Flambe: Viennese Restaurant in Shanghai for Grilled Meats
Flambe Bistro Grill & Bar is a Viennese restaurant in Xintiandi serving up flame-grilled ribs, sausage, and chops, alongside traditional Austrian dishes like schnitzel and goulash.
Update: Flambe has moved locations to here.
About Flambe
Nestled between mall blocks in a quieter part of Xintiandi, Flambé boasts a handsome terrace and a modest dining room. It’s casual, bright, and a little old school, similar to those age-old restaurants you’d find in Europe.
Flambé is run by a Chinese family, who spent their formative years in Vienna operating Fisch Berger, a 100-year-old restaurant near the River Danube in Vienna that was famed for its ribs. This revival is kick started by second-generation operator David, who’s keen to bring a taste of Vienna to Shanghai.
The Food
The menu highlights are dishes from the grill, obviously.
The Vienna Ribs is house signature. Preface: these are not the fall-off-the-bone kind. These ribs require some serious gnashing and getting your hands dirty. These sweet-savory racks are coated in a peppery, finger-licking good house barbecue sauce and then finished off on the grill.
Other classic Viennese dishes also feature on the menu like the Schnitzel, which is fantastically thin and crispy, the mixed sausage platter, and the hearty Viennese goulash.
Vienna Ribs (¥138) – Flame-grilled with house barbecue sauce, served with creamy coleslaw and mayo-mustard sauce.
You can also get half a rack for ¥78.
Schnitzel (¥68) – Pounded to extreme thinness, breaded, and deep-fried to perfection. It’s pretty darned good. A must-order.
If you’re missing a good schnitzel, this is solid. Served with fries, mayo, and ketchup.
Sausage Platter (¥138) – A medley of five different sausages from peppery to smoky, also served with slaw.
Lightly spiced Grilled Tiger Prawns (¥88). A non-meat option from the grill menu.
Ox Tongue (¥98) – Slow-cooked to a tender finish and seared to char, served with red wine reduction and butter sautéed mushrooms.
Goulash (¥45) – A comforting tomato-based stew of tender beef chunks and carrots.
Palatschinken (¥38) – Austrian pancakes, similar crepes. A light dessert after all those meaty mains. Filled with blueberry jam and topped with whipped cream.
As for drinks, the go-to is beer. There's a small selection (for now) including bottled beers of Hoegaarden (¥35-45) and 1664 (¥35), and Budweiser draft (¥30). Flambe also has a couple of house wines (from ¥128/bottle) and cocktails.
They have also partnered with Zantho, a leading Austrian wine producer that uses indigenous grape varieties, to import wines to China. Bottles range from ¥188 to ¥688; the classic riesling is ¥188 a bottle.
In Summary: It’s a laid-back, inexpensive restaurant in a neighborhood that’s infamous for sticker shock. It’s a good casual option for those who live in the area and for people who want a small taste of Viennese food.
The terrace is also dog-friendly.
Flambe Bistro Grill & Bar 维也纳烤肋排*
Click here for the venue listing.*
Article Tags
About Rachel Gouk
Founder & Editor, Nomfluence
Rachel Gouk is a seasoned dining journalist based in Shanghai with over a decade of experience covering food culture, restaurant developments, and the Asian culinary landscape.
