Restaurant review of Utsuwa a Japanese place in Shanghai’s Tianzifang. Restaurant no longer exists.

Meaning a type of tableware connected to the Japanese concept of beauty through use this restaurant is really about style, culture and quality. It is an amalgam of traditional Chinese architecture and antiques with Japanese food and presentation. The menu printed on Japanese handmade washi paper is simple. For lunch there are two different sets offered each day (Y50 & Y65) plus there is a limited a la carte selection. There is an emphasis on health with good quality ingredients and limited oil with the food along with beauty in presentation. The Wednesday Y50 set is a mushroom salad (3 types of cooked mushrooms warming a bed of lettuce and cucumber), fried chicken, rice omelette and miso soup. All were served on beautifully crafted dishes some made by the connected pottery, where diners can produce their own dishes. Try sitting upstairs where there is a beautiful Chinese antique table sunken Japanese style overlooking a stone garden on the shikumen balcony.

Mark Andrews has written about everything from Japanese houses to heli hikes on New Zealand glaciers, test drives of Chinese cars to bar and restaurant reviews. He currently specialises in travel articles and reviews of Chinese cars plus articles about the Chinese auto industry.