Restaurant Martin in Shanghai

I had the day off, and decided to try something new for lunch. While digging through the local restaurant review sites, I found Restaurant Martin, the Shanghai location for three-star Michelin chef Martin Berasategui's award winning restaurant, a contemporary of Ferran Adrian. I was puzzled why none of my friends or colleagues ever mentioned this restaurant to me. Certainly a restaurant with such a reputation should have been in the news more often, or perhaps mentioned in the same breath as M on the Bund. Perhaps the food wasn't up to par, or the service was atrocious, well, there was only one way to find out.

Restaurant Martin was located in a very charming and majestic heritage mansion built in the 1920s inside Xujiahui Park. This alone should have made this a very popular establishment with the fine dining crowd. I stepped into the foyer of the restaurant slightly after noon, and was shown to my table on the upper level, inside a charming dining room with four tables. There was already a table of four Japanese women lunching as I entered.

I ordered the seasonal set lunch, which comprised of three courses and a dessert. I had high hopes for the first course, which was chilled peach gazpacho, because summer time has always been the best for the sweetest peaches. The gazpacho was served with oilve oil drizzled on top and tasted awesome, slightly chilled with a strong peach flavor that balanced well with the olive oil and tomato puree. The texture was so smooth it was like eating spoonfuls of my flavored yoghurt.

The second course was poached egg with hollandaise sauce over caviar and seasoned with truffle oil. This dish tasted light, the caviar was a very good choice, as was the touch of truffle oil. Overall, a medley of flavors that won me over right away.

My main course consisted of pan fried monkfish with steamed vegetables. It had been a long time since I had my last monkfish meal, so this was another dish I was very much looking forward to. When cooked right, monkfish can taste very much like lobster meat, and Restaurant Martin's version was cooked just right.

For dessert, I had the star anise flavored ice cream over carrot creme brulee, drizzled with olive oil. This was truly a very unique dessert, the flavors were extraordinary, simple yet delicious. I wished the portion was a bit more generous.

My overall dining experience at Restaurant Martin was amazing. Not cheap, by Shanghai standards, but considering the quality of food and excellent service, it was well worth it. Sunday brunch might be the perfect time to come back, for good food and long walks in Xujiahui Park.