Specialty Stores You Need To Survive Shanghai

Shanghai Living

Updated on:

Cheese, beer, hot sauce. That’s about it.

Looking for a taste of home? How about a wheel of cheese to go with some craft beer? Here are four of our favorite specialty stores in Shanghai. If you haven’t dropped a pin on these locations, you’re not doing it right.

Alimentari

Address: 158 Anfu Lu (near Wulumuqi Zhong Lu) 安福路158号 (近乌鲁木齐中路)
Tel: 5403-6991

Neighborhood favorite Feidan on Anfu Lu is no more. The imported goods mini mart has gotten a facelift, making way for Alimentari, brought to you from the Popolo Group, the same people behind Gemma, Bar Centrale and new wine bar QV. It’s an Italian specialty shop and deli, selling imported cuts of cured meats like salami, proscuitto, coppa along with cheeses, olives, fruit mustards, pasta, jams, pickles and wines from RMB138 a bottle. (You can also stop in for some free samples of meat and cheese!)

They also have international newspapers for purchase and a cafe upstairs, Coffee Lab, which serves legit RMB20 Americanos, single origin pour-overs and more. Outdoor seating is available where you can enjoy cocktails (RMB38), bottled Aperol spritz (RMB98) beers at retail prices and cold cut platters.

La Formaggeria

La Formaggeria is one of Shanghai’s only-cheese boutiques. Along with a wide range of cheese, including burrata, they also carry a selection of perishables like pasta and canned pesto. They do ham and cheese sandwiches for RMB20 on site as well. Home delivery is available for orders over RMB200 with at least two days notice required.

Address: 1250 Huaihai Zhong Lu (near Changshu Lu) 淮海中路1250号 (近常熟路)
Tel: 5459-1973

The Beer Lady

Kaixuan Lu: 1010 Kaixuan Lu (near Yan’an Xi Lu) 凯旋路1010号 (近延安西路)
Fahuazhen Lu: 455 Fahuazhen Lu (near Dingxi Lu) 法华镇路475号 (近定西路)
Suzhou Creek: 1247 Nan Suzhou Lu (near Xinchang Lu) 南苏州路1247号 (近新昌路)

Everybody knows the Beer Lady. She’s gone from strength to strength—starting at a small storefront on Fahuazhen Lu to opening two colossal stores in the same year. There are now three Beer Lady bottle shops in Shanghai: Fahuazhen Lu, Kaixuan Lu and the latest by Suzhou Creek. Find a curated selection of more than 200 kinds of beer from all over the world. The Kaixuan Lu store has outdoor seating, but it can’t beat the river-side terrace at Suzhou Creek.

Hot Box

Address: No. 4, 273 Jiaozhou Lu (near Xinzha Lu) 胶州路273弄4号 (近新闸路)
Website: www.thehotbox.cn

It’s Shanghai’s one and only hot sauce emporium. These guys source hot sauces from all around the world, including some of the spiciest on the planet as well as a few proprietary labels. They also serve some killer DIY Bloody Marys and Bloody Caesars, meaning you can customize the heat with any open bottle of sauce on the table. Head in and sample as many sauces as your palate can handle.

Leave a Comment