Chapter 4

Midnight to 2 am

Midnight

After midnight, Shanghai's nightlife shifts gears. Some bars serve inventive, carefully crafted cocktails, while music venues offer spaces for dancing, listening, and socializing.

Dining

PawooBy

Address: No 63 Ruijin Road Number Two, Huangpu district

Opening hours: 7 pm to 2 am

PawooBy gives guests the freedom to craft their own cocktails. Starting with classic styles such as Sour, Fizz, and Martini, visitors can choose their preferred spirits, sweeteners, vermouth, and flavors to build a drink that perfectly suits their taste.

233 Shop

Address: No 233 Xuanhua Road, Changning district

Opening hours: 4 pm to 2 am

Behind its small storefront, 233 Shop houses an impressive craft beer collection. With more than 50 taps, shelves lined with bottles, and an extensive beer menu, it offers a wide selection of brews. The offerings range from renowned breweries such as Monkish and Evil Twin to popular favorites and rare finds.

YELLO(w)

Address: Room A, 2F, No 982 Wuding Road, Jing'an district

Opening hours: 7 pm to 2 am

YELLO(w), with its distinctive black-and-yellow color scheme, offers a creative cocktail experience for those seeking something unique. Its menu features imaginative creations such as "Surprising", served in a yellow bell pepper and made with tequila, bell pepper, lime leaf, and Qingkoumi cherry tomato. Another signature drink, "Martinis but Smoky", adds a smoky twist to the classic cocktail with herbal gin, sweet vermouth, pineapple, and woody and bitter flavors.

Sympathy Angel

Address: Room LG-05, B1, No 658 Zhaohua Road, Changning district

Opening hours: noon to 2:30 am

Tucked underground at C-Park, Sympathy Angel is a distinctive bar celebrated for its quirky design. By day, the space operates as a retro-style cafe, serving carefully crafted drinks and light refreshments. By night, it transforms into a cocktail bar. Behind its door lies a whimsical world of vintage details, colorful lighting, and playful decorations, creating an experience that feels nostalgic yet slightly surreal.

Bar Constellation

Address: No 86 Xinle Road, Xuhui district

Opening hours: 7 pm to 2 am

Opened in 2000, Bar Constellation is one of Shanghai's earliest whisky and cocktail bars and has played an important role in shaping the city's bar culture. Despite its small size of just 38 square meters, it houses an extensive collection of whiskies and has earned the nickname "a whisky museum".

The bar has long been known for its dedication to classic cocktails and traditional cocktail-making techniques. According to its owner, Bar Constellation introduced the concept of handmade ice to China's bar scene and was the first bar in the country to use hand-carved ice spheres. It has also remained committed to recreating classic cocktails in their original forms, such as the Mint Julep and the Moscow Mule. With its vintage American-style interior and tranquil atmosphere, the bar offers a timeless escape from the city's fast pace.

Livehouse

Backdrop Vinyl

Address: Room 101, Building 2, No 1455 Nansuzhou Road, Jing'an district

Opening hours: 10 am to 5:30 pm, 7 pm to 2 am, closed on Tuesdays

As the first listening bar on the Chinese mainland, Backdrop Vinyl offers a dedicated space for experiencing music on vinyl records. Guests can choose from a range of listening packages, including solo and shared options with varying listening durations, drink selections, and record selections.

During the day, the space functions as a cafe. Vinyl listening ends at 5:30 pm, and the venue reopens as a cocktail bar at 7 pm. The space features a dark green and walnut-toned color palette. With a wide selection of records spanning genres from pop and rock to R&B and jazz, Backdrop Vinyl invites guests to slow down and savor music at their own pace.

Hush

Address: 2F, No 109 Yandang Road, Huangpu district

Opening hours: 10 pm to 4 am

Hush is a trendy hip-hop club situated inside INS, a six-story nightlife venue near Fuxing Park. Renowned for its vibrant late-night atmosphere, the club primarily features hip-hop, R&B, trap, and drill music, with hit songs that keep the dance floor packed late into the night.

KZ Shanghai

Address: No 109 Yandang Road, Huangpu district

Opening hours: 8 pm to 4 am

KZ Shanghai is a premier venue known for its high-quality sound system, cutting-edge lighting, and impressive stage design. The venue hosts resident singers spanning a wide range of genres, including Chinese pop, Western music, and K-pop, and regularly features well-known artists and DJs from China and abroad.

Source: Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce