Shanghai's best new restaurant

Recommended: Purple Onion

The man who makes David Laris look good at Purple Onion: Lex Hauser.

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.

Local magazine Cityweekend.com.cn user “Rollex” echoes similar sentiments toward Purple Onion, writing, “The menu is sophisticated, but not overly complicated or overpriced; the food is always of the highest quality and freshly prepared.”

While the food is solid, the waiters are green. But some things can be forgiven in the name of delicious food.

Purple Onion, Lane 351, No. 16, Huashan Lu, near Changshu Lu 华山路351弄16号, 近常熟路 +86 21 6248 8747, www.thepurpleonionsh.com, hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

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