What to know | Shanghai's September Opening Wave: Atelier Runs Two Concepts on One Floor, JUJU Takes Over Former The Cannery Space

Same floor, same elevator lobby — but step inside and you'll find two completely different nights out. That's what the Atelier Group has done on the 9th floor of A Mansion on Fuxing Road. In September, Cantonese restaurant Atelier玖樓 and cocktail bar Opia opened simultaneously, sharing the entire floor. Matte green walls run throughout, with two terraces stretching across the space, separated by several private rooms and a large communal dining area. The building also houses Atelier No. 3, Laizhou Bar, and Cantina Agave.

The menu at Atelier玖樓 sticks to traditional Cantonese cooking with a touch of Western finishing — understated, with a modern sensibility mostly showing up in the plating. One signature dish is a whole charcoal-grilled crab served over Italian paccheri pasta. The menu spans Cantonese roast meats, slow-cooked soups, claypot dishes, live seafood, and classic Cantonese stir-fries, plus dim sum, with off-menu requests also accepted. Opia, meanwhile, sits tucked into a corner of the same floor — not fully enclosed, but invisible from the entrance. Its centerpiece is a sunken bar counter, where guests sit above and look down on bartenders at work — a design not yet seen elsewhere in Shanghai. The bar program comes from Matthew Hall, who previously worked at The Upper House Shanghai and Hakkasan. The 9th floor entrance is accessed via the office elevator on the Changle Road side.

JUJU Moves Into Former The Cannery Space, Carrying On the KBBQ-Meets-"Cheers" Spirit

After The Cannery closed its doors on August 6, the space has been taken over by Korean BBQ brand JUJU, which began soft-opening on September 21. JUJU first opened its debut location on the Bund in 2019, built around the concept of "grilled meat with cheers." The menu centers on various cuts of UYYU wagyu, alongside grilled pork, japchae, crispy Korean pancakes, army stew, spicy stir-fried tteokbokki noodles, and buldak spicy chicken with cheese rice cakes available in "fire-grilled" or "nuclear" spice levels. The menu also quietly includes a nod to The Cannery: a poutine topped with Korean BBQ and kimchi.

Soft-opening hours run Monday to Thursday from 5pm until late, Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 1am, and Sunday from 5pm to 10pm. Currently walk-in only, with seating for nearly 200. During the soft-opening period from September 21 to 24, all dishes are 10% off.

Plaza 66 Expansion Brings Bangkok Beach Club and Tomato-Themed Restaurant

Pavilion, the new extension at Jing'an's Plaza 66, is a lifestyle space filled with greenery. Ground-floor F&B tenants include Crave's third location (this time leaning into brunch and bistro format), bagel shop BegL, and Nuits — relocating from Tongren Road and set to open in October. Thai concept Somsak and Sichuan brand Rong Yi Chuan will follow.

The main Plaza 66 mall will welcome an even bigger new tenant: Bangkok's Tribe Sky Beach Club, expected to open on the 6th-floor rooftop garden by late Q4. This marks the brand's first entry into the Chinese market and its first venture outside Thailand. Positioned as an "elevated urban beach," Tribe combines a pool, striking visuals, entertainment, and dining. The Shanghai location will feature an infinity sky pool, art installations, and a full lighting and sound system.

Also opening on the 5th floor of the main mall is Qiyueshi Farm House, a farm-to-table restaurant built around tomatoes as its core ingredient. The brand has operated in Shenzhen since 2023, founded by Chen Ting, who is also the person behind Shenzhen's well-known farm-to-table restaurant Voisin Organique. Qiyueshi is backed by its own organic farm network, TESH, offering full traceability — including a farm located in Nanhui, Shanghai. The 430-square-meter Shanghai flagship features a wine cellar, an open fermentation lab, and private rooms overlooking the open kitchen; fresh tomatoes are even available for purchase on-site. Not every signature dish features tomatoes, but most revolve around them, including tomato scrambled eggs, braised beef short ribs, and yellow croaker rice, with some drinks also tomato-based.

Middle Eastern Dining Trend Continues, Leyas Lands in Xintiandi

Leyas is a new modern Middle Eastern restaurant at Xintiandi Plaza, founded by chef-owner Wael Accad, who is also behind the Lebanese chain Eli Falafel. Compared to the neighborhood-casual vibe of Eli Falafel, Leyas takes a more refined approach: a three-story dining space with private rooms, a full bar, and two shisha-equipped terraces. The menu ranges from familiar mezze and grilled skewers to saffron rice with lamb shoulder, whole grilled fish, spicy fried potatoes Batata Harra, and house-made Sambousek Lahme pastries filled with minced meat, pine nuts, and spices.

A few more September openings in Shanghai worth noting: the once wildly popular Vietnamese sandwich shop Feral has returned under a new name, Feral Xiaoye, taking over the former Specters space at No. 753 Yuyuan Road, now adding pho and other Vietnamese snacks, with 60 seats indoors and out; on Yongfu Road, Accents is helmed by chef Joey, formerly of Tokyo's Narisawa, blending French, Shanghainese, and Japanese influences into a "Shanghai-plus" style; Sun-San's affordable omakase brand Uni Shushi opened its second location at Xintiandi's Hubindao, with dinner omakase priced at 498 and 698 RMB, and a lunch set of 10 pieces of sushi for 298 RMB; VOS Families' bistro Horse & Cow opened on North Xiangyang Road, with chef Freddy Raoult serving French-Chinese fusion small plates; on the Bund's Broadway Mansions, Le Reflet is led by chef Giovanni Ji, incorporating local ingredients like hairy crab, Chinese ham, and Chongming tomatoes; and chef Dario has opened sister restaurant Molo di Dario below Cucina di Dario on Wuding Road, focusing on charcoal-grilled seafood.

On the closures and transitions front: The Cannery shut down on August 6, with JUJU taking over the space; Nuits will reopen at Pavilion in October; and OHA Group's Holy Spice is currently closed, with plans to reimagine it as a lounge concept featuring a bar-focused menu — details to be announced.