Bar Review: Fly

What: Three in one - club, garden and teppanyaki

Why: The best seat in the house is a cushion corner in the middle of a pool

How much: Cocktails RMB 68 – 158, beer RMB 58 – 78, bottles of wine RMB 480 - 3880

Where: 191 Hengshan Lu, near Gao’an Lu

FLY is the newest kid to join the revival of the nightlife scene on Shanghai’s infamous bar street Hengshan Lu. Taking over the premises from the inexplicably-spelled Qube, FLY hopes to find its audience by offering a more high-end experience. Plans and redecorations are still underway as the club goes through its obligatory soft opening period, but come March, FLY will be ready to, well, fly!

Minimalist, polished concrete fills up most of the room. As for the music, you’ll hear mainstream mash-ups, hip-hop and house, but sometimes live R&B acts entertain the crowd. Happy hours are trying to attract the diehards on Sundays and Mondays, and a lady’s night is on tap for the gentler gender every Thursday. For now the beer menu is limited to Tiger and Heineken, but Belgian brands and ciders are on the way. The house special is the FLY Duet, a RMB 158 concoction of tequila, elderflower and sparkling wine. As the name and price suggest, this is one to share.

The most spectacular renovation to come to the space is the opening up of the back door garden where, come summertime, guests can enjoy a café area surrounded by waterworks. Relax to the rippling sounds of fountains, walk under a glass roof with water swirling on top or cuddle up among cushions in the sitting area placed in the midst of a pool. If the club or the al fresco lounge still doesn’t do it for you, FLY has also installed French-influenced HARA Teppanyaki restaurant on the upper floor.

If you’re looking to check it out for yourself, you’ll know the place from the peculiar façade: rows upon rows of bedside lamps sticking out from the wall.  The owners are hoping you’ll make like a moth and fly on towards them.