Brunch under the new Pavillon

I thought it was time to head back to xintiandi after a three year hiatus. The last time I was there, we dined at T8, which had always been my favorite restaurant in Shanghai, but even T8 was starting to bore me a little, especially since their Australian executive chef had move on to better things. In this city where taste and trends change by the season, I expected a lot of new and exciting culinary venues to experience as I headed to Xintiandi.

So, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that Costes Paris, the ultra-hip lounge from Paris had opened its first venture outside France, and in the heart of Xintiandi no less. Pavillon, taking its name from the three-storey high pavilion specially built for this venue, looks very chic in its velvet and chinoiserie elements. Today, I arrived a little early for Sunday brunch, the lounge was empty save for a couple sitting by the window. I picked a spot directly under the pavilion, in the middle of the dining section. Like most trendy eateries in Shanghai these days, brunch is a popular weekend pastime with friends and family, and most restaurants have prix fixe brunch menus to cater to the diners. For 298RMB, I had a choice of starter, main and dessert, with juice or coffee or tea, and a bread basket. 

I ordered orange juice, which turned out to be the bottled variety, and not fresh. I had expected more. The breadbasket was actually two plates of bread, including wheat slices, buns and croissants. My appetizer of Avocado/Tuna arrived shortly. For an appetizer the portion was rather big, the diced raw tuna covering the top of the avocado mousse terrine. I was not too impressed with this dish, it felt amateurish, like a combination of two base ingredients hastily put together, lightly salted, and not much else.

The main course of Morel Mushroom with Penne was highly anticipated, but again, this dish was underwhelming. The penne was a little under cooked, of the pre-packed box variety, and the cream sauce was normal at best. The morel mushrooms were fresh and nice though.

For dessert, I ordered the Hotel Costes special - chocolate cake with strawberry sorbet. After eating Jean Georges' chocolate cake last night, I knew Pavillon would have a tough task on hand to impress me. The chocolate cake was not as smooth, and the molten chocolate center was not velvety rich, but rather lumpy.

All in all, Pavillon was mediocre at best, and service was equally disappointing. The restaurant was empty and yet service was slow, non existent at times while the wait staff were chatting in the service area. Perhaps Pavillon would fare much better sticking to the lounge business.

Pavillon by Costes Paris is located at Xintiandi, House 17, Lane 181 Taicang Lu, Shanghai.

Tel: +86-5306-9988