The Overview

Among the chefs exploring locally grown products in Shanghai, David Laris is the city’s ranking veteran, exploring what local farmers have to offer through his slew of acclaimed restaurants, including the Fat Olive and his eponymous dining room in Three on the Bund. That’s exactly why the eco-chic URBN Hotel approached him to helm Downstairs, their sleek signature restaurant serving up Western and Asian fare based on farm-fresh produce: dishes range from organic black pork with apple casserole to Thai fish cakes with spicy cucumber relish. “The whole premise of this place is to keep it simple,” Laris says, explaining his unfussy approach to the menu, which he says is 80 percent local. “There is definitely more available now than a year ago—more small growers, more people working with farms. With this sort of concept it becomes about the ingredient.”

Address:
Ground  floor, URBN Hotel,
183 Jiaozhou Road, near Beijing Road,
Shanghai, China

Telephone: +86 21 5172 1300