Gourmet Cafe, which is literally just that, neighbours Papa's Schnitzelhaus and 3rd Floor just off the corner of Shaanxi Lu and Beijing Lu. I met with Brit general manager William Bray of the cafe last Friday afternoon over a lovely mango 'Down By The Beach, Bwoy!' smoothie (35rmb), to chat about his new cream-and-orange home-away-from-home.

The cafe is cosy in a modern type of way (there's only room to seat around 24) but still manages to retain adequate space (think of half a dozen people doing star-jumps) enhanced with an extra-large mirror to the right as you come in. The keywords here are: 'simple' 'gourmet' 'fresh', or perhaps more so all the fabulous titles on the menu - Bray has made a sincere effort here and it works beautifully - I'll definitely be back to try The Waldolf, the Ripsnorter, the Bun Laden, and The Punisher. At least to begin with. ... Fish in Batter, The Don, Stand and D-Liver & more here.

Gourmet Cafe
Hours:Daily 12pm-11pm (last order 10:30pm)
Address:455 Shaanxi Bei Lu, Jing'an near Beijing Xi Lu
Tel:021-52136885