The Place:

Fancy French-Ningbo cuisine at the top of a Bund-adjacent Hongkou skyscraper. Les Nuages is the sister of Yong Fu, a thoroughly posh one-Michelin-starred Ningbo seafood restaurant on the floor below. Les Nuages has been with us since 2022. Not the best time to open a new restaurant in Shanghai, but here we are in 2024. It's still there. So, they are either doing something right, or they've got deep pockets, or both. Probably both?

The Space:

It's dramatic, opulent, and specifically designed to feed Shanghai's insatiable selfie appetite. A dim corridor leads you into a dining room with arabesque inlay floors. Before you is a sweeping, IMAX-sized view of the north bend of the Huangpu, that sweet spot where you can see the Bund facing off against the flash and shimmer of Lujiazui.

Behind you is a terraced moss garden with curves that undulate like the lines on a topographic map. Oh, and they have an outdoor balcony that you can venture out onto in case your in company that enjoys the occasional cigar.

There is a glass case in which dry-aging wagyu steaks, Iberico hams, curing bacon, whole salted and truffled chickens and pickled Ningbo-style shellfish sit on display like museum pieces. Next to that is a bar that I doubt anyone ever actually sits at. It's stocked with backlit bottles – premium cognacs, single malts and the like.

Midway up that terrace is a circular alcove with a secluded table. It's the kind of spot you'd book to seal a business deal or propose to your fiancée. Close by sits what can only be described as a human-size birdcage, which, management tells us, is intended for musical performances for the occasional buyout.

Ascend one more level and there is a private dining room. Eight-meter-tall doors open to what looks like the boardroom in a Bond villain's lair. I was hoping there would be one of those control panels at the head of the table. You know, like that scene in Thunderball, when Ernst Stavro Blofeld presses a button and summarily dispenses with some random SPECTRE henchman who displeases him. They haven't installed one... yet. The room does, however, feature a retractable wall that allows for privacy or skyline views, which is almost as nice.

The Vibe:

Except for jazz standards by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Django Reinhardt on the sound system, the place is subdued, quiet, dignified.

If they really wanted to, they could cram twice the tables in here. But they don't. So, wherever you sit, it feels private, intimate, like you have the whole restaurant to yourself.

The Food

The food comes courtesy of Elliot Zhou. A former lieutenant of Paul Pairet (Mr & Mrs Bund, Ultraviolet, Polux, Roodoodoo), he brings some culinary cred to the operation. But he is only a consulting chef, so, while his name may be printed in all caps at the bottom of the menu, his role at this point is minimal.

To say that the food here is strictly French-Ningbo fusion is a bit misleading. The menu actually covers a fair amount of ground with ingredients like gochujang, Sichuan "special sauce", Mexican chili peppers, and avocados. Some of what is on offer is French in technique and presentation balanced out with subtle Chinese flavors, like the seared grouper. It sits in a vivid green and red yin-yang of pureed watercress and red pepper.

The 'Chinese' element here: a few knobs of roasted turnip in a neat row. It's a solid dish, beautifully presented. You see it in salads too, like a simple spinach salad tossed with peanut sprouts and fresh, delicately oniony lily bulb. In some dishes, a traditional Chinese ingredient, like yellow croaker gets a Mediterranean-style braise with clams, squid, and tomatoes (if you don't like all the tiny bones, they have the same set-up with sole). You also see it in amuse bouches like a bite-sized pomelo salad, a fragrant, foamy peach oolong tea, and a tuna "lollipop" that speaks of years in the kitchen under Paul Pairet. Other dishes skew more heavily French, like lamb chops dusted with herbs de Provence, served with a lamb jus alongside a creamy pumpkin puree or a bouillabaisse with mussels, scallops, tiger prawns and squid.

They also offer a selection of wagyu steaks dry-aged in-house. These are pretty straightforward. Pick your cut (ribeye, sirloin, tomahawk), your marbling score (M6-7 or 9+), your side (Sichuan vegetable, braised mushroom, "Ningbo potatoes"), and your sauce (creamy peppercorn, beef jus, truffle sauce).

Their afternoon tea is worth a look too. They wheel out a trolley of colorful finger foods that look like collectible toys. There are savories like a romesco mussel with white shrimp and scallion oil, five-flavor pork neck, and a Sichuan-style salmon tart. For sweets, you'll get sweets like a loquat ginger puff, plum guava mousse, and crispy chocolate and raspberry.

---

3 Photos  |  View Slide Show ›

• 

  
  

• 

  
  

• 

  
  

The Damage

Not surprisingly, none of this comes cheap.

If you go the a la carte route, plan on dropping anywhere between 168 yuan to 1,118 yuan (US$23.28-154.95) for a cold dish. Mains run a similar range, maxing out at around 1,688 yuan. Throw in a dry-aged steak and you're in for an additional 888 yuan to 2,680 yuan. They also offer seven-course tasting menus for 1,688 yuan.

You can pad that check even further with a bottle from their almost exclusively French wine list, which offers labels as low as a few hundred yuan or as high as 50k yuan. A more affordable way to enjoy the view and the environs is their afternoon tea. That's 588 yuan for two people, but you won't get the drama of the city lights. Tack an additional 15 percent to all the above for an obligatory "service charge."

Good For?

Your Xiaohongshu feed.

And if you visit Les Nuages, show them this article and receive a complimentary welcome drink.