.

Guest #4: I'd rather eat at a diner in the States, too, but given the choices we have for this type of food, we probably can't expect prices to be much lower than this. We miss Rendezvous!

for $10 for steak+eggs, I think I would prefer to eat them in the US.

Moon river aint cheap either. Last time I ate there, an omelet and a shake set me back 75 or 80 rmb(again, over $10 with the exchange rate these days) AND all the food was swimming in oil.

Agreeing with guest about the bacon. That's the way we always do it at home, hard to believe it's so hard to find outside.

Interesting about the servers, but this is key: do they bring all the main dishes out at the same time?

is the bacon crispy? that's effin' key here. i need a listing of all restaurants in shanghai that serve bacon the way it should be... dark and crispy. not pink and limp.

As much as I hate to say it, I must warn those that dare to enter the place that the food really is quite average and probably not worth the trek (unless you work at P66 or live in the Portman). Other than the cheapish decor and freakishly wobbly second floor (which together make for an interesting sideshow if your into fire hazards), I found the food to be several notches below tasty. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. Also, service was definitely nothing to write home about. I saw Paul roaming around the dining area the day I ate there. he was explaining to patrons why the restaurant shut off the a/c -- apparently there were too many people ordering too much food, which somehow was overloading their electrical supply. Really strange.