That's Donghai Cafe on Dianchi Road near the Bund. This is a store that many older generations in Shanghai still remember, and it is also here that many people learn to drink coffee for the first time. Donghai Cafe can be traced back to 1934. It was the earliest Mars cafe opened by Soviet Jews. Donghai Cafe was originally a product of the colonial period. From the red brick wall in appearance to the European retro style in the interior, to the menu structure with drinks, desserts and simple meals, there are the shadows of those old cafes in Europe. Coffee and western food are served, and there are western-style spiral stairs, which are often full. At that time, young people talked about friends, shared feelings and drank coffee in the East China Sea. Don't be too fashionable
Although there are many cafes in Shanghai now, the scene of FFC cafes blooming everywhere at the beginning of last century has reappeared. During the period from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the early days of reform and opening up, cafes in Shanghai were really rare. Shanghai Coffee Factory, established after the nationalization of Desheng Coffee Shop in Tongren Road, Nanjing West Road, is almost an ancient memory in the history of coffee. The famous name Donghai Cafe is deeply imprinted in the minds of many predecessors. This is definitely the hottest cafe on the beach 40 years ago. The menu of Donghai Cafe 1980 is: black coffee 1 0.8 cents, milk coffee 20.3 cents, and top ice cream coffee only 50 cents1cent; Braised beef 1 yuan 1 jiao, fried pork chop 1 yuan 8jiao, country thick soup 2jiao 7 fen, set meal 6 fen.
In 2007, Donghai Cafe closed down due to the commercial adjustment of Nanjing East Road. Later, with the return of the Central Plaza, the entry of the Shanghai Hotel made Jiangxi Road lively. 12 After a long time, the legendary Donghai Cafe was revived by Deda Restaurant DedaGROUP and opened in a corner of Dianchi Road on 20 19.
Although it was reopened at the new site, walking into Donghai Cafe still made people feel like they were back in old Shanghai for a second! The new store is located on the ground floor of an old building in Waitanyuan. As soon as I walked in, I seemed to walk into the living room of an old villa. The elegance and gentleness of the Republic of China are everywhere, and every place is marked with the imprint of the times. Black and white mosaic floor, partition, fireplace, old-fashioned furniture, old-fashioned chandelier, with a strong sense of the times. The waiter inside is also an uncle from Shanghai, who has an accent and speaks standard Shanghai dialect, neither supercilious nor supercilious. Most of the guests sitting inside are Shanghai natives, and many elderly uncles and aunts are chatting here, eating the taste they once ate when they were children, with happy smiles on their faces.
Every detail in the store reveals the retro feeling of time flow, and every little corner is worth stopping to watch. We each ordered a cup of coffee, a cheese chicken breast and a hot chocolate lava in the shop. I didn't expect the display to be quite fashionable and novel, and the product was surprisingly good. What is rare is that the price is not expensive. The price of a cup of coffee is around 30, which is quite normal in Shanghai. The afternoon tea snacks on the Bund are 40-50 per capita.