Located on the roof of the old Shanghai Race Club right next to People’s Park is Roof 325, a steakhouse with a view of Nanjing Road skyline to beat.

Just got out of quarantine in Shanghai, and I was in for a good steak. And it has to be close to my hotel (JW Marriott at Tomorrow Square) and the steakhouse in the Marriott was closed.

Luckily for me, there’s plenty of choices around there. And Roof 325 came out tops in the Dianping.com reviews.

The Dinner

The menu was Continental and Steakhouse favourites. I was dining alone and so a T-Bone seemed too big. There were many appetisers, and they all looked delicious, but it was the inclusion of some Chinese items, like lobsters and bisque on crispy noodles, that amused me. Settled to my steak and waited for my appetiser to come.

I was famished and went straight at the bread. It was cold. What’s going on here? Cold bread?

Pacific Salmon Tartar

Crushed avocado, oven dried tomato, ginger miso sauce, sesame seed oil, olive oil, spicy crunch

After disastrous bread, the starter managed to pull one back. The salmon tartar was delicious. Very generous portion of raw salmon, diced and dressed with sesame and olive oils giving it an oriental touch. I was in Shanghai after all.

I thought it was Doritos that was given to scoop the tartar with, but it turned out different from the picture in the menu. The Dorito shape worked better so it’s fine. The sauces that were plastered on the plate was so thinly spread, it did not really matter at all. But the quenelle of mashed sun-ripe tomatoes provided the different dimension in taste that was needed. I wished the avocado was more ripen though.

Grilled Australian Filet Mignon, asparagus, foie gras, mash

This was a special menu item, just nice for one and had a foie gras together with a filet mignon.

I read from many reviews online that previously many of their steaks turned up cold. Mine was alright, but the side vegetables were not. There must be a problem in the kitchen with plating because they must have plated the mash and vegetable early, they turned cold.

The doneness of the steak was medium, even though I asked for medium rare. I couldn’t be bothered to return it. But I decided to skip dessert.

The Decor and History

Perched on top of the newly restored Shanghai History Museum, Roof 325 has an expansive terrace with a great view out over the top of People’s Park, which used to be a racecourse. 

You walk through security with those airport body scanners and go straight up to the 5th floor via the lift on the side as the museum is closed for the day. And I suggest that you come right before sunset, and you will be awarded by a beautiful sight of the setting sun reflecting off the skyline.

The Shanghai History Museum, or Shanghai Revolution History Museum to be precise, is a museum dedicated to the history of the city of Shanghai. The museum’s collections focus on the approximately a hundred years in the history of Shanghai from the opening of the port in 1843 to the communist take-over in 1949. The building with the clocktower running parallel to the west wing functioned as the clubhouse since it was erected in 1934. And the rooftop now housed the restaurant.

The restaurant is on the rooftop and you can either sit inside in air-conditional comfort or sit outside when the weather permits. The interior of the restaurant was remarkable, a terrific destination of a romantic dinner with the art deco interior. If only the food was better.

Roof 325 Restaurant & Bar
No.325 Nanjing Xi Lu, Shanghai 200003 China
Tel : +86 21 6327 0767

Date Visited : Jun 2021