RFK Rankings · Shanghai
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Shanghai (2026)
Weekend brunch · Shanghai · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published February 18, 2026 · Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Shanghai brunch splits into two cities. Down the plane-tree lanes of the Former French Concession, the cafe crowd queues at no-reservation counters for crepes and rice waffles; up on the Bund, the grand hotels pour free-flow Champagne until three. These six, ranked, cover both ends, from a thirty-minute Anfu Road wait to a white-tablecloth Sunday on the river.
1.Egg
Camden Hauge's all-day cafe and its rice waffles set the city's brunch standard; arrive early, because it takes no booking.
Camden Hauge opened Egg at 12 Xiangyang Bei Lu in 2015, and it has been Shanghai's defining brunch cafe ever since. The signature rice waffles and the okonomiyaki-style brunch plate are the orders, alongside a much-copied avocado toast, in a small, sunlit room off the Concession lanes. SmartShanghai files it under the city's brunch institutions, and a refreshed all-day breakfast menu landed in early 2026.
It is walk-in only with no reservations, so the weekend wait is real. Come before the late-morning rush, put your name down and take a coffee while the room turns over.
2.RAC Bar
The Anfu Road creperie for buckwheat galettes and a Paris ham combo; go at eight to beat the hour-long weekend queue.
RAC Bar runs its flagship at 322 Anfu Road, on the corner with Wukang Road, and it is the Concession's French brunch staple. The savoury buckwheat galettes, the Paris ham and cheese among them, and the sweet Nutella crepes are the draw, alongside an avocado toast with a poached egg, served all morning in a bright corner room.
The weekend queue runs thirty to sixty minutes, so the regulars arrive between eight and nine to walk straight in. It opens at eight Monday to Saturday and runs a shorter Sunday; there are no reservations, so timing is everything.
3.The Cannery
A Sunday seafood-and-Champagne brunch on historic Yuyuan Road; book the platter sitting for a long, oyster-led afternoon.
The Cannery sits in a converted house at 1107 Yuyuan Road in Changning, from the team behind The Nest, and its Sunday seafood-and-Champagne brunch is the city's raw-bar pick. Chilled oyster and seafood platters, wood-smoked meats and a duck-liver mousse anchor the spread, with brunch platters running from RMB 688 to RMB 4,888 depending on how deep you go.
Tripadvisor put it on its 2026 short list for the city's best oysters, and the Sunday service draws a settled-in crowd. Reserve the brunch sitting ahead; this is the long-afternoon table, not the quick-counter one.
4.Waldorf Astoria
The Bund's grand Sunday Champagne brunch with a river view; book the free-flow package for a celebration on the water.
The Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund runs the city's benchmark hotel brunch on Sundays, split between the Grand Brasserie and the Long Bar at No. 2 Zhongshan Dong Yi Road. The package centres on a Perrier-Jouet Champagne free-flow and a raw-bar-led spread with the Bund through the windows, at RMB 888 a head with Champagne or RMB 688 without, plus service.
It runs Sundays from eleven to three and books out for big occasions. Reserve the free-flow sitting through the hotel; this is the brunch for a birthday or an anniversary, not a quiet weekday plate.
5.Liquid Laundry
The brewpub brunch for a brisket eggs Benedict and a breakfast pizza; book a weekend table for a casual group.
Liquid Laundry occupies the second floor of the KWah Centre at 1028 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Donghu Lu, and its weekend brunch is the city's American brewpub option. The eggs Benedict with smoked beef brisket is the weekend-only order, alongside a breakfast pizza and house waffles, in a big, busy room built for a table of friends rather than a quiet two-top.
It is a long-running Shanghai brunch staple with house beer on tap, and the weekend trade is brisk. Reserve a table for a group, then settle in for the loud, easy end of the city's brunch scene.
6.Baker & Spice
The Wagas-group bakery for avocado toast and fresh pastries; walk into the Anfu Road flagship for an easy weekday brunch.
Baker & Spice is the bakery arm of the Wagas group, founded by John Christensen, with its flagship at 195 Anfu Road and further rooms inside the Shanghai Centre and at the IFC. The brunch is bakery-led: avocado toast with poached eggs, fresh-baked pastries and cakes, and a salad-and-wrap counter, all at cafe prices rather than hotel ones.
It is the easiest walk-in here, which makes it the weekday brunch when the queues at Egg and RAC are too long. Tripadvisor keeps it on its 2026 best-breakfast list; take a counter seat and a flat white and start the morning slow.
Not for everyone
Famous, but you can no longer brunch there
Heritage by Madison. Austin Hu's room on Xiaodongmen ran what locals still call the city's legendary brunch, but it closed permanently in December 2022 and is no longer bookable. For a chef-driven weekend plate instead, Egg in the Concession or The Cannery's Sunday seafood spread are the destinations.
Ultraviolet. Paul Pairet's single-table degustation closed to the public in March 2025, and it was never a brunch room to begin with, a twenty-course evening spectacle rather than a Sunday plate. It is a reminder that Shanghai's scene turns over fast, so check before you travel for a specific room.
How to brunch well in Shanghai
Shanghai brunch clusters by district. The Former French Concession, along Anfu Road and the Xiangyang and Wukang lanes, owns the cafe-counter morning at Egg, RAC and Baker & Spice; Changning's Yuyuan Road holds The Cannery's seafood spread; the Bund carries the grand hotel brunch at the Waldorf; and Xuhui's Huaihai corridor has the brewpub table at Liquid Laundry. The Concession is walkable; the rest need a taxi or the metro.
The split is reservation versus walk-in. The Concession cafes, Egg, RAC and Baker & Spice, take no bookings, and the weekend queues build by late morning, so arrive by eight or nine. The Cannery, the Waldorf and Liquid Laundry all take reservations and reward booking ahead for a weekend sitting. The hotel brunch on the Bund is a Sunday-only, book-in-advance affair, not a drop-in.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in Shanghai?
Egg, Camden Hauge's all-day cafe in the Former French Concession, is the marquee pick, the room that set the city's brunch standard with its rice waffles. For a Concession creperie, RAC Bar on Anfu Road is the destination; for a grand Sunday with free-flow Champagne, the Waldorf Astoria on the Bund.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in Shanghai?
It depends where. The Former French Concession cafes, Egg, RAC Bar and Baker & Spice, take no reservations, so the weekend trick is to arrive by eight or nine before the queues build. The Cannery on Yuyuan Road, the Waldorf's Sunday brunch on the Bund and Liquid Laundry in Xuhui all take bookings and reward reserving ahead.
What is the best hotel brunch in Shanghai?
The Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund runs the benchmark hotel brunch, a Sunday spread split between the Grand Brasserie and the Long Bar built around a Perrier-Jouet Champagne free-flow and a raw bar, at RMB 888 with Champagne. It runs eleven to three and is the city's celebration brunch, with the Bund through the glass.
Where is the best cheap brunch in Shanghai?
Baker & Spice, the Wagas-group bakery with a flagship at 195 Anfu Road, is the value pick, with avocado toast, fresh pastries and a counter of salads and wraps at cafe prices rather than hotel ones. RAC Bar's galettes and Egg's rice waffles are mid-range, while the Bund hotel brunches sit at the top end.
Is brunch popular in Shanghai?
Very, especially in the Former French Concession, where weekend queues at no-reservation cafes such as Egg and RAC Bar run thirty to sixty minutes by late morning. The scene spans casual counters in the Concession, a seafood spread at The Cannery on Yuyuan Road and grand Champagne brunches in the Bund hotels, so the city covers every register of the meal.
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