Suzie's Garden Is This Season's Hot New Opening
Suzie’s Garden is one of the season’s hot new openings, a stunning villa restaurant on Fumin Lu that does "contemporary casual dining". Impressive food that's well-priced and a locale that is made to woo.
Update June 2025: Suzie's Garden is now Ottimo.
It’s brought to you by VOS Familles, the group behind Suzie, Ottimo, SOiF, ma-ia-ki, Vinism, Le Daily, etc, and is headed by group chef Freddy Raoult.
The Space
The space is most impressive. Suzie’s Garden has a 300sqm outdoor space complete with a bar and plenty of seating. There’s a corner café and bakery, too. It’s a beautiful place to wine and dine, day or night.
Dining rooms inside the two-storey villa are elegant and awash with bright tones; herringbone wood floors, tasteful chandeliers, cream colored walls, and light marble finishings. There’s even a balcony. The venue's full capacity stands at 250. There is also one private room.
It's an impressive destination that's great for groups, date nights, and business entertainment. The vibe is easy-going and nothing fancy, though you'd do well to dress "smart casual".
The outdoor area is also dog-friendly.
The Food
As for the food, it’s mostly European. Options a-plenty from the usual suspects of seafood platters, oysters, and apero bites to heavy-hitting share-friendly mains like open-flame grilled steaks and racks of lamb. They also do pizzas and pastas that are a cut above.
All the dishes I tried were fantastic, and, as I gather, are a selection of signatures and best sellers.
Carabineros Carpaccio (¥138) – Carabinero prawns flattened into a thin carpaccio topped with nuts and shiso. Cool, crunchy, extremely fresh and naturally sweet prawns.
Aged Beef Tartare (¥108) – Beef flank aged in-house and mixed with anchovies, shallots, and parmesan, topped with a smoky puffed bread. Condensed beefy flavors with bright citrus notes and smokiness. Excellent.
Chanterelles Pizza (¥128) – They make their own fermented pizza doughs, stretching them out thin and leaving puffy crusts.
It’s a light and airy dough that’s heavily topped mushrooms, cheese, salty-sweet pancetta, sweet white onion, and a touch of garlic.
Pigeon Mushroom Paella (¥288) – The pièce de resistance! The 5-day dry-aged pigeon, which is also available a la carte, is divine. The breast is so rich, tender, and juicy that it could almost be foie gras.
Concentrated flavor of pigeon imbued with smokiness from the grill. Served over mushroom-laden paella with earthy and vegetal notes, spiked with pepper.
Paccheri Alla Zozzona (¥98) – Zozzona, dubbed the “Filthy Rich Dish from Rome” by La Cucina Italiana, is a pasta that blends the sauces of carbonara, amatriciana, gricia, and cacio e pepe into one.
It is wickedly good; velvety sauce packed with flavor. So rich and sinful you’d need a double espresso to see straight again. Done with paccheri instead of the traditional rigatoni.
Suzie's Garden has been reported to be a popular destination for wanghongs, but don't let that deter you.
Looking forward to returning soon.
Suzie's Garden
Address: 38 Fumin Lu 富民路38号
Tel: 62376661
Hours: Daily, 11:30am-3:30pm, 5:30pm-midnight
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.
