Black Cafe goes sushi (and other food news)

Hoping for brighter days: It looks like the owners of Black Cafe on Maoming Lu have seen the light. Sort of. In recognition of the ephemerality of its gimmick of serving food to its patrons in utter darkness, Black Cafe has now transmogrified itself into an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant. And not a very good one at that. At 118 RMB it's at the low end compared to similar establishments, but its menu is quite pared down and the quality of the food is mediocre under any lighting scenario.

Issimo does lunch: The popular high-end Italian restaurant inside the JIA hotel is offering a lunch set dubbed 'Expressimo,' promising to get diners in and out within 45 minutes of ordering. 88 RMB (plus service charge of 15%) will get you a small salad, a pizza or pasta, and coffee. We love dining at Issimo, and this lunch set would be very seductive if only the pizzas were just as good during the day as they are in the evening. Hopefully, they'll get there before the deal ends at the beginning of May.

Photo by dgrnbrg

Eric Hu is Shanghaiist's Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news and gossip about Shanghai's food scene to food at shanghaiist.com.