Purple Onion

The quirky new David Laris-backed restaurant located in A Future Perfect's former space has made many diners do a double take (in a good way) with its delicious, yet simple, Mediterranean-inspired cuisine and quirky purple walls.

The man in the kitchen is Aussie Lex Hauser, a former sous-chef at M on the Bund, and he's cooking some of the best affordable Western food in Shanghai. To be more precise, Purple Onion says of its fare, “Southern European, the essence of dishes is Spanish, Italian and Greek with some North African influence.”

It's entirely possible to to make a meal out of Purple Onion's grazing menu alone.

Try the chicken liver mousse with bread crisps, the sardine (they actually use mackerel) and tomato toastie, the delicious eggplant- and pine-nut-stuffed garfish and the wild mushroom pizza.

In summary: Purple Onion delivers sophisticated and fresh, but not overly complicated or overpriced food. What more could you ask?